Push Press/Jerk and Flexibility

[Lifting N Tx]

Rip,

I've read your reply to Kyle's question about power cleans, as well as your discussion in Starting Strength. It seems that many of the same issues would apply to flexibility needed for proper performance of push presses and jerks.

I have gotten to the point where I can rack the bar and perform front squats by doing exactly what you mentioned in the "Power Clean Q" thread:

Flexibility for racking the clean can depend on wrist, elbow, shoulder, or tricep flexibility, all of which can be stretched in several ways - usually by just shoving the elbows up under the bar in the rack and holding that stretch.

It took some time, and I still need more flexibility, but at least I can perform power cleans and front squats. However, that is with elbows at less than a 90 degree angle from my torso, and the bar on my fingers, not on my palms. When I do military presses I find that I cannot hold the bar securely in my palms and also rest it on my deltoids. Moving my grip out somewhat wider than what you recommend in Starting Strength, I can perhaps hold the bar so that it barely touches my deltoids. However, I can't both hold the bar securely and also de-weight it on my deltoids sufficiently to transfer leg drive to the bar in a push press or jerk.

Are there any stretches or pointers useful for developing the ability to properly perform push presses and jerks that differ from what I quoted above?

[Mark Rippetoe]

Since you're not going to press or push press with your upper arms at right angles to your torso anyway, your lack of flexibility there is not critical. You just need to get the bar onto your delts for force transfer from the dip in a push press, and even that is not necessary for a decent press. A grip width adjustment should allow the bar to sit on your delts for push pressing, but if you've already tried that and still can't get it down there, just do it as best you can and let it function as the stretch. You don't need perfect flexibility to use either exercise effectively.