Press form check

[JCR]

Hi all.

The basic stats:

Age: 41
Gender: M
BW: 187 lbs
Height: 5'-10".

Began SS: 8/5/15 (with a one-month hiatus 9-11 to 10-10 while recovering from surgery and building a basement gym) so going on about 8 weeks now.

Before SS, I had never done any serious lifting work. I am a true rank novice.

Working sets (in lbs) as of 11/3/15:
SQ: 170 (was at 190 but de-loaded to 160 to work on form issues I learned from my squat form check thread)
Bench: 135
DL: 235
PwrClean: 90
Press: 95

Anyway; here is the video for the Press form check. This is 95 lbs.
https://youtu.be/Xd1GSKTCToQ

Thanks beforehand for any advice, tips, and observations.

[Scott Hanson]

JCR,

As mgilchest notes, your grip looks about 1" too wide on each hand. You want your forearms to be perpendicular to the floor.

You go through the steps to achieve a good grip with neutral wrists, but then let your wrists bend back. Keep them in a neutral, non-bent back position, with the bar directly over the bones of your forearms. The bar will probably not be racked on your shoulders, which is fine.

Shrug up harder at lockout. Really hard.

Scott

[JCR]

... Mainly because your core isn't tight enough.

Thanks, mgilchrest. I start squeezing the quads tight and then move up and squeeze the abs to create the "bow" tension. This was my third set and I was at my tired worst. However, could it also be due to weak abs?

[JCR]

JCR,
You go through the steps to achieve a good grip with neutral wrists, but then let your wrists bend back. Keep them in a neutral, non-bent back position, with the bar directly over the bones of your forearms. The bar will probably not be racked on your shoulders, which is fine.

Thanks, Scott. I do try to get the good grip, but was unaware that I was wasting all that work by letting the wrists bend back. I see this happens because I am attempting to place the elbows in front of the bar and also to have it rest on top of the shoulders (Figure 3-11)

Also, if the bar is not racked on the shoulders when the wrists are in a neutral, non-bent back position... is it just a matter of flexibility/stretching until I am able to do that?

Shrug up harder at lockout. Really hard.

Thanks! I did forget about the shrug.

[David A. Rowe]

Thanks, Scott. I do try to get the good grip, but was unaware that I was wasting all that work by letting the wrists bend back. I see this happens because I am attempting to place the elbows in front of the bar and also to have it rest on top of the shoulders (Figure 3-11)

Also, if the bar is not racked on the shoulders when the wrists are in a neutral, non-bent back position... is it just a matter of flexibility/stretching until I am able to do that?



Thanks! I did forget about the shrug.

The best queue I know of for ensuring everything's good on your form when you unrack is to "chest up, rest your triceps on your lats." This will fix a lot of problems with "where do I put my elbows?" and will help your torso feel tighter for the bounce when you iniate.

You can even shorten it to "chest up, rest 'em" or something similarly concise for coaching/self correction.

You also need to fully contract your traps at the top... get the shoulders completely activated and reinforce the lock out on the top.

Wearing a belt helps. If you don't have a belt, get one.

[Adam Skillin]

Also, if the bar is not racked on the shoulders when the wrists are in a neutral, non-bent back position... is it just a matter of flexibility/stretching until I am able to do that?

No, a floating rack position is a result of anthropometry (not typically insufficient flexibility), and is both acceptable and common. Your hands are way too wide. Your wrists are way too bent. The bar may not sit on your shoulders, but it must sit on top of your vertical radius bones if you want to transfer force efficiently.

[JCR]

No, a floating rack position is a result of anthropometry (not typically insufficient flexibility), and is both acceptable and common.

Thanks. This is comforting

Your hands are way too wide. Your wrists are way too bent. The bar may not sit on your shoulders, but it must sit on top of your vertical radius bones if you want to transfer force efficiently.

Thanks again. I appreciate your time looking at this.