Push Press Problem

[Forthright]

I never do my standing press with the bar resting on my shoulders. I always have my shoulders back with the bar resting on my upper chest and low in my hands. This has worked great for me. However, I never do push presses or jerks.

I understand that you are supposed to rest the bar on your shoulders for the push press or the jerk. I want to start doing push presses so I was doing them with an empty oly. bar earlier. I realised that I can't get the bar even moderately low in my hands while the bar rests on my shoulders. My arms are too long even with a wide grip. I can just barely get the bar on the edge of my palms. How am I supposed to get the bar low in my hand for the press?

[PFerrari]

Hard to tell without a picture or video but I have some ideas. For starters, it can be very hard to get into the right position without any weight on the bar. I would suggest putting on something like 40 kg/95 lbs and just getting a feel for the rack position. Sometimes the weight gives people a counter balance of sorts and allows them to get into a better position. It also could just be a mobility issue and something you will have to work on. But again, it's hard to be sure without seeing it.

[Tamara Reynolds]

Video would be helpful.

What happens when you have your elbows up more? Can you get into a front rack position for a front squat or clean?

[Forthright]

Video would be helpful.

What happens when you have your elbows up more? Can you get into a front rack position for a front squat or clean?

I can rack the bar for cleans and front squats but it rests on my fingers and my shoulders. My arms are just too long to get the bar low in my hand so that I can press.

[MattJ.D.]

you need to learn to rack like my man klokov then....he does that for everything





.....Tbone probably just got wet...

[Forthright]

you need to learn to rack like my man klokov then....he does that for everything





.....Tbone probably just got wet...

Yea....He's got the bar high in his hand and his wrists are bent back as he presses. That's what I want to avoid. Is that how everyone does it?

[MattJ.D.]

why do you want the bar low in your hand? that's not optimal for push pressing...your push press grip should be the same as your jerk grip which coincidentally is going to be the same as your clean and FS rack most of the time (unless your a female Chinese lifter)

I'm not getting what you're saying..so you want your push press grip to be like your standing press grip?(bar in palm forearms vert) Which is when the bar is in the palm and floating above your chest? You get less force transfer from your legs like that

[Sal Webber]

I never do my standing press with the bar resting on my shoulders. I always have my shoulders back with the bar resting on my upper chest and low in my hands. This has worked great for me. However, I never do push presses or jerks.

I understand that you are supposed to rest the bar on your shoulders for the push press or the jerk. I want to start doing push presses so I was doing them with an empty oly. bar earlier. I realised that I can't get the bar even moderately low in my hands while the bar rests on my shoulders. My arms are too long even with a wide grip. I can just barely get the bar on the edge of my palms. How am I supposed to get the bar low in my hand for the press?

I have long forearms combined with a short humerus. When I am in the SS model press, the bar does not touch my shoulders. You may be in the same boat.

The push press starts from the shoulders so that you can get your dip and drive transferred into the bar.

[Forthright]

I know why the bar rests on the shoulders but I didn't realise that you had to have the bar high in your hands. I never thought about it because I didn't do push-presses. Wouldn't it be more optimal to put the bar low in your hands and carry it on your upper-chest?

[PFerrari]

I know why the bar rests on the shoulders but I didn't realise that you had to have the bar high in your hands. I never thought about it because I didn't do push-presses. Wouldn't it be more optimal to put the bar low in your hands and carry it on your upper-chest?

No. The movement starts from the legs and the shoulders/arms finish with the lock out. So if you put it on your upper chest you're going to push it away from you and it will make it very hard to finish the movement.