Press form check request

[AJR]

Having a lot of trouble with my press and I can't seem to make any progress on it like I can with the other lifts. This is a set at 40 kg after I failed my work-sets of 48 kg:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHNqQirw-L8

What can I do to fix it and start being able to add more weight to the bar? Cheers in advance for any feedback you guys can give me. Been able to get the other lifts down pretty well but the press is just giving me hell!

[Jordan Feigenbaum]

AJR,

There is nothing really "wrong" with the lift except for the following:

1) It appears your start position is such that your upper arms (humerus) are externally rotated and put you in a very poor position to press from, given the moment arm created between the wrist and the elbow. My recommendation would be try and keep your elbows "in" a little bit more, such that your forearms are vertical when viewed from the front.

2) It also appears that you don't get a full shrug at the top- or at least I'm not convinced you're doing this. It does look like you're shoving your head forward and down, but I'm not sold on your shrug at the top. My recommendation would be to consciously shrug at the top of each rep. I would also suggest not actively trying to shove your head forward, but rather just stand up straight when you shrug. That should make your head/neck neutral with the rest of your body.

I think with more practice, your rebound will get more crisp- but you should be able to add more weight slowly. I assume you're trying to add 1kg per session or so? What's your bench press at right now?

[AJR]

Cheers for the advice, Jordan. I'll film my next press workout with those pointers in mind.

I was adding 2 kg's to the bar each time as I was able to complete all my reps. Got stuck at 44 kg's for a while but was able to complete them after a reset and widening my grip a little. Got through 46 kg's no problems but then couldn't even finish all the reps of my first set at 48 for the last 2 weeks, leading me to figure that it was a technique problem as all my other lifts are still progressing.

Bench press is at 70 kg's at the moment. I'll be attempting 72 kg's tomorrow, though I have a feeling I'm going to hit my first stall on that very soon. And I suspect my lack of progress on the press might be bringing the stall sooner than it should otherwise come. Hopefully with these fixes I can prolong some easy gainzZz.

I really appreciate you guys taking the time out of your day to give out some free, very valuable advice. If ever there is a Starting Strength seminar in Australia I'll be one of the first guys to throw my money at you.