Do i shrug before or after the elbows are locked in overhead pressing?

[DorPwnz]

Thanks guys

[Noah Milstein]

Post a video, please. You may be trying to fix something that ain't broke. Cueing-wise, you should just worry about pushing the bar up as hard and as far as you can. Mechanically, your elbows will finish locking before the scapulae are fully shrugged however cueing-wise that is not worth thinking about.

[hollismb]

If one just focuses on the shrug, most everything else sorts itself out.

[iamsmuts]

Post a video, please. You may be trying to fix something that ain't broke. Cueing-wise, you should just worry about pushing the bar up as hard and as far as you can. Mechanically, your elbows will finish locking before the scapulae are fully shrugged however cueing-wise that is not worth thinking about.

What about on the way down?

[Noah Milstein]

What about on the way down?

I honestly can't tell if you're trolling or not. Don't think about it. Ever. Seriously. This is a huge distraction. This question can only possibly have academic utility but it has zero training utility. Just lower the bar in a straight line. You can film yourself and/or look at footage of proficient lifters and then just make an empirical observation. I think you'll find that both the elbows and scapulae move with near simultaneity upon descent into the eccentric phase. This is very much like the eccentric on the squat or deadlift, near simultaneous movement at the hip and knee joints.

[iamsmuts]

I honestly can't tell if you're trolling or not. Don't think about it. Ever. Seriously. This is a huge distraction. This question can only possibly have academic utility but it has zero training utility. Just lower the bar in a straight line. You can film yourself and/or look at footage of proficient lifters and then just make an empirical observation. I think you'll find that both the elbows and scapulae move with near simultaneity upon descent into the eccentric phase. This is very much like the eccentric on the squat or deadlift, near simultaneous movement at the hip and knee joints.

No, I'm not trolling. I'm serious, though I know it sounds odd. My problem, although I haven't been able to press in a while, is that when I try to unshrug and lower at the same time my shoulder tends to get into an unstable position. It falls forward or something and crunches. If I unshrug and then bend my elbows, I seem to be able to keep my shoulders back and stable. Perhaps I just need to think "shoulders back" during the entire movement. When I can press again I'll see.

[Noah Milstein]

No, I'm not trolling. I'm serious, though I know it sounds odd. My problem, although I haven't been able to press in a while, is that when I try to unshrug and lower at the same time my shoulder tends to get into an unstable position. It falls forward or something and crunches. If I unshrug and then bend my elbows, I seem to be able to keep my shoulders back and stable. Perhaps I just need to think "shoulders back" during the entire movement. When I can press again I'll see.

Video, please. I would generally advise against thinking about this level of detail during the actual execution of the lift. It is greatly preferable to merely think about moving the bar up and down in a straight line. Video first, commentary later.