Press form check--too much lumbar extension?

[Tom Lang]

Rip himself once approved of my presses (the last Seattle Seminar--Jordan was the platform coach). But of course, form creeps, so I shot this to check:



This is the fifth set of five. My hips go forward and stay there. I kind of lean back to help get the bar over the top of my head. My head goes forward but my body does not. I suspect posture (desk jockey) and poor shoulder mobility are playing a role.

Nothing hurts when I press, and while my low back may feel tired afterwards, its not sore.

So, coaches, time to deload and re-build? Hit the posture repair/shoulder mob routines? Or are things not as bad as I think (I do have a tendency to be hard on myself)?

Thanks for looking.

Tom

[Karl Schudt]

Hi, Tom.

There's a few things I see:

1) Your elbows are too high. We want elbows slightly in front of the bar. Vertical forearms is the goal, and that happens when the bumpy bit (the olecranon process) is a little ahead of the bar. Get your elbows down, tucked at your sides a bit more. Tight armpits will help you get the bounce. I also want to check your grip width, which I suspect has drifted out wide.

2) You aren't getting much rebound. This is usually a problem in tightness in either the knees or abs, or both. Take a deep breath, hold it, and brace your abs like you are about to get punched. Then push your hips forward.

If I were you I'd go back and practice the routine in the book, around figure 3-17, Kindle location 1802--take the barbell in your hands, get tight armpits, and practice the hip movement. Your hips should rebound out of the tightness in the front of your body, and the barbell should bounce in your hands. Practice this with the empty bar until you can do it properly, so that you feel the bounce.

Then, chase the bounce to the ceiling and lock it out.

A small deload might be good as you re-learn this, but once you get it, the weight will fly up.