Press question

[shawnhunts]

I am using the app. I was supposed to press 43.5# 5x3 I could only do this set twice. The other 3 sets I failed to lift 3 I only pressed 1x. 5x3,5x3, 5x1,5x1, 5x1. I hope I am explaining this correctly.should I take a longer rest or reduce the weight for my next work out?

[Cheesepuff]

There are a lot of unknowns but let's start here.

The First Three Questions | Mark Rippetoe

Q1 is rest between sets. The article explains far better than me, but usually on Bench and the Press I can cut the rest to 2 to 3 minutes and get away with it. YMMV.

Q2. Weight jumps from last... Guessing your microloading. I'd repeat that weight next session, and consider smaller microplates. I'd look at these
2017 Microplates for Sale
but I have half pounders which allow 1 lb incr. Which was important for me after a rotator cuff tear.

Q3. Eating and Sleeping. Again, read this but it basically talks about how well you recover. As we age this is more challenging.


To be any more specific I'd probably need to know things.
Injuries?
M/F?
Weight?
how long in the program? How consistent?
Any pain?
Did you just feel tired or weak?

My answer is almost always in the Q3 section. Sleeping and eating effectively for recovery. Recovery is when you get stronger.

Hope that helps.

[shawnhunts]

Cheesepuff, thank you. New to the program novice,female,140#not tired nor feeling weak. The nlp is new to me but I have worked out with dumbbells before. My squat was 48.5 # and dl 91 IT IS THE UPPER BODY! I recently bought some flat washer ss that would allow me to go up 1# on each side. Maybe I will lower the weight and jump up in smaller increments. Thanks

[Nockian]

I am using the app. I was supposed to press 43.5# 5x3 I could only do this set twice. The other 3 sets I failed to lift 3 I only pressed 1x. 5x3,5x3, 5x1,5x1, 5x1. I hope I am explaining this correctly.should I take a longer rest or reduce the weight for my next work out?

Your doing 5 sets of 5 or 5 sets of 3 ?

I would suggest 3 sets of 5 repetitions, with 8 minutes between sets.

The press is a particularly tricky one for technique because it reverses the squat and deadlift for breathing/rest point. For the press the rest point is arms locked out overhead. So, get into the habit of breathing quickly out, then in at the lock out position. The press is quite explosive done correctly. Before us racking the bar the the shoulders get your body ready to push the bar up. Take a deep breath, valsalva, one step back, hinge from the hip and get the bar up and get underneath it as quickly as possible. Breath out with arms locked, deep breath in, valsalva, drop the bar straight down keeping everything tight and be thinking about pushing it back up as it falls to the shoulders. Don't let any slack into your body until the arms are locked out at the top of the rep.

As the other reply: you need micro weights for the press as it is the hardest lift to move forward and stalls quite quickly. I'm still on 80lbs as a 5'8" 57 year old male after 4 months of LP with a couple of set backs for illness. I move forward about 0.5kg at a time.

[shawnhunts]

Thank you

[skid]

I would recommend you keep doing sets of 3, and take your breath in at the bottom position. For a set of 3 I may only take one or two breaths. I never rest at the top, just a brief pause. Rest at the bottom.

I use a timer for all my rest periods no matter which lift I'm doing. For presses I take 3-5 minutes rest between sets depending on how much weight I'm using (175-225+)

You need to stay as tight as possible. Wear a belt, wrist wraps and weight lifting shoes if you have them.

Nockian is correct with respect to the press being an explosive lift. As the weights get heavy you need to push off your shoulders with as much force as possible.

[Mark E. Hurling]

Something to consider.

I have found that if I set up the rack for the bar slightly above where the bar will come to rest against my upper body, it gives me the chance to better set my layback. By this, I do not mean using the slight drop from the rack as an opportunity for an eccentric rebound, rather, a slight limbo under the bar.

[blues]

Something to consider.

I have found that if I set up the rack for the bar slightly above where the bar will come to rest against my upper body, it gives me the chance to better set my layback. By this, I do not mean using the slight drop from the rack as an opportunity for an eccentric rebound, rather, a slight limbo under the bar.

It's interesting how we all find ways to deal with the movements based upon our physical needs or the equipment we own.

I begin all of my pressing sets by cleaning the weight from the floor. I find that doing so seems to fire up the nerves / muscles and helps me concentrate on getting into the groove. Granted, if I were doing 200 lbs or more like some, I might have to rethink my methodology.

[Nockian]

I would recommend you keep doing sets of 3, and take your breath in at the bottom position. For a set of 3 I may only take one or two breaths. I never rest at the top, just a brief pause. Rest at the bottom.

I use a timer for all my rest periods no matter which lift I'm doing. For presses I take 3-5 minutes rest between sets depending on how much weight I'm using (175-225+)

You need to stay as tight as possible. Wear a belt, wrist wraps and weight lifting shoes if you have them.

Nockian is correct with respect to the press being an explosive lift. As the weights get heavy you need to push off your shoulders with as much force as possible.

3 reps X 3 or 3 reps x 5 ?

Interesting you rest at the bottom. I find that if I do that then the bounce is lost ? I've looked through the SS book and Rip doesn't explicitly say where to breath except for after unracking at the bottom. I follow the instructions given for the bench-which does say to breath/rest at the top. Definitely brief pause, but it's supposed to be a locked out squeeze so you can grab a quick out/inhale.

Blimey 225 for the press !!! That's almost as much as my DL.

[skid]

3 reps X 3 or 3 reps x 5 ?

Interesting you rest at the bottom. I find that if I do that then the bounce is lost ? I've looked through the SS book and Rip doesn't explicitly say where to breath except for after unracking at the bottom. I follow the instructions given for the bench-which does say to breath/rest at the top. Definitely brief pause, but it's supposed to be a locked out squeeze so you can grab a quick out/inhale.

I'm not sure of her programming regarding the number of sets (typically 3 for SS isn't it?), but sets of 3's work well for women. In her case she is only lifting the bar, so sets of 3 are probably going to work best for her. Frankly I would recommend some additional dumbbell work too for sets of 6-8 reps for hypertrophy.

Regarding breathing, if I'm pressing lighter weights for say 5 reps, I'll typically hold my breath for 2-3 reps, then another breath at the bottom to finish. My bench is opposite. Rest/breathing is at the top.