The barbell press is a tricky movement. There are many components to it, and multiple ways to perform the lift. You can push press, strict press, military press, or use the Starting Strength method of pressing where you bounce the bar before pressing it up. There are two approaches to applying the Starting Strength press. The first rendition of the movement involves allowing the bar to bounce off your shoulder, chest, and arm musculature as the bar descends between reps. This allows the lifter to build momentum in the bar, in an effort to get the next repetition. The newer version of the movement, is lovingly referred to as the press 2.0. This article will address a specific issue lifters may face with the press 2.0.
The press 2.0 will from this point in the article be referred to only as the press. In the press, the lifter is still attempting to bounce the bar. However, this method of initiating the bounce comes from an action of the hips. Let us begin with the starting position of the press, as outlined in the Starting Strength blue book. The following position is referred to as the rack position. The lifter un-racks the bar. They take a grip that is shoulder width with a stance that is wider than their squat stance. The wrists are in a neutral position with the elbow tips slightly forward of the bar so that forearms are vertical when they are viewed from the side. From this position, the lifter must stand in an anatomically straight position. Where the hips and knees are locked out and the chest is in thoracic extension. At this point the lifter is ready to brace. They must lock their legs so the knees cannot bend, and brace their midsection so the torso is rigid.
From this position the lifter is ready for the hip movement. To move the bar, they must reach their hips forward without releasing the contraction in the abs and legs. When done correctly the lifters hips will return to the rack position with no additional input by the lifter. Consequently, the lifter will feel the tightening sensation similar to a stretch in their hip flexors. If the lifter is not experiencing either of these affects, they are most likely either not retaining the contraction of either the abs, the legs, or both. Another common cause may be that the lifter has not moved the hips far enough forward to experience the stretch in the hip flexors. When all of these things are done correctly the bar will bounce without any force exerted on the bar from the lifters arms. It is during this bounce that we will address a difficult to correct issue.
Many lifters when bouncing the bar will develop a loop in the bar path before the bar even begins to go upward. As with any of the other lifts, our desire for efficiency necessitates a vertical bar path. It should therefore be obvious that a loop in the bar path is a waste of effort on the part of the lifter and something that is in need of correcting. Additionally, it should be noted that, the loop is not the result of a poorly timed press in conjunction with the bounce. The loop is likely the result of a misapplication of the cue “squeeze your armpits”, or a misinterpretation of how to position the elbows in the rack position.
Although squeezing your armpits in the press may be useful for incredibly heavy weights, most likely, you are not pressing more than your body weight for multiple reps. If you are, then feel free to disregard this article and do whatever you like. If you are not, this may be helpful for you.
When you clench your armpits tight, in the press you are restricting the ability of your shoulder joint to articulate freely. If the goal of the movement is to have an efficient and vertical bar path, then the bar path when the bar bounces should travel directly downwards before traveling directly upwards. When you clench your armpits in this movement, you effectively carry the bar backwards with you as your face moves back and clear of the path of the bar. This rearward movement, when combined with a load that wants to go straight downward, creates a new resultant trajectory. When clenched, the armpits lock the arms to the torso and pull the bar rearward with the lifter, perpendicular to the gravity vector, while the force of gravity continues to pull the bar straight downwards. In conjunction, these two opposing directions of travel cause the bar to loop and curve rearward and downward from the static starting position the lifter began at. As a result, when the lifter attempts to press the bar upward it instead shoots outwards and upwards, away from the gravity vector and the intended direction of travel, then forward of the midfoot balance position. (I would here reiterate, that if the load is heavy enough, the bar is going to go straight down regardless of what the armpits are doing).
To fix this issue the lifter should refocus their efforts away from clenching their armpits. In some cases it is sufficient to tell the lifter to “let the bar bounce straight down”. Other good cues may be to have the lifter keep their elbow tips pointed at the floor as their hips move or to “relax their shoulders”. This cue works especially well in conjunction with a tactile reinforcement. But I have found, for the extremely hard cases, the lifter should instead focus on an exaggerated position of thoracic extension. Most of the time this forces the lifter to be so focused on keeping their chest up, that they are forced to relax their shoulders. This in turn, will enable the lifter to articulate the shoulder joint more freely, allowing the bar to drop straight down when the hips move forwards.
By: Greg Herman
Barbell/Strength Coach
Owner of Traditional Strength in Edmond, OK
