I don’t disagree with what you are saying, I’m not advising anyone to completely neglect OHP. But at the same time, more focus on benching is probably going to help the bench rather than 50/50 bp/ohp. It all comes down to what your goals are, and even if he’s not going to become a competitive powerlifter there is no harm in doing a little more benching than overhead pressing.
I ran 5/3/1 a couple years ago, all my lifts made significant improvements EXCEPT bench. It seems like some people simply get better carryover from OHP than others, could have to do with technique or natural predisposition for certain muscles to be stronger (if your delts are weak then OHP will probably help). The times that I saw the biggest increases in my bench I was doing little or no overhead pressing. I don’t think I could OHP half of my bench max right now.
On a similar note, what do you think of high incline press for building both bench and OHP? I know it was a staple exercise back when the clean and press was a competition lift in weightlifting and I have seen videos of Zydrunas Savickas doing it on a smith machine. Sheiko also programs those, and I’m not aware of him ever programming OHP for anyone (I might be wrong).
this is the part I disagree with, at least for some people, including myself. It DID harm me. My range of motion suffered significantly by neglecting the OHP, and I’ve spent the last year trying to fix it with little success. For a non-competitive powerlifter, or a low level lifter, I think the OHP has significantly more overall value over a lifetime of lifting.That’s why I, personally, would want to see more OHP than bench for most people. If you absolutely KNEW (and very few people are in this position, even high level powerlifters) that all you were ever going to try to compete in was powerlifting, then I’d certainly be on your side of the argument. My point is not overhead press helps your bench press MORE than practicing bench press. Just to be clear. My bench press got very good (elite) when I focused almost exclusively on it. But it came with a price I shouldn’t have paid.
I like high incline press, particularly with a log, for my sport. I think it’s a good supplemental exercise. It’s also really good on a machine. I LOVE machine pressing for strict hypertrophy/static strength work. Good solid shoulder builder.
What sort of mobility issues are you talking about? I recall reading something that mentioned totally neglecting overhead work and benching a lot can potentially cause certain rotator cuff muscles to shorten and cause pain and reduced ROM, but I’m not aware of anyone who has this issue. Usually it’s people neglecting any kind of upper body pulling/external rotation and getting shoulder pain as a result. Personally, I rarely include OHP in my training, although I do incline more often, and I have no mobility issues. I don’t think I could do a proper snatch, but I’m not about to try anyway.
As for the OP, there’s certainly no harm with doing a lot of overhead pressing. At worst, you won’t see a huge increase in your bench. On the other hand, you might. And either way, strong shoulders are never a weakness, so press away.
I can’t put my hands directly overhead. I have a forward/inward rotation issue that is a direct result of benching. A lot of powerlifters have this problem. Good strongmen do not have it.
I have some similar shoulder issues it sounds like. For example, if I’m laying back in a recliner watching TV I’m unable to clasp my hands behind my head without pain/discomfort.
doorway stretches, I’ve been told, can help. But IDK. If I had a good way to fix it, I would have done it by now. My coach has suggested waiters carries, focusing on a shoulder shrug.
Hey man for quite a while I had SUPER tight pecs/shoulders/triceps/lats/upperback from all the benching in HS and college.
It took me about a good 6 months before I could put my hands overhead fully stretched out with no movement from my ribs.
What helped me was basically everyday:
-50 Shoulder dislocates with the broomstick keeping arms straight
-50 Close Grip Overhead Squats with a broomstick
-Trap stretch
-Behind the back hands clasp stretch (use a towel if you can’t reach)
-Hang from the pull up bar flexing abs and pushing head through
-25 Kettlebell 2 handed overhead squat. → This one in particular REALLY opens up your shoulders and thoracic spine after doing all the other stuff.
All of this takes about 10-15 minutes.
If you do all these for 6 months everyday, you will be able to put your hands directly overhead. Now snatches keep my shoulder super mobile, but in the beginning it was struggle.
I can’t physically do this. My shoulders will not dislocate. Wish I could, I used to be able to.
I also can’t perform an overhead squat, even with a broomstick. This is why I’m starting with just waiters carries.
can’t clas my hands behind my back. the towel is a good idea.
I do the hangs, haven’t ever seen results from that. It feels like a good stretch though, that’s why I keep doing them.
definitely can’t do a kb oh squat
So this is why it’s such a difficult problem for me. There are so many of these basic human movements that I can’t perform, and I haven’t developed a clear path to get from where I am to these.
Proper stick dislocates. Emphasis on proper. Shrug up with your shoulders when your hands are overhead. When the stick hits the sticking point, hang out there for 10-20 seconds. Great pec stretch which is usually a major contributing issue with overhead mobility. Don’t over due with a narrow grip. Take it slow, start wide.
Hangs with emphasis on external rotation of your shoulder and lat complex.
Tom Morrison just released a good article, check that out.
Make sure you shrug up when you’re clearing the top of your head on dislocates. It’s supposed to be slow and deliberate. Everyone fucks up this movement.
Overhead mobility takes time, you’re just really glued down. Best to open up prior to training then open up again post training.
Biggest game changers for me have been:
Doing dislocates right.
Prone swimmers
Lying on my back with a foam roller under my upper back and holding a KB at the base with my hands directly behind me basically on the ground. Activate abs/core.
After a ton of trial and error, what worked for me was pretty simple. My warm ups always included rolling my mid upper back, thoracic extension on the roller at several points, and snow angels.
For the snow angels, feet up by your butt so your lower back is pressed on the ground. Try and keep you arms and hands in contact with the ground. For a month or so, my hands would come off the ground as my arms moved past shoulder level. My right hand still hoovers about and inch off the ground at the top.
I would also apply traction by attaching a band to the top of my rack and hand/wrist. I’d move around through different angles, oscillating through tight spots. I did this between warm up sets of pressing and squatting.
I would end most workouts with pec stretching. Basically hang out in the bottom portion of a chest fly, but moving my hands towards my hips or head to find the tight spots and just relax into the stretch. I’d sometimes do these between squat warm-ups as well. Use very light DBs.
I used a safety squat bar for years because I could not squat under a regular bar, or even a camber bar. Gradually moved up to the camber bar as things got better. Now using a regular bar. After a couple decades with bad shoulders, I’ve been issue free for at least two years. I don’t do much of the above mobility work anymore, but I do just as much OHP as I do benching. My shoulders have never felt better at 41 years old.
I wish I would have prioritized OHP 25 years ago. I could have saved two wrestling and football seasons, reconstructive surgery and two+ decades of issues.