Bagsy's Training Log

I think the key to pressing is just to push harder.

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That advice works well for me for bench but not so much for press :slight_smile:

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Whilst I think you were maybe jesting a little here, I think this is exactly it. How do you prime your upper body and keep it tight to explode the bar up those first 3-4 inches, after that its just keep pushing. Its the set up and the initial movement that makes or breaks it. I think press can be a lot more technical than people think.

It is indeed more technical, it just only seems to really become so when you are nearing your max. Those last little bits of priming your muscles, getting your air and finding the best position can make the difference between total failure and relatively easy success.

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I have to press 65x5 next week, and I’m not confident at all. I know that’s defeatist, but without fail I always stall at the same measly weights year after year. I know, now I need to try push pressing for the first time in years to see if that helps. After next week. But besides that I genuinely don’t know

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C2W2D2

3x15 dips + some band pull aparts

3x3 jumps

Front squat
35x5
90x5
105x5
115x5
90x5x10

SA BB Row 55x15 (PR), 45x12

KB swing 27kgx40

My legs felt pretty dead today for some reason – maybe from hauling heavy groceries yesterday – but I think my top set moved like light weight, which was cool. And despite the fatigue I cruised through the BBB sets. 125x5 front squat next week will be a PR.

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4 hill sprints followed by 1 mile run in 8:10. Super hot and humid, close to 100 degrees. A thunderstorm made me cut the sprints short. I made it back just in time, and now I’m taking cover at work until it (hopefully) blows over so I can go home.

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I woke up earlier than expected and did something. Honestly, I had time to do my bench workout, but schedule-wise I rather push upper and lower to Wednesday and Thursday. I know I will be too wrecked tomorrow to train at all.

3 mile run 24:20
3x7 pullups
50 band pull aparts

Worked up to 85x1 push press after some volume with 70 and 75. I haven’t push pressed in years. I figured it can’t hurt to practice a bit before I start programming it after this cycle. It looks slow and awkward but good enough to me. I really thought I could press 90 for a single based on how 85 moved, but that was a no go multiple times.

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If I may offer some advice: You’re not getting as much out of your legs as you could. The dip is too deep and you can practically see some hesitation
The drive is not snappy enough (think about jumping or throwing the barbell through the damn ceiling!)

I would recommend pushing your knees more outwards and maybe assuming a little bit of a wider stance for starters.

Yeah, I thought likewise after watching all of the clips. Not that I was ever technically gifted at anything overhead, but when I say I haven’t push pressed in years, I mean it!

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Awesome. That will help you grow that pesky press. PP has a lot of technique (from my limited experience) and thus you will progress quickly. Then you’ll be so used to that heavy load overhead your strict press will grow like magic.

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Tabata assault bike 42.6 cal PR
50 band pull aparts

Surprising given how beat up I’ve been since Saturday. I went to a show for the first time in 1.5 years, and it feels like the self which the pandemic killed came back to life. I take several hobbies seriously, but I would if it were live music versus everything else in life, I would pick the former. Something else cool was that I wore a dress that day I hadn’t tried on again since two years ago, and I definitely noticed upper body progress. It was tighter in the shoulders and back but in the right way. So maybe I’ve stayed 90% the same instead of 100% after all…

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I sure hope so. Not that I’ve been lifting for that long, but if this doesn’t work, then I am close to running out of ideas.

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C2W2D3

65 pullups

Bench
35x5
72.5x3
82.5x3
92.5x8
72.5x17

Standing ab wheel progression 2x10
15 dragon flags

SA KB Press top shell+3kgx11,10,8,6

70 band pullaparts

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Elbows were high and the bar too far in your fingers, like a jerk IMHO. Also leg dip was too deep and slow. But otherwise very solid. PP can be merciless if you misgroove just a tiny bit. I have missed reps at a weight that I normally rep like 5 times…

My rpess has been up nicely and what helped was high volume work on the upper body + core work.

But then I saw this

and I think your core is just fine :joy:

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Thanks for weighing in. Yeah, the front rack is comfortable mobility-wise for me, so I guess that’s why I gravitated toward it. I will try to improve technically per suggestions from here and probably Brian Alsruhe, but more than anything my hope is that simply putting something heavier than usual overhead will help drive my strict press in some way.

I don’t think my volume is too terribly high in either of those areas, but I like to think that it is “enough” to at least make some progress on pressing within a year’s time span. :roll_eyes:

I also don’t think I have a distinctly strong or weak core :woman_shrugging:

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maybe he was just saying it is fine :wink:

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I agree with him.

now I am not sure if you got the inference in my statement, in which case good response. If not then I need to get better at communicating via a keyboard. LOL

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Yeah I meant more than fine, standing ab wheels and dragonflies are among the hardest abs exercises there is