On the log, I’m really not sure, I’ve just been training with a thick-bar because I don’t have an axle or a log, nevertheless, my 1RM is 245 and I’m breaking PR’s every week.
Hmmmm… perhaps I will add in Savickas presses as an assistance to my OHP day for 5/3/1… Anyone trying that?
Doing ladders 3 times a week brought my one arm military press strength from 80s to 100s in about 8 weeks. Volume is key (at least for me).
The other thing that helped (besides overhead pressing of course) was the application of heavy tricep exercises. Weighted Dips and Jerks are useful for this.
My presses in regular sucked hard compared to squats/deadlifts. So the past 6-7 months I’ve spent a lot of time and effort on them.
- know your 1RM on both the bench press and log/push press
- Take 70-75% of that and do 5 sets of 5 reps with that weight.
- Train the presses twice a week with at least 2 days of not pressing in between.
- When you succeed at the 5x5 with the weight increase it with 2,5kg the following week
- If you do not succeed for 2 consecutive weeks drop the weight by 5kg and start again
- Do the 5x5 phase for 4 weeks, 5th week is a de-load. So take half of the weights you’d normally use and do around 15reps for 3-4 sets with it.
- After the De-load take the weight you finished the 5x5 phase with, add 2,5kg and resume with 3x3 instead.
- When you’ve done 4 weeks with 3x3 it is time to use the 5th week to set new PR’s.
- After setting PR’s take another De-load week and use your new 1RM’s to calculate your new 5x5 phase and repeat.
- Keep rest intervals between the 5x5/3x3 sets around 3-5minutes
My work-out looked like…
Flat Barbel Bench Press
3-4 warm up sets followed by the 5x5/3x3 work sets
Log Press
2 warm up/feeler sets followed by the 5x5/3x3 work sets
Close Grip Bench Press - 3 or 4 sets with 6-8reps
Incline Bench Press - 3 or 4 sets with 6-8reps
DB Hammer Curl - 3 or 4 sets with 6-8reps
In the beginning you might experience pains and noticing weaknesses with your bench press other then the chest. You’d be suprised how weak the upper back, bicep brachialis, front schoulders etc can be. So the first month or so you’ll probably be fixing a lot of weak points before actually increasing noticably strength.
The Overhead Press after the flat bench is tough. Your shoulders and triceps will be fatigued already. This will “force” you to learn how to use more leg drive instead of fully relying on the shoulder/triceps. With this alone you can add between 20-40kg on a press when done right. And if you can do a heavy log press when pre-fatigued then competition lifting would be a lot easier. Especially since you’ll be fatigued in competition as well. Log Presses usually aren’t one of the first events.
Close Grip Bench Press and Incline Benches are assistance excercises to blast your triceps and shoulders further into oblivion. And some Hammer curls with dumbells or log will add a lot to a strong press, the stones and more. But in the first few months it mind be wise to leave the hammer curl out of the work-out. It was a weakness for me, but benching alone improved that by far. Doing additional Hammer Curls only gave me injuries during that period.
Yes they are. In the US, the press is almost always the first event, and overseas, the press is usually the first or second event.
There’s a good article by Bill Starr
recap: dips will help your OH press.
work up to 4x20 bodyweight then work up to heavy weighted dips (like bodyweight + 100 lbs.) varying the weight/rep schemes to work the connective tissue (low reps/high weight) and muscle strength/endurance (higher reps lower added weight).
Also, “press starts” similar to isometric pushing up into pins. Load the bar with weight you can’t press (like 1RM + 10%-35%) and press it a few inches off your shoulders 3x3 reps.
my $0.02:
dips and pressing from the shoulders (not starting with bar at eye level/elbows at 90 degrees like most bros do on the seated military press) work your shoulders in a range of motion that gets the connective tissues and muscles in the shoulder girdle nice and healthy. Makes sense that this works because you then have a more stable platform for your primary mover muscles to pull from when pressing.
Edit: link was removed. If you want to read the article, look around on starting strength.
Would a dynamic speed day help shoulder pressing strength as much as it does in the other lifts?
I too would like to increase shoulder press and was wondering if anyone has done this before or something like it ?
[quote]fitzz wrote:
Would a dynamic speed day help shoulder pressing strength as much as it does in the other lifts?
I too would like to increase shoulder press and was wondering if anyone has done this before or something like it ?[/quote]
I just started to do this 2 weeks or so ago. 1 DE day and then my heavy log/axle day. I can’t give you a real defined answer but I know someone who has had success with this- hence why I am giving it a try.
Varies per person. Try it out for 2 months and see what it does. For me personally it doesn’t do a thing.
[quote]coolnatedawg wrote:
[quote]fitzz wrote:
Would a dynamic speed day help shoulder pressing strength as much as it does in the other lifts?
I too would like to increase shoulder press and was wondering if anyone has done this before or something like it ?[/quote]
I just started to do this 2 weeks or so ago. 1 DE day and then my heavy log/axle day. I can’t give you a real defined answer but I know someone who has had success with this- hence why I am giving it a try.[/quote]
Not sure if I’m the guy Nate’s referring to, but like I told him, I’m having success with a speed day doing strict presses and then working up to a max event OH on another day.
[quote]threewhitelights wrote:
[quote]coolnatedawg wrote:
[quote]fitzz wrote:
Would a dynamic speed day help shoulder pressing strength as much as it does in the other lifts?
I too would like to increase shoulder press and was wondering if anyone has done this before or something like it ?[/quote]
I just started to do this 2 weeks or so ago. 1 DE day and then my heavy log/axle day. I can’t give you a real defined answer but I know someone who has had success with this- hence why I am giving it a try.[/quote]
Not sure if I’m the guy Nate’s referring to, but like I told him, I’m having success with a speed day doing strict presses and then working up to a max event OH on another day. [/quote]
Haha. I didn’t want to just throw your name out there but I figured you’d pick up on it.
I meant to ask you- on your DE OH day, what kind of rep ranges are you using for your supplemental? I find I keep working up to something heavy in the 3-5 range, like incline DB or DB floor press or something…
As mentioned, any supramaximal overhead work–jerks, push press, etc.
What really helped me was overhead pressing from the top of the head, touch-and-go sort of like a board OHP. If you keep the bar directly overhead the stress really stays on the triceps and lets you use more weight than on SOHP, and just bring it down until it makes (light) contact with the top of your head.
I’ve had success with a “speed” day as well, but I suspect that it is not the dynamic work that helped but rather the extra volume reinforces neural patterns and improves technique…perhaps calling it a “light” day would be more appropriate for me.
Remember, OHP is technique, technique, technique…make sure it isn’t your form that is holding you back
if you want to press more … you need to press more. press everyday. press multiple times per day. i’m pretty sure anyone can achieve at the bare minimum a bodyweight strict standing press.
i’ve done things like backsquat to (push) press without a stop between the squat and press. jerk doubles, jerk triples without dropping the weight. muscle snatches. these things all help but you should keep pressing if you want a big press. the press is not the bench. it’s hard to overwork it.
[quote]coolnatedawg wrote:
[quote]threewhitelights wrote:
[quote]coolnatedawg wrote:
[quote]fitzz wrote:
Would a dynamic speed day help shoulder pressing strength as much as it does in the other lifts?
I too would like to increase shoulder press and was wondering if anyone has done this before or something like it ?[/quote]
I just started to do this 2 weeks or so ago. 1 DE day and then my heavy log/axle day. I can’t give you a real defined answer but I know someone who has had success with this- hence why I am giving it a try.[/quote]
Not sure if I’m the guy Nate’s referring to, but like I told him, I’m having success with a speed day doing strict presses and then working up to a max event OH on another day. [/quote]
Haha. I didn’t want to just throw your name out there but I figured you’d pick up on it.
I meant to ask you- on your DE OH day, what kind of rep ranges are you using for your supplemental? I find I keep working up to something heavy in the 3-5 range, like incline DB or DB floor press or something…[/quote]
I like to hit a heavy accessory after my DE movement, usually for sets of 5. I like 3 sets of 5 or 5 sets of 5, every so often I work to a max set of 5. Typically it’s something more chest/tri oriented, for example last week was floor press to a max 5, this week was incline DB press for 6’s.
Overall, I try to get more volume and speed on my DE day and push the weight on ME day. I don’t worry too much about hitting reps like in a contest since I have an extra workout where I push up the reps with sets of 3-6 minutes. This is what Louie told me to do, and this is what is pushing both my maxes and my rep weights.
Right now, I’m experimenting with adding in strict press variations to my ME rotation, I’ll let you know what I think when I’m done.
Yeah my strict press seems lagging. its only like 55% or so of my bench…anyone know what a pretty normal percentage would be for SP to BP?
Mine is right around the same.
Strict pressing around 195ish, probably only benching around 275ish… guess that gives me 70%, and I don’t really train my bench except as an accessory movement.
Lets not forget about rotator cuff work. Chain only as strong as weakest link
[quote]musicma1n1 wrote:
I did a ton of volume and got my log from 180 to 240 in 4 sessions. I did 10 sets of 10 reps every session. Volume was thing that really did and still does do it for the log for me. It helps get me along the learning curve and get the feel for the log faster.[/quote]
10x10 is great for mass…and increasing your strength in doing 10x10. I wouldn’t get your hopes up for it helping your max.
[quote]mallen5 wrote:
[quote]musicma1n1 wrote:
I did a ton of volume and got my log from 180 to 240 in 4 sessions. I did 10 sets of 10 reps every session. Volume was thing that really did and still does do it for the log for me. It helps get me along the learning curve and get the feel for the log faster.[/quote]
10x10 is great for mass…and increasing your strength in doing 10x10. I wouldn’t get your hopes up for it helping your max.
[/quote]
Haha only great for mass? Oh boy, I don’t want to do anything that only gives me “mass”.