My Quest for the "Bodyweight OHP"

Bigger Stronger Leaner
21

Here is a good video which shows the shoulder shelf position.

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22

I was thinking the same thing, the back unsupported is closer to the actual standing press, but I see your point about overloading, with support.

23

Ill add

for overall approach this is very good


also periodically doing tons of triceps work coming up juuust short of royally pissing off your elbows seems to really help.
Band pressdowns fast/semi-explosive for 5x20 and these below have good carryover


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24

There are benefits to both, but since the seated press was my main pressing work rather than supplemental work due to my ACL surgery at the time, I wanted to keep it as close to my competition lift as possible.

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25

Oh im all over this, trust me. I have good sized triceps compared to my biceps.

Thank you to everyone who pitched in.

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26

I finally got to a body weight OHP by doing one back exercise four days a week not to failure. My lat shelf needed to be bigger and stronger. DB seal rows are my personal favorite exercise but I did lat pull downs , pull-ups and rows as well.

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27

Pulling motions from different directions, a ton of volume on overhead pressing, and a lot of dips. Tonight is my last day of my 2nd run through of building the monolith. This program has helped my overhead press immensely and its due to a heavy emphasis on pull ups, dips, and overhead pressing.

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28

Dips seem to be a common one, and one that I have definitely been neglecting. So I have a good idea of where I need to start.

With dips, does your ROM build up over time? I feel like my ROM is not very good, but I still get a decent pump. I am weary of straining the front of my shoulder.

Trying to keep good form by keeping elbows tucked in.

29

I’d love to hit this goal myself. Tabled it for competition lifts, so might revisit this goal again in the future.

Last year, I changed the parameters to include push press and hit 185x2. But I havent strict pressed anything more than 140 or 145x3

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30

Just use a ROM that’s comfortable and allows you to get benefit from it. Also, do not live in fear of getting injured. It’s going to happen if you’re lifting for long enough. Do things that don’t injure yourself, and be smart about what to do/what not to do. Just use common sense.

31

Brian Alsruhe actually mentioned doing push presses to get the body used to putting heavy weight overhead. Should transfer really well to your strict.

Lots of good points here

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32

Oh I have learned this lesson. I have had my share of injuries, probably due to bad form more than anything.

I suspect the more I do the dips, the better my ROM will get, it already has improved by a few inches.

33

I have a strict clean and press of 145-150 at 160 pounds BW. Learn how to use your belt and lay back into the press. Squeeze your ass like you’re in prison taking a shower, and don’t be afraid to grind out reps. My press was stuck for a year.

34

I’m doing this without a belt. I don’t know if I should have said that before.

I just learned the “tight armpits” cue from AT on YT.

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35

Buy a belt, you’ll be good for more weight. You’ll also get stronger faster.

36

I know at some point I will get a belt, but I am not there yet. I want to build as much as I can without the belt.

I think its mostly mental for me, I want to know how much I can do without the belt. (I do wear wrist wraps for higher weights though)

37

Do you take a false grip? That helps me.

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38

I have and I also noticed I felt I could lift heavier. But I always sided with caution and just used thumb around.

I have a rack so I’ll try throwing that in the mix and see what happens.

39

Personally, I suck at unracking presses. I do better when I clean the bar up and press from there. I’m better able to pack my lats and glutes.

40

I had the exact same goal with a similar weight. Precisely because this seemed like my worst lift with terrible genetic talent in traps, shoulders and arms my goal seemed daunting in the beginning. OHP is, after all, and in contrast to oly lifting where technique can get even a scrawny dude to move big weights, maybe the worst compound lift in terms of autoprogression. It simply does not seem to improve much on its own.

Roidheads are no help here because with vitamin s seems made for OHP gainz. From what I’ve seen over the years, most naturals definitely don’t see easy weightjumps that often happen with bench or squat just with consistency.

After fooling around for a few weeks with 5x5ish stuff, I knew I needed something different because progress was minimal. A high volume approach seemed prudent and thus I browsed the T-Nation site for a night until I had what I needed.
The core of this program served me well:

(this is Tim H.'s version of a Thibaudeau program which is linked inside. Read both versions thoroughly!)

Obviously, I changed Bench to OHP and the various exercises that go with it. Sunday was my 3 mini-trainings-in-one-day event, which was quite something.
All in all, it did take me about 2 months starting from more or less where you were (about 60kg). I ate like a horse, slept well, did barely supplement with protein if I did not munch enough. This dedication led me to almost miss my target because my own weight went up a few kilos! Then the evening came where I simply felt I had more in the tank although it was not a PR day.
I used no pins btw and had to clean the bitch up everytime which has pros and cons, but definitely shocks your nervous system so you are maybe a bit more focused.
The taste of success was maybe the sweetest in terms of lifting satisfaction!

Good Pressing, Alphagunner.

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