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Well, I intend to start next week, and have a problem with these 2 exercies. I don’t feel comfortable with throwing a barbell over my head, and the gym is usually over-crowded… Are there any other exercies I could do instead? Thanks.
Would you be more comfortable with incline or military press?
Just keep the loads light to start and get used to it, its really not that scary
Well, if you’re not afraid to get squished under a bench press, you certainly need not be afraid of a push press. Heck, I do snatches, and even if I don’t complete the lift, I still don’t get accidents.
How crowded is your gym that you can’t do overhead work?
[quote]undeadlift wrote:
Well, if you’re not afraid to get squished under a bench press, you certainly need not be afraid of a push press. Heck, I do snatches, and even if I don’t complete the lift, I still don’t get accidents.[/quote]
i’ve seen o lifters get away from lost snatches various ways, whats the recommended technique? (and do you do something different!)
Who said I’m not afraid of barbell bench press? Are there no viable alternatives? :X And at times it’s really crowded, can barely get a bench.
Dumbbells might make you feel safer. But yeah, you should just man up and not drop the bar on your head.
use your fear to your advantage 
[quote]gswork wrote:
undeadlift wrote:
Well, if you’re not afraid to get squished under a bench press, you certainly need not be afraid of a push press. Heck, I do snatches, and even if I don’t complete the lift, I still don’t get accidents.
i’ve seen o lifters get away from lost snatches various ways, whats the recommended technique? (and do you do something different!)[/quote]
Well, I snatch lift less than my BW so I could press it out if I miss it. I think push presses are safer than snatch press-outs.
[quote]Mosho wrote:
Who said I’m not afraid of barbell bench press? Are there no viable alternatives? :X And at times it’s really crowded, can barely get a bench.[/quote]
You’re afraid of bench presses too?
Well, if you’re afraid of hitting someone when you push press, think of it this way: nobody should be stupid enough being too near you when you’re doing push presses. If they get hit, it’s most probably their fault.
The OP’s gym is probably like mine. There really is no place to do OH lifts safely. I do them any way but if I have to dump the bar behind me the guy doing leg curls is going to get hurt, not me. I just have to make sure I’m not in the position that I have to dump the bar. That’s the main reason I don’t do snatches.
I don’t see that much of a problem.
If you miss a push press, simply let the bar come down under control until it is in the starting position again. Do them in front of a mirror so you can watch your back or with your back facing a wall so nobody can come too close without you being able to see him.
For cleans, do hang cleans and catch the bar in the starting position if you miss one.
Bench: Ask for a spot or use dumbbells.
I use dumbbells for bench and overhead presses a lot because I usually work out alone and don’t have a spot.
However not having a spot with military press or push press isn’t that big of a deal. If you can’t finish the rep just let the weight back down infront of you. It isn’t like bench press where you are pinned if you get stuck.