Ok, I tried posting this in your Indigo-3G log, but it tells me that I don’t have sufficient privileges to do so.
So forum, please excuse me for making a whole thread about it:
I noticed you have some problems with the seated front press CT has you doing… I have similar issues with the same bench/rack setup when using a bench with a tall backrest…
It’s not just that you haven’t done the thing in a while, it’s the entire setup there that’s problematic for guys who aren’t particularly tall etc.
As in, the head gets in the way (because the bench backrest is too high for your build) at the bottom so you have to turn it aside (which makes the whole thing awkward as hell as it’s hard to keep both shoulders doing exactly the same thing, spine follows head) and you tend to end up with the bar in front of your elbows, thus making you weak and reliant on your external rotators at the bottom end of the range of motion when pressing…
I also prefer it when the bar starts above and maybe slightly behind me (can’t you guys put the bench IN the rack?)
TBH that’s a horrible setup for the front press for guys with a particular build…
There are a few things you can do to fix that and make the movement less awkward… But I don’t know if those are possible with the equipment you guys have at the Biotest Gym.
One would be the obvious thing: A bench with a shorter backrest so that it doesn’t get in the way of your head. But if you don’t have that, there’s another way:
One thing you absolutely need for this is a bench that is somehow fixed to the ground though. (no way around it, you need to be able to push with your feet and the bench must not move when you do that)
You can see branch warren do this sort of thing (sure he uses more body english and all, but you get the idea…
He does use a bench with a short backrest, but the same thing works with a tall backrest as well, you just need to lift yourself up on the bench with your legs a bit, then keep pushing through your legs and make sure you press your upper back into the bench and bring your chest up at least when the bar comes down… That way, your lower back will not bear the weight of the bar… If you do this, you can get your head out of the way because you are higher on the bench and use a good bit more weight too and a much more comfortable bar-path (makes it easy to press back over your head like CT tells you to)…
Just keep your elbows slightly in at the bottom if necessary so they never end up behind the bar during the movement… Though if you set up right, you should be able to keep them mostly flared):
Watch from 5 min onwards and see how he pushes himself up with his legs etc:
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x1ipv4_branch-warren-shoulders-part-one_sport
Branch likes to keep the elbows in more than most, but it’s entirely possible to flare them too.
Your thighs can still “grab” (throttle?) the seat esp. if the front of it is elevated like you can do on most incline benches…
Hope the explanation makes sense.
Sorry for the wall of text… I saw your vid and it just struck me that we have the exact same issue, so yeah.
Maybe this will help you.
Apart from strength loss and awkwardness of the setup you’ve been using, a more pressing issue is that if you constantly end up with the bar in front of your elbows and thus put stress on your external rotators with a lot of weight, they may become very tight (esp. with the sheer amount of pressing CT tends to have people do) and you’ll end up with posterior shoulder pain (had it, annoying as hell, puts an end to your pressing for 2+ weeks).
If you fix that slight technique issue at least, your shoulders should remain free of that particular injury even with the added pressing volume (I learned all this the hard way when I originally tried some of CT’s IBB stuff).
