Push Press 101: Basics for Beginners
Table of Contents
What Is a Push Press
A Push Press, being a slightly more athletic maneuver, involves more of the body compared to an overhead press. This is due to the fact that it integrates the power from your legs to assist in lifting the weight, which means you'll likely be able to handle more weight than you usually would in a strict overhead press.
How to Push Press
Begin by standing with your feet shoulder-width apart. Position a barbell at shoulder height with an overhand grip. Your palms should face forward, and your elbows should be pointing towards the floor while staying ahead of the bar.
Bend your knees slightly, keeping your back straight and your chest up. This is the dip phase of the push press. Make sure your core is engaged and your body is braced for the lift.
Using the power generated from your lower body, explosively extend your knees and hips to propel the barbell upwards. The force from this movement should help you push the barbell upwards.
As the barbell is rising, quickly extend your arms to press the barbell above your head until your arms are fully extended. Your head should be in a neutral position or slightly forward to allow the barbell to pass.
Lower the barbell back to your shoulders in a controlled manner while simultaneously bending your knees slightly to absorb the impact. This is your starting position for the next rep. Remember to maintain good form throughout the exercise to avoid injuries.
Push Press Works What Muscles
The push press is a compound movement that engages multiple muscle groups, including:
Planning On Incorporating a Push Press to Your Workout Plan
Including a push press in your regimen could serve as an excellent supplementary exercise in an Olympic weightlifting program or provide a refreshing change from your usual overhead press.
It could enable you to enhance your volume with a weight you may otherwise struggle to lift overhead for a specific number of reps. Furthermore, by carefully managing the eccentric (lowering) phase of the movement, you could effectively overload your muscles and potentially overcome a stalemate in your progress with the strict overhead press.
Are You Ready for the Push Press?
Two factors need to be taken into consideration before performing the Push Press. The first is prior to being ready to perform the push press, you need to master the clean. The second aspect is to consider is the descent phase, especially when you start to get tired. It's crucial to safely lower the weights to the ground. The focus should be to practice the clean and the lowering phase before proceeding to the push press itself.
Push Press Variations
Barbell Push Press
Kettlebell Push Press
Dumbbell Push Press
Barbell Push Press
Start by cleaning the barbell up to shoulder height, with your elbows pointing forward. Dip into a semi-squat position, and use the momentum to press the weight overhead, locking it out. Ensure your biceps are in line with your ears at the top of the movement.
Kettlebell Push Press
Initiate by cleaning the kettlebell to shoulder height, ensuring your knuckles are pointing up. Take a deep breath, then dip down into a semi-squat. Use the upward momentum from this position to press the weight overhead. At the top of the movement, make sure to lock out your arm, standing straight and avoiding any lean towards the unweighted side.
Dumbbell Push Press
Begin by cleaning the dumbbells up to your shoulders. Maintain forward-pointing elbows and upward-pointing knuckles. Take a deep breath, and then dip into a semi-squat position. Drive upwards, and use the generated momentum to press the weights overhead. Make sure your biceps are aligned with your ears when the weights are directly overhead.
Basics Cues for All Push Press Variations
Begin by lifting the weights into a front rack position through a clean movement, positioning your feet directly under your hips, with your elbows pointing forward. Next, lower your torso slightly, then extend your hips and legs. Use this generated momentum to press the weights overhead. Throughout the movement, make sure that the bar or weights rest at your upper chest/shoulder level and are aligned over the middle of your foot at all times.
How to Determine What Weights to Use for a Push Press
When choosing a weight for your push press, it's essential to select one that you can efficiently clean up to your shoulders while maintaining good form. Additionally, ensure that you're correctly adjusting the weight according to the rep and set scheme you've planned.
Push Press Benefits
The push press can significantly enhance your training regimen! The push press and strict overhead press engage nearly the same muscle groups, except that the push press involves momentum. This momentum can be strategically used to overload the muscles - but how, you might wonder?
Through the technique known as eccentric overloading, which focuses on the lowering or 'down' phase of a movement. In the case of the push press, this would be the phase when the weight is being lowered after being lifted overhead. This phase induces the most "trauma" to the muscle, which is desirable when muscle growth is our goal. The more we tear the muscle (within reasonable limits), the more muscle growth we can achieve, assuming a balanced diet.
The push press can be effectively used in a strength-focused training section. The concept remains the same, but we would use a weight close to our one rep max for the overhead press and use it for a few reps in the push press! This not only builds muscle but also primes our nervous system for lifting heavy loads when we perform a strict overhead press.
Push Press vs Military Press (Strict Overhead Press)
What sets the two apart? Both the push press and the military press are highly technical exercises, each holding a unique place in one's workout regimen. The key difference lies in the fact that the push press utilizes momentum, which isn't inherently detrimental. As mentioned before, the push press can have a significant impact on breaking through a plateau in your military press or improving a challenging jerk in an Olympic clean and jerk.
When it comes to recommendations, it would generally be advisable to begin with the simpler exercise, the military press. This exercise demands less technique, which makes it a great starting point for novice lifters. Once you have mastered the military press, you can then experiment with the push press for overload training or simply to add some variety to your regular workout routine!
