When I unrack, I don’t have the bar on my clavicles. My rack position is where my triceps hit my lats. The bar then starts at about lip level. I don’t think this is cheating though. It is a legit rack position that I can hold. Also, my shoulders like it a lot better.
Just consider it nature’s Slingshot/Bench Shirt
1 Like
Here is a good video on what I am doing with the OHP. My geometry seems to have the bar a bit higher than Omar though.
I suck at both press and bench. I suck more at press, but it’s improving with work whereas my bench refused to
Therefore I like press more. Plus, it’s more fun
For me my pressing of all kinds didn’t improve until I actually built up my upper body. Had to accept that at 6’1 I wasn’t going to bench much weighing 60kg
2 Likes
I don’t weigh that much, and there’s plenty of rest between each set.
Not really. I’m sure many would make the case that I grease the groove on these, so they’re not that difficult.
I’ve had 1.25 pound plates for several years that I ordered online. I don’t think they’re super necessary, but they offer more options when adding only five pounds to the bar is a significant difference – around 7% of my heaviest single 
2 Likes
You’ve seen the pullup discussion from the HIT guy. You know what I mean. It’s ok to accept a compliment without being self-effacing 
I think the fractional plates are a great idea, for the press specifically. I very nearly made some wooden donuts when I was desperate to make progress, thinking I could make them about a pound each. Didn’t do it, but was an option. Especially when 7% is the smallest jump otherwise!
1 Like
That’s a good video. I find that I have over time figured out most of those things. That said, I do still start from the clavicles. If I saw you pushing from lip level, I would probably be torn between shaking my head a little (that’s easily 4 or 5 fewer inches of ROM), but at the same time impressed if you were doing everything else right and pushing a lot of weight. And in any case, shoulder health is more important than our arbitrary standards of what a ‘correct’ lift looks like. It’s all good.
I feel stupid for not adding…when I am repping overhead, I go only just below chin level, so even I am cheating the full ROM when I do that.
1 Like
What he said.
1 Like
I have a buddy that has had hip issues from squats on several occasions. He has no plans on competing in powerlifting, but insists on hitting depth. I’ve told him, the bottom of the squat is the hardest on the squats, and that he should just squat an inch or two high for hip health.
Powerlifters and hip issues seem to go hand in hand. I’ve also told others with hip issues to pull from blocks until their hips feel better, but powerlifters are a stubborn bunch.
3 Likes
Yeah, I know I have a self-humility problem. I like to think I’ve been better about it this year, but maybe I’m simply better at hiding it. Either way appreciate the words
2 Likes
BBB C1W2D2
Dips 15,14,11
3x3 jumps
Front squat
35x5
85x5
100x5
110x5
85x5x10
SA BB Row +50x17 (PR??),14
KB swing 24kgx40
Had a terrible headache yesterday and today, but I took an Excedrin before this, and thankfully it was gone by the time I started the BBB sets. Again, my conditioning is really awesome here because I’m never even slightly out of breath during or after the sets. I think I set a PR on the rows but hard to say 100%. They’re rows, after all. It amuses me that I can load the landmine with more weight for rows than I do for belt squats. I can fit up to 55 pounds on the barbell without sacrificing ROM, and there is certainly room to add reps as well, but another pair of 10s could be a useful addition later this year.
3 Likes
Crap, you totally suck.
I am trying a new tactic.
4 Likes
What I used to use for tiny fractional plates is baseball bat weights. They fit an Oly bar, and they come in 12, 16 and 20 oz sizes.
1 Like
Yes, always room for improvement! 
I mean, they’re just dips. I can 100% acknowledge that I’m pretty okay at bodyweight work (though I’m actually not great at pushups but whatever) and cardiovascular stuff. I just feel like a one- or two-trick pony because when it comes to the barbell, my lifts are very meh, especially considering that I didn’t start lifting a year ago or something.
I genuinely don’t feel that having access to fractional plates has ever made a significant difference for me 
2 Likes
AKA the best measure of pushing strength for the chest.
2 Likes
Well that was some years ago, when my OHP was tiny and I was trying to follow 5/3/1 with precise %'s, before developed my current outlook of ‘nearest 5# or 10# increment depending on the weight and whether I want to bother putting 2.5’s on’.
1 Like
It maybe sounds like I’m bashing fractional plates, which is not necessarily my intention. After all, I still use them because like you say, they help me follow percentage-based programs more precisely for pressing. But regardless of whether I use them or not, my press always stalls around the same numbers – using fractional plates simply slows down the journey to that point a little bit.
Well, at the risk of asking you to try things you’ve already done, have you tried changing things up? Like, high rep low weight, vs. low rep high weight, or multiple heavy singles, push pressing and push jerking? Some 1-arm pressing? It’s easy to get in the rut of trying the same things over and over, but sometimes it pays to be creative.
1 Like
Well, since you asked…
In a nutshell:
When I started following programs mostly properly I did a few years of GZCL and 5/3/1 stuff (BBB, PR sets + FSL widowmakers, spinal tap, BtM, etc), then some of Brian Alsruhe’s programs in fall 2019/early 2020, then more 5/3/1 stuff (PR sets + FSL widowmakers, BBB, BtM, full body). Then this year I tried Juggernaut Method, StrongFirst (heavy 5x5 stuff mostly), Coffinworm (more heavy stuff), Easy Strength (high frequency but was cutting pretty hard), and now I’m giving BBB another go. I’ve started doing one arm DB pressing several months ago since I got an adjustable KB. I do tons of upper back work and shoulder raises.
I’m single arm pressing a lot on my bench day but might give BBB push presses a go if after 1-2 cycles nothing has changed much.
So, I think I’ve tried a fair amount of things. I describe what I’ve done for years because, well, my press has not moved much if at all in years. I am prioritizing the lift right now and putting bench on backburner a bit, hoping for just a bit of progress.
2 Likes