So, I haven’t done a standing barbell press in a year. The movement just never felt right and I always subbed it for the db variation (mostly seated).
Today I felt like trying it again for the sake of changing things up a bit. I worked up to a double with 114 lbs and then did a back off set.
I’d like to get some feedback on my form because the movement still doesn’t feel right as it does with dumbbells. I apologize for the video being rotated, I only realized it after uploading it. If it’s too bothersome tell me and I’ll fix it later.
I’m aware that this is a very old thread, but I actually like the topic so I’ll respond since I missed it the first time.
I avoided military press for years when I started lifting for the same reason: it just didn’t feel right. When I started competing in strongman, overhead pressing became unavoidable, but for awhile, it still felt awful. The fact is, for most people, that’s just the nature of a standing overhead barbell press. It feels awkward because it’s just a difficult movement. Bracing is difficult, pushing the bar backward while pressing it overhead is difficult. For most people, this isn’t the most natural movement. Especially if you have a history with a lot of bench pressing and not a ton of overhead work. For years, I just did dumbbell pressing overhead for that reason. But in my opinion, this should be a staple for almost every lifter, BECAUSE it’s such a tough movement to feel right.
Same here. Never did it and then one day I found myself incline benching 275 for a few reps and struggling with 135 overhead for 5. Everyone should be pressing things overhead. It’s too much of a common occurrence in everyday life for people to continue to avoid progressing it in the gym.
Keep at it OP. I know this thread is from May, but your form looks okay, but low weight is easy to stay in proper form for overhead. Once the weights begin to get heavy, that’s where you really find out what you need to work on.
I did a lot of dumb shit when I was younger in my training, thankfully ignoring OHP and push press was not one of them. I was always told my by old wrestling coaches that picking up something off the ground and putting it over your head is the true test of strength.