12/3/16 - BW 220, fasted AM workout… I felt really shaky in the legs. Too bad that didn’t matter, still a disgusting overhead press showing from me.
Log Push Jerk (out of rack)
110x3,3
160x3
210x3
230x13 meh, tried to “speed” rep it but the weight was going too far out in front and I was having to really work hard to restabilize on each re-dip for the next press. Wanted 15 but I will try to get that before January.
rest 3 min
230x10 much better than the first, even fatigued. Was more controlled and each press felt much better than just trying to muscle the weight around.
rest 6 minutes
250x7
Push Jerks (barbell)
135x5,3
225x3
belt on
275x10…no idea where this came from. The last rep wasn’t completely locked but it still flew up without issue. My triceps are just fried.
Kind of disgusted with my overhead strength. 275 for 10 AFTER all that? Okay…pretty sure my italian ancestry and all the grape picking they did before ladders were invented has all led up to this one moment at an apex.
Hit some conditioning involving abs and pull ups and that’s it.
From like age 8-13 all I’d ever do is wrestle with friends, and we had a neighbor who was like 2-3 years younger and he weighed probably like 50lbs or so, and I’d always try to press him over my head and throw him down on the trampoline. I’d probably do that like 3 times a week.
12/5/16 - Okay, I achieved my short term front squat goal impromptu. BW 221
Paused Front Squat
95x3,3
135x3
225x3
275x3
325x1
belt on
370x10 PR! first rep was paused but the rest were just regular reps. Had zero plans to AMRAP this weight, but the first rep felt so fucking light I actually said “i’m gonna get 12 reps this is so light!” Sadly, AMRAP with front squats is not the same as with back squats or maybe a deadlift so I got 10. The diminishing returns of your vitality and power output are very real. Every rep is exponentially harder due to the bar being on your throat. This is a great sign though. 500!!!
Abs and called it. Volume will show up here and there but for the most part it’s being lowered a bit as I near contest. Will stay training heavy though, of course.
Hey man, since you are one of the best “pressers” around here I thought it would be fitting to come directly to you with this question.
I want to change my programming up and for this I would like to ask your opinion on programming the push press and OHP.
I want to improve my axle push press mostly. My strict OHP secondly.
I have done 5/3/1 for strict axle OHP and added push presses for joker sets. While 5/3/1 works great for some of my lifts it did not improve my OHP that much. The rep efforts were okay and I did set a few rep PRs but the carry over to max strength is not that great. Additionally I just want to shift my focus from base strength (which has been my focus with the strict pressing) to more specific strength and big push presses always appealed to me.
Start primarily training your push press exclusively at the start of each pressing day and putting the strict press as assistance only. I highly recommend rotating heavy singles, doubles, triples, and sets of 5 in, followed immediately by hard drop sets of AMRAP. A template would look like this.
Week 1:
Push Press
6x5@75%, after last set is finished, (no rest) strip off some of the weight and rep it out to complete failure. Strip it 3-4 times and the only rest you’re allowed is the taking off of the weights.
Week 2:
8x3@85%, repeat the aforementioned strip sets.
The percents can be modified obviously, I’m not a genius when it comes to discerning values that adhere to each individual; that’s for you to establish. However, this is how I frequently trained my overhead in GENERAL for many years and it definitely, DEFINITELY helped. Just remember though, no matter how many times you train through a program, the number one thing that will give you the big numbers you seek is effort and consistency. Every day just forget about the numbers you’re lifting and be a fucking savage. I’d always pretend to be some WSM competitor when I’d train years ago and just imagine me lifting like 50% more than I truly was, and it’d make lifting very fun lol. Hope that helps, anyway.
Worth mentioning that in my more experienced days of training, I’d start training my strict press with similar parameters for 4 weeks after the initial 4 weeks of push pressing was finished. Though because you’re a strongman competitor who’s relatively new to it all, you’d likely benefit tons by really hammering push presses for a long period of time. It’s a movement that is also a skill, and not just a vehement display of brute strength.
Thanks a ton Vinny! This was definitely what I was looking for. Will follow it as described. Looks like right what I need to progress to a big push press.
I have almost exclusively used the axle lately. Do you advise on using a specific implement, if not training for a competition? To push press the axle is significantly harder than to push press a barbell for me. My thought was that by making the lift harder I would make myself harder… kind of. Or at least it might transfer over to other lifts better. However a standard barbell might allow for more weight and thus more gain?
The difference between an axle and barbell is pretty small. You’re definitely not pressing too much less on an axle, so definitely train with the axle. If you choose to press on the log, you’ll have to lower the weights you use a good bit, even from your logs projected max, because like a front squat, the log just gets significantly harder on each rep due to it’s nature, whereas with a barbell like an axle, it’s much more forgiving.
What is your stand on bench pressing? Right now I have a seperate day where I do close grip bench (5/3/1) and some slingshot overload work. The slingshot has helped a lot in the past with my push press and the close grip has progressed perfectly with 5/3/1. Is benching however worth it or would be a second OHP day with strict pressing more beneficial.
You need to bench. Period. I’ve put in so many hours of benching to where I can tap into that anytime I need to, but at this point it’s a bit extraneous. Though, I have cycled it in plenty, especially floor presses, but they’re just absent currently.
Benching is solely assistance for strongman and never seems to have a large carry over GENERALLY. A good method would be to perhaps rotate, weekly, benching assistance with strict overhead assistance. So perhaps week one you would have push press and bench, then week two, push press and strict press. Though keep in mind, the pressing main work with implemented drop sets is going to fucking destroy you.
Burpees to Pull Up to One Arm KB Swing
x10, x10, x15
x10, x10, x15
x10, x10, x15
Axle Deadlifts (conventional, dead stop)
135x8
225x3,3
315x2
405x2
500x10 PR by 2 reps and that was on a BARBELL. Fucking yes. I was only getting 500 for like 3-5 reps conventional when my sumo was around 600. I would LOVE to pull 700 sumo once this contest is over with.
I noticed on camera that because of how close my feet are together when I pull conventional, that it twists my body up more than sumo would. Definitely can see how twisted my hips are VERY apparently from the video of the set. Meh. @Spock81 I think I have the worst muscle imbalances on T-nation. At least my back no longer explodes when I conventional pull over 400 and I’ve gotten wayyy stronger in 3 years than I ever thought I could.
Glute Bridges
x15
x15
x15
x15
Zercher Thoracic Extensions
125x15
215x8
265x11
215x15 felt a jolt in my left erector, need to be a bit less haphazard, it’s easy to throw caution to the wind when you’re doing assistance stuff, but it can be just as unforgiving as a power movement.
135x20 hard, kept the bar up higher and I was able to really complete full extension and I think going heavy on these is just not necessary. Kind of like a really heavy hip thrust. If you’re not even completing extension, you’re not really accomplishing anything besides a rambunctious display of explosive pelvic thrusting with no carry over.
12/9/16 - Lower back is jacked up from conventional deads and I felt weak and just cold for the whole workout.
Seated DB Military Press
100x10
100x10
100x9 meh, shoulders just hurt
Log (out of rack)
110x3,3
160x3,3
200x3
250x5 piss poor, can barely keep the log from falling as i bring it down. Did this for 7 after a bunch of other working sets last session.
Some side laterals and face pulls and done. Back is angry at me, justifiably so.
