Who Here Can OHP Bodyweight?

Bigger Stronger Leaner Powerlifting & Strength Sports
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I’m still about 35 lbs away from that goal, and would stop just short of selling my left nut to get there. Can some of you share your experiences with this? What exercises helped you get there? How often did you train the press? I’m about to start a major overhaul in my training and my bench is guna take a back seat until i reach my bw (205 lbs).

I was thinking I would use a 3 week wave that looks like this: 4x6, 5x3, 1x1 (basing this rep scheme off of prelipens chart). In addition, i was thinking of adding some speed reps with bands on DE day as well after bench. Thoughts?

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I have pressed 225 standing for a easy single and seated for a triple at 215. I Pressed once a week alternating between a strict style and push style for overload the next week. Later in the week I started doing volume Incline Presses and Bench Presses something like 5x5 or 8x8 and that really seemed to help me out. Also when your OHP your limited to what your triceps can push big time and 9/10 times you fail its just passed the nose or forehead where your triceps have o kick in. So start hitting them hard. I did volume for them on Heavy OHP days and Heavy lockouts and the such on Volume Press days.

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I’m 205-210 lbs, can use 110-115lb DBs in seated DB press, but that’s a different range of motion. I have difficulty in judging how strict my standing military is, because how much leg drive changes it to a push press?

I was/am insecure about shoulder size (mine tend to slope), so shoulders have been first in my rotation for many years now, got pretty good at the seated DB, and my bench sucks since i don’t really push it and its third in rotation. Still small shoulders though.

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I reached 205 with a belt at 195. I just did 5/3/1 and did a lot of DB shoulders press and weighted dips.

5

For my 3+ week on Tuesday I hit 150 for 6 strict standing press, morning weigh in 149.6, but light bodyweight helps, I suppose. I am still weak on my OHP in relation to my bench. I need to work the triceps and shoulders more.

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251.4 at about 200.

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[quote]DoubleDuce wrote:
251.4 at about 200.

Love the cut out ceiling holes for the plates. That is awesome.

I lift in my basement, and I have to line the plates up with the rafters.

Oh, and still 20 pounds shy of bodyweight OHP here.

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That’s one of my goals for this year is a strict military press at bodyweight for a set of 5

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Ok, I like what i’m hearing. Let me know what you think of this:

My ME selection will be: Standing OHP, Weighted dips, and seated press all following the 3 week wave stated above. (ME day is thursday). On top of this, every sunday I will do multiple triples with bands for speed using 55-65% (also in a 3 week wave) and volume presses (either incline or flat) after my speed sets. On top of this, I’ll make sure i hit triceps hard at least twice per week and do plenty of standing/seated DB presses. Also one more thing, do you think behind the neck presses will have good carry over? Thanks.

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My best is 285@242 can rep my bw a few times. I rarely train OHP just did it for a contest over the summer. I used 3/5/1 and got good gains. Went from never training it to working up to the 285 in a month or so. Havnt trained it since but will prob start again soon.

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[quote]Weavy88 wrote:
Ok, I like what i’m hearing. Let me know what you think of this:

My ME selection will be: Standing OHP, Weighted dips, and seated press all following the 3 week wave stated above. (ME day is thursday). On top of this, every sunday I will do multiple triples with bands for speed using 55-65% (also in a 3 week wave) and volume presses (either incline or flat) after my speed sets. On top of this, I’ll make sure i hit triceps hard at least twice per week and do plenty of standing/seated DB presses. Also one more thing, do you think behind the neck presses will have good carry over? Thanks.[/quote]

I am not really very knowledgeable about the Westside programming and am far from a great presser (actually I am fairly poor at it) but behind the neck presses have never given me the trouble that they seem to give other people. I do them very slow and controlled though, more of a body building style in both performance and number of reps. They definitely have, in the past, seemed to have a fairly direct correlation with my pressing strength. Standing dumbbell presses have also been a fairly useful assistance. Incline dumbbell presses and dips seem to carry over to every other pressing movement for me so they are in every program I have. Finally, don’t neglect your vertical pulling strength and core as both play a huge roll in keeping that bar nice and stable as you push it. Pressing with weak lats and core is about like squatting on a bosu ball.

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I hate OHP, but I did the same contest as Achilles and pressed 252 at something like 203. That was the only time I trained it in the last 2 years, though, and it’s never done anything to help the lifts I actually care about when I did train it. Increasing my bench always makes my OHP numbers go up, if I do OHP that is.

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I just overhead press up to a heavy single every other day and sometimes do a little back off work.

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Several things have helped me develop and maintain a bodyweight press, even as my bodyweight has increased.

The first thing I would say, and it appears you have already done this, is make the press a priority. Two or three years ago I set out with the goal of a bodyweight press and ended up pressing my bodyweight for a triple (at 195 lbs). I believe I was following 5/3/1 at the time. Just a few days ago I pressed 210 lbs at a bodyweight of 205. That seems like a back track from a few years ago, but pressing has kind of taken a backseat to to other things, even though I still love it. I’m currently doing 5/3/1 again.

I’m a natural presser and it has always been my favorite lift, but there are a few that I did that really seemed to help. Switching to a false grip (or suicide grip) really seemed to help the bar track better. I know a lot of people think it’s dangerous, but I personally have never had an issue with it (knock on wood). I even use it in the bench press. Later on I heard the same advice from Wendler himself, so if that lends any credence to it there ya go.

I see a lot of guys that press with an extremely wide grip. When I press my grip is so that in the bottom position my forearms are perpendicular to the floor (this is narrower than a lot of the guys I see). Also, in the bottom position I am actively pushing my elbows forward. If you sit at your computer and act like you’re at the bottom of the press with your hands, move your elbows back and forward and feel the difference. With elbows forward your hands start to move up because your lats engage and form a very solid base to push off of. This may be the most important thing for me in the progression of my pressing.

The elbows forward thing leads into the next thing. Train your back religiously. I don’t know your level of strength, but I do about 5-10 chins between every pressing movement (except for the last two sets generally). Sometimes I change it up and do facepulls, but it’s usually chins or pullups. If you can’t do that many, do 1, 2 or whatever. Just do not go to failure or near failure. You don’t want it interfering with your pressing. This just helps get a pump into your lats and helps activate your lats so that you have a better base to push off of. A nice perk is it adds strength and size to your back. An alternative if you’re weak in that arena is very light wide grip pulldowns for higher reps really concentrating on activating and feeling your lats. I did this myself and it helped immensely.

As far as directly training the press, a progression like 5/3/1 is great, in my opinion. After my top set I always drop down and do a back off set or 2 for 10-12 reps. I’ve noticed that for me, volume is the key to increasing my press. This really comes into play for me when I get closer to my true 1 RM in 5/3/1. I essentially do “first set last” from Wendler’s new book, but I was doing that before he ever put a name on it.

Sorry for the long read. I haven’t posted on here for years, so maybe I’m making up for lost time.

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[quote]sfajohn wrote:

Sorry for the long read. I haven’t posted on here for years, so maybe I’m making up for lost time.

[/quote]

Don’t be sorry. That was a great post. Will have to try that thing with the chins next time I press.

I too love pressing, but I’m just not built for it. Also pursuing that BW press.

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DISCLAIMER

I haven’t ‘strictly’ done a BW press, but that’s only 'cos i’m a fatass house husband - i should easily be under 200lbs if i gave a toss (i don’t i just lift for something to do really, and eat for something to do when i’m not lifting!). I have done a 226lb press though, and my bw kinda floats between 225-240 depending on a tradeoff of my lifts vs. how much shit the wife is giving me…[/disclaimer]

Anyway, i have basically swapped between paused bench and oly press as a main lift for the day, with some paused close grips as assistance for most of the programs i’ve done SS, 5/3/1, some Dan John shit etc. One thing i think looks alright from the outside perspective is doing H/M/L with bench, close grip and press each week, and maybe a little backoff/assistance depending how it’s feeling.

I like good wrist wraps a ton for pressing to keep the bar closer, kinda like a suicide grip would but without the gamble (to be honest though, if you lost a press you’d just push it forwards as it goes so i don’t see the problem with this - benching i could see it differently though, depending on rack/spotters etc) and deffo second the chins (i do weighted sets between squats, just 'cos they fit so well and if i’m hanging out my arse from squattingi might as well do something constructive while i recover!) and torso/core/abs work - although perhaps abs aren’t so important if you’r not limbo-ing your layback like it’s the 70’s!

One thing i’ve personally found with presses is frequency is key - if i’m only doing them once a week they go nowhere, i need a second or even third (depending on what other lifts i’m focussing on) to really get them going, and ‘junk’ volume at mediocre weight doesn’t do it - but relatively heavy for few reps fairly often works wonders for me. Something like doing a 1/2/3 ladder, maybe repeated or adding a 4rep something just to keep it ticking over between main press day really helps me.

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205 strict press from clavicles at 195 BW last year.
Agree that bench work helps the OHP. I just hit 350 two weeks ago. Lots of heavy tricep as well. Weighted dips for instance.
Anyone should be able to get to a BW press. It’s a manly lift.

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just did 195 @ 192 today, first ever bodyweight OHP.

Aiming to do 225@200 in the next 1-2 years.

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I just did 190X1 @ 175 today in the name of this thread.

Anyway, my tricks are to use a whippy barbell (for some reason stiff doesn’t work well), take a narrow grip, have my elbows forward like the other guy talked about, and also treat the bar like it is a very heavy weight (get incredibly tight). Tricep, and back work is also very important, and bench work does help the overhead press.

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[quote]Teenagestrength wrote:
I just did 190X1 @ 175 today in the name of this thread.

Anyway, my tricks are to use a whippy barbell (for some reason stiff doesn’t work well), take a narrow grip, have my elbows forward like the other guy talked about, and also treat the bar like it is a very heavy weight (get incredibly tight). Tricep, and back work is also very important, and bench work does help the overhead press.

[/quote]
I would hate to see a barbell that feels whippy with 190 on it.