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Quoted message said:Steve Freides said:It sounds like you've got the general idea. The bent press is an
"anyhow" lift, meaning you can put the bar overhead just about any
way
you like. The basic trick, as you mention, is to keep the bar in
more
or less the same spot while lowering yourself under the bar. With a
heavy weight, you'll almost certainly need to bend your knees.
You need flexible hips to make this work - your comment about your
left
oblique being squashed suggests that your right hip isn't opening
sufficiently. You might find my little windmill video (the windmill
contains some elements of the bent press) helpful. In particular
notice, by looking at the cinder block lines behind me, how far my
hip
moves while my waist remains essentially straight. The windmill
works
fine with a dumbbell if you want to give it a try, and keeping the
waist
straight and the bearing knee locked forces you to be flexible in the
bearing hip and hamstring. It's a great drill to do in preparation
for
the bent press, but I would stick to doing it with a dumbbell or
kettlebell.
Here's the link: http://www.kbnj.com/windmill.rm
You might also work the sidepress, in which the knees traditionally
also
remain locked, as another prep for the bent press.
One thing you didn't mention in your description was the need to keep
your upper arm in contact with your lat at the start and for as long
as
possible. What makes the lift work is that you don't press, and
eventually you get your elbow mostly straightened out while your lat
is
still supporting your upper arm.
Thanks guys for the tips and video. I think the problem I'm having is
bending too much at the waist instead of at the hips. I find my ribs
are touching my hip bone when I bend which probably explains why the
oblique muscle feels squashed.
Be careful - your midsection on a bent press should be tight just like
on a deadlift or a squat. Bending at the waist with a heavy load can be
a quick route to a back injury. If you need to breath during, breath
shallow and try to stay tight.
Quoted message said:I can make a reasonable attempt at the lift with the bar in my right
hand. But I can't do it at all with it in my left hand, it just feels
all wrong and uncoordinated. I'm finding it hard to visualise and put
into practice the bending part of the lift. I'm also getting the
feeling that the bent press is as much about flexibility and balance
as
it is about strength.
The windmill is really a good movement to master before you attempt a
bent or side press, IMHO. And for all of them, try doing your weaker
side first. You can work the windmill more to the side or more
front/back, and doing both is probably helpful as prep for the bent
press.
Quoted message said:Is the side press any easier to master? I'm confused about the
differences between the BP and SP, could someone explain them?
The military press is a strict presss - legs locked. The bent press you
wiggle yourself under the weight. The side press is somewhere in
between - you press but you also push off the lat like you do in the
bent press, you just can't do it as much. In the traditional side
press, you take a wide stance, lock both knees, and kick the hip out to
the side as you press the weight overhead. Pavel suggests bending the
non-bearing leg - it makes the movement safer and it's what I usually do
on all these kinds of presses.
Done right, a side press can look a lot like a bent press but because
you can't bend your knees and because you are actually moving the weight
up, you won't manage as much weight as with a bent press. Here's Bryce
Lane doing a side press - note the same lack of bending at the waist as
we've been talking about.
http://www.kbnj.com/pressed.avi
Everyone I know who's learned to bent press says to practice with
sub-max weights every day or nearly so - there's a big skill component
and you just need to practice it a lot to get it down.
-S-
http://www.kbnj.com
