What do you Press?

by Atomic Athletic on Tuesday, July 5, 2011 at 2:19pm

I am learning why lifters loved the Olympic press.  Technically, it should be called the clean & press, but back when it was an official Olympic lift it was just understood that, of course, you had to clean the weight to your shoulders before the barbell could be pressed.  Today, we have the bench press as the most popular lift, but until the mid-1960s, there were no powerlifting contests, and when those started they used narrow, standard sized benches.  My how things have changed.

The clean & press is a fun lift.  Sure, you can do it in a strict, upright “military” fashion, but I have Dave Polzin teaching me the way they did it in Olympic style competition.  It's pretty cool.  I am already doing more than my bodyweight.  According to Dr. Ken Leistner, the number everyone aimed for was 200 pounds.  That was sort of like hitting a 300 pound bench press today.

Pressing Technique

Norbert Schemansky called the odd forward and back movement in the press “massaging the weight”.  He never did a really low layback, but some guys certainly did.  You can find photos of some of the guys in the late 1960s and early 1970s who practically did a standing bench press.  It simply became too hard to judge.  If you want to start working that lift, here are a couple tips.  I am no expert, but the tips come from Polzin, as he has critiqued me.

1.Start the lift as upright as possible with your elbows under the bar.

2.Lay back as you press.

3.It's not an explosive lift, but if you can get some initial explosion, it will help. 

4.The press is almost moves through a scooping arc, when viewed from the side.

5.Now combine all of those thoughts into one smooth and continuous movement.

Have fun with this new movement.  Don't get crazy with the layback.  The USAWA rules limit you to a 27 degree layback. 

Live strong,

Roger LaPointe

PS.  When you see me writing about a particular lift, odds are pretty good that it, or a variation will be part of an up and coming meet...  Think about it.