Barbell Bent Press form and questions

<doyleb3 DeleteThis @yahoo.co.uk> wrote in message
news:1120074959.328339.295050@o13g2000cwo.googlegroups.com...
>I have been trying these today. Light weight at first, just an Olympic
> bar with no plates. Here is what I do, does this sound correct.
>
> -hold the bar with my right hand at about shoulder height with elbow
> tucked in towards the ribs
> -step forward with the right foot so that the right side of the body
> is
> forward of the left.
> -turn the torso to the right while at the same time bending down to
> the
> left from the hips. The left shoulder moves both downwards and
> forwards
> -get the torso as horizontal as possible and as far under the bar as
> possible while all the time looking at the bar. The bar stays in the
> same place with the body moving under it.
>
> I'm wondering about a couple of things. When bending under the bar
> should the hips stay more or less in the same place and just turn. Or
> do the hips actually move sideways under the bar.
>
> Are the knees supposed to bend during the lift.
>
> During the lift I get a sensation of my left oblique muscle being
> "squashed" between my ribs and hips. Is this normal?

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.

-S-
http://www.kbnj.com
 >> Stay informed about: Barbell Bent Press form and questions 

Steve Freides wrote:
> 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.

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.

Is the side press any easier to master? I'm confused about the
differences between the BP and SP, could someone explain them?
 >> Stay informed about: Barbell Bent Press form and questions 

<doyleb3.DeleteThis@yahoo.co.uk> wrote in message
news:1120158670.731600.76900@g14g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
> Steve Freides wrote:
>> 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.

> 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.

> 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
 >> Stay informed about: Barbell Bent Press form and questions