07-07-20 09:18 AM - Post#900051    

For the past couple of years I've been training the 1 arm kb press as my only pressing exercise (not counting some easy push ups). And I got it to a couple of singles with the 36 kg bell. But now my progress has stopped.

I can only manage to press once a week due to waterpolo training. Would it be advisable to to switch to another type of press for a while?

I dont like flat benching or any type of barbell benching for waterpolo. (Kb) Push pressing, incline kb press or something else I can't think of I can probably manage.

Your advice is appreciated.

Switching pressing exercises
07-07-20 10:28 AM - Post#900055    

1. sit on the floor spread you legs apart and do behind the neck barbell press.
2. bar on back squat down press the bar - behind the neck press - then stand up over head squat style.
3. dumbell overhead carries.

Both (1, 2) will probably require trivial weights to start with but, with patience and consistency your shoulders and everything around them will become stronger and more resilient. However, it is unlikely you'll ever enjoy doing them.

Edited by jamej on 07-07-20 10:28 AM. Reason for edit: No reason given.

07-07-20 11:06 AM - Post#900059    

I'll defer to others, but for me, the seated see-saw press (the z-saw, I call it), is the press that feels best and allows me to creep forward most predictably. I find that the pistoning action feels far more natural than single-arm presses. Any time a workout calls for single-arm presses, I unapologetically do see-saw instead.

07-07-20 12:55 PM - Post#900063    

If you have doubles, agreed: the See-Saw.

I like the Half-Kneeling when I want to go lighter, but still "hit" the whole body.

Daniel John Just handing down what I was handed down... Make a Difference. Live. Love. Laugh. Balance work, rest, play and pray (enjoy beauty and solitude) Sleep soundly. Drink Water. Eat veggies and protein. Walk. Wear your seat belt. Don’t smoke. Floss your teeth. Put weights overhead. Pick weights off the floor. Carry weights. Reread great books. Say thank you

07-08-20 04:43 AM - Post#900081    

Thanks for the suggestions so far. I only have 1 of each kb though. I might be able to do see-saw presses with uneven kb's and switch hands after each round?

I do really want to increase my pressing strength and shoulder girdle mass...

07-10-20 10:38 AM - Post#900174    

I've personally had good success with that unbalanced approach. Pulling down the lighter weight with the opposite arm approximates some of the old pressing "hacks" I've seen in various RKC literature, where they'll have you pull on a vertical pole or something while trying to press a goal bell. Plus, the see-saw action tends to help you be able to squeeze out an extra rep or two with a weight you can already handle.

07-10-20 02:06 PM - Post#900178    

I like sitting on the floor and pressing. Really forces you to use tension

07-10-20 02:34 PM - Post#900179    

If I had to choose one pressing exercise, I'd pick the incline bench press: much shoulder friendly than the flat version, you can move significant loads and the 45°angle always felt just right.

I like dips way better, but most people can't do them.

"I think we often spend too much time focusing on max fitness and not nearly enough on maintaining our minimums. It seems we need to think sustainable rather than obtainable. Meaning whatever we do today, we can do it again tomorrow. Never taking so much from ourselves that we can't." Dan Martin

07-10-20 03:01 PM - Post#900180    

My favorite presses are:

Barbell -- push press or incline bench

Kettlebell -- 2-kb jerk or push press

BW -- dip or pushup (rings are best for both, IMO)

07-10-20 04:44 PM - Post#900183    

Since we all seem to be listing our favorite presses, here’s a vote for the strict military press.

Why do so many people complain about dips though? I’ve found that going as deep as possible, nice and slow with perfect form, was wonderful for my old shoulder injuries. Almost as good as hanging.

07-11-20 12:39 AM - Post#900188    

• Jordan D Said:

I love dips and my body seems to love ring dips specially.

But most people frequently complain about a sharp sternum pain and a myriad of shoulder issues.

"I think we often spend too much time focusing on max fitness and not nearly enough on maintaining our minimums. It seems we need to think sustainable rather than obtainable. Meaning whatever we do today, we can do it again tomorrow. Never taking so much from ourselves that we can't." Dan Martin

07-11-20 12:52 PM - Post#900200    

• Jordan D Said:

Me, I had AC separation about 30 years ago and sports medicine chirodoc said NEVER do dips. Also one exercise I don't remember which unfortunately. And I have found, doing dips does put that shoulder in heaps of pain for many days after. Great movement pattern though if you can do it.

07-11-20 01:20 PM - Post#900201    

• iPood Said:

Know it well. It went away after about two weeks of dips when I was 14, and whenever I re-integrate them nowadays, it goes away after about two workouts. I think a lot of bodyweight movements provide similar feedback, because they depend on the integrity of the musculoskeletal system before they can be progressed. Back bridges, for example, which can be "dangerous" for the lower back, but only if you have the violently tight hip flexors typical of modern sedentary populations. Relax that psoas, and back bridges suddenly become amazing.

• GeoffreyLevens Said:

Similarly, I've got a handful of age-old partial tears in both shoulders. Hanging makes the pain and grindy-ness disappear, but only after, as the good doctor Kirsch tells us in Shoulder Pain?, pushing through the initial pain. Curiously, dips do the same. After having removed them from my training for a few years, I read a Dave Tate article where he said slow, deep, 100%-controlled dips helped his horrifically mangled shoulders, and I gave it a shot, stayed at 1-3 reps for a while, and low and behold, my shoulders reorganized themselves and dips became pain-free.

Now, if someone has impingement or chronic dislocation laxity, that's a different story. But if it's tight chest/locked shoulder tissues causing pain, then dips aren't the problem, and they might actually be the solution. Of course YMMV, as they say.

07-16-20 03:46 PM - Post#900381    

I really appreciate the reactions. Thanks guys