The Max Press Drill

The Max Press Drill

 Press Different to Press More: Finding your perfect press 

The beauty of the concept “same but different” fuels my training philosophy. As long as you are putting weight over your head in a strict manner, you are training your press. Whether it be a regular military press, bottom up press, palm press, double, single, stacked, handstand pushup… You get the idea, they’re all vertical pushes. Technique aside, they will all make you stronger at pressing.

They are all the same, but different. Get it?

Many are chasing a ½ bodyweight one arm strict press. Now we are getting specific. So the smart thing to do would be to drill the one arm press only. Wrong!

Most, if not all of us, are robbing ourselves of strength that we already have with sloppy or imperfect technique!

Not to worry, we’ll get it all sorted out.

Enter the Max Press Drill. *pause for laughter*

Set-up:

Grab a bell that you can bottom up press (not too heavy so that you strain, but not so light that you could get it overhead with sloppy technique.

 The drill is to perform a Bottom Up Press, followed immediately by a palm press (waiter’s press), followed immediately by a strict military press, recleaned before each rep.

 Before you start, make sure you are comfortable cleaning the bell to your shoulder by catching the bell, so practice some palm cleans first.

The goal of the drill is to make each press look exactly the same. Your strict press and palm press should follow the same groove of your BUP.

The reason that this drill is perfect is due to the fact that the BUP demands perfect technique for the single arm press. Grip activation, vertical forearm, packed shoulder, etc.

This drill will make your press stronger, safer, and more effective than before.

I would suggest using a video camera to compare your BUP to your strict and palm presses and strive to make them the same.

That’s it! Go try it and I am sure that you will have a better pressing groove.