The Strength Template that Improves Speed, The Secret to Staying Jacked While Traveling & The Thing Everyone Should Know About Overhead Pressing

8 Comments

1. Hi Joe, thanks for the reply. Makes perfect sense.

2. That last post was the review I posted on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Tumblr. Sorry for the copy and paste.

3. Another great show today! I love learning something new every #Thursday. I urge anyone no matter who you are, or what your training level is, to give this podcast a listen! You are doing yourself a huge disservice if you dont. You can find it on iTunes, stitcher, and http://www.defrancostraining.com. The amount of information packed into each episode will blow your mind! Not to mention humor, and life lessons. #IndustrialStrengthShow #podcast #KnowledgeBombs #IndustrialStrengthNation

4. Sami – Great question. My simple answer would be the loads that are required for each exercise make the difference. My strongest athletes perform Cuban Presses with 20-25lb. dumbbells or an empty 45lb barbell. Compare this to a Dumbbell Military press and these same athletes would be using 80lbs – 100lb dumbbells or a minimum of 185lbs – 225lbs on the barbell.

5. Hi Joe,

   why is a Cuban Press any different than a Military Press in the way the humerus interacts with the shoulder joint? Supposing that one performs the Military Press with a “break the bar”-approach to facilitate external rotation and has the elbows slightly in front of the shoulder?

   Thanks for the interesting podcast. The speed template part was quite interesting and logical!

   Sami

6. Mac – Thanks for the feedback…glad you’re enjoying the podcast!
   Scott – I appreciate you taking the time to write such a detailed post and contribute some valuable information to this website. Yes, I’m familiar with the technique you describe and yes I agree that, when done perfectly (which is rare), the above mentioned technique WILL reduce impingement potential.
   You hit the nail on the head regarding clientele…My clientele has obviously influenced my opinion on the subject. I deal in large part with higher level athletes who come to me with F’d up shoulders. Literally 19 out of 20 athletes I deal with come to me with pre-existing shoulder issues and they hate to overhead press. Couple this with the fact that we deal with a lot of football players who play their sport (and get tested) in the horizontal plane – so bench-pressing variations are usually a more appropriate choice for me.
   BTW, it’s funny you mentioned the “hooked acromion”…I wish I had a picture of my shoulder X-rays…my doctor said, “Holy shit I never saw such a hooked acromion in my 20 years of practicing medicine!” Lol. Needless to say, my “hook” is so large that it doesn’t matter how perfect my technique is, I’ll still have impingement when I press anything overhead.
   I guess the “answer” to this problem is…”To each his own.”

   With that being said, I appreciate your intelligent contribution to my podcast discussion. Great input brother.
   Joe D.

7. In regards to your reasons for not using the overhead press in your programming; are you familiar with the overhead press as outlined in Starting Strength 3rd Edition? The bar is connected to the hands, which are connected to the radius and ulnar, which are connected to the humerus, which is connected to the scapula. Nothing you don’t already know. The scapula is held in place by the trapezius so this relationship means the traps are largely holding the bar in place at the top of the movement (when done correctly). The lifter must shrug the bar overhead to prevent the impingement you speak of. The shrug rotates the scapula medially, which maintains the space between the epicondyle of the humerus and the acromion process.
   So as long as there is some space between the humerus and acromion process, pressing should be asymptomatic (when done correctly). Of course if you combine a less than accommodating scapulohumeral rhythm with a hooked acromion process you may still get an impingement even in the presence of perfect technique, but that is just a guess on my part.
   I certainly don’t have a fraction of the coaching experience you have, but I will say that I have had exceptional results with my clients using the overhead press as described in Starting Strength 3rd Edition. Shoulder tightness, upper back pain, shoulder pain; they all disappear after a few weeks. I don’t work with gifted athletes either. However, they have been quite diversified, ranging from obese males, young healthy soldiers and middle-aged men and women with typical age-related problems.
   It’s been my observation that most people bastardize the movement. They start from an inefficient position; press in a circle around their head or worse yet, at an angle away from the body, which creates a moment arm between the bar and the glenohumeral joint. Worst of all they don’t actively shrug the bar over head. This makes the movement anteriorly dominant and prevents the traps and external rotators from doing their share of the work. Anyone who has pulled a trap while pressing (I’m guilty of this) can probably attribute it to allowing the bar to get too far in front of them.
   Anywho, when I heard you talking about the press I knew I had something relevant to contribute so I wanted to share. I’ve become a big fan of the podcast and look forward to listening in the future.

8. Great podcast Joe D, thanks for sharing and explaining your template. Also shoulder shocker 3.0 is INTENSE and doesn’t leave me tossing and turning all night from shoulder pain (tore my rotator, and completely seperated my clavicle years ago).