Push Press Exercise

Mastering the Push Press Exercise

Are you seeking to enhance your overall strength and muscle mass while increasing your overhead lifting capacity? Look no further than the Push Press—it's the ideal exercise for achieving these goals. As an overhead press variation, the Push Press significantly impacts your total body muscle composition. Yes, it's a compound movement that not only targets the upper body but also engages lower body muscles. Thus, if you're aiming to optimize your shoulder training, integrating this exercise into your routine is essential.

By activating the glutes, quads, and upper body to drive the weight upward, you'll experience gains in both size and strength. The Push Press is unparalleled in its ability to maximize power and timing during overhead movements, making it indispensable in general training and Olympic lifting.

In this guide, we'll delve into everything you need to know about performing the Push Press exercise. Let's get started:

Push Press Exercise Benefits:

• Enhances Overhead Stability: In addition to building strength and muscles, the Push Press improves balance by relying on body stability.

• Elevates Weightlifting Proficiency: Olympic weightlifters often incorporate this exercise to refine their lifting technique.

• Improves Leg Power: The primary role of the legs in driving the weight upward during the Push Press leads to increased leg strength.

• Boosts Acceleration: This exercise enhances your ability to accelerate with weight, contributing to overall strength and fitness.

Target Muscles

Please note, push press exercises is a type of compound workout, which means it targets several muscles. In this case, both your upper body and lower body muscles will be engaged. Speaking of that, the following are target muscles during a push press:

·         Glutes

·         Core

·         Shoulders

·         Quadriceps

How to Perform the Push Press Exercise

As we’ve mentioned earlier, Push Press is one of the overhead press variations that leverages your legs to generate power. To initiate the lift, the first step is setting up your leg in an athletic dip pose. And thereafter, extend your body quickly to thrust the weight up and overhead. You’re only successful once the bar is overhead while your legs and arms are straight.

First Step: Set up

When it comes to setting up, lift and place the barbell to front shoulders and maintain it there. It’s the same starting technique as the overhead press. Thereafter, ensure you’re holding the bar with an open grip while your palms are facing from your body.

At the same time, your elbows should be facing straight ahead. Then engage your upper back while maintaining your torso straight. The feet must be hip-width away from each other and the legs straight.

Expert Recommendation: Maintain your eyesight straight ahead while gravity over your ankle and mid-foot.

Second Step: Dip Pose

The next step is assuming the dip pose. In this case, you can do this properly by squatting quarter way. First, drop your hips a few inches down and set the knees over your toes. And as you do this, your chest must remain upwards. The dip is important in preparing your body to thrust up the weight.

Expert Recommendation: The elbow must remain in its position during the dip pose

Third Step: Thrust Up

From the dip pose, explosively charge upwards from your legs to thrust the barbell overhead. And as the bar drive up, fully extend your hips, knees, and ankles altogether. Meanwhile, move your head back to allow for vertical movement of the barbell. Also, as you drive the barbell up, tighten your grip and firmly hold the bar in the air.

Expert Recommendation: When thrusting the bar upwards, maintain the direction vertically. With that said, avoid pushing it up and forward. This will be important for your balance.

Fourth Step: Complete with Your Arms

During thrusting, when the barbell is past your eye, restore your head to its original pose facing forward. Now, you can fully straighten your elbows up in the air and your legs locked on the ground. 

Final Step: Receive the bar on your Shoulder

To do several push press repetitions, re-racking the bar is necessary. In this case, you’ll be reversing the drive-up motion to return the bar onto your shoulders. When receiving the bar from the air, prepare for a quarter squat to reduce the impact. Once you receive it, stand straight before re-setting your pose for another lift.

Expert Recommendation: Avoid bending or squatting before the bar reaches the shoulders. It’s only when you feel the bar tip on your shoulder that you should bend at the knees to minimize the impact.

Best Candidates for Push Press Exercise

Are you wondering if the push press exercise is right for you? Well, if you are among the following candidates, you can go ahead and try it:

·         Traditional athlete

·         CrossFitter

·         Olympic weightlifter

Push Press Exercise Recommendation

·         To improve power and speed, consider using lightweights

·         For optimum strength, work with heavier weights

·         To build bigger muscles, increase the number of reps and reduce overloading yourself with weights

Alternatives to Push Press Exercises

Since this exercise can be challenging for some people to master, there are alternatives with similar impacts. They include:

·         Push jerk

·         Thruster

·         Strict press

Variations for Push Press Exercises

The push press is quite flexible, and thanks to that, there are several variations to can try. They include:

·         Pause push-press

·         Snatch-grip push-press

·         Kettlebell push-press

Final Take

Finally, now you know the basics about Push Press Exercise and how to execute it. Are you ready to start it? Well, the best way to master this technique and maximize it is through extensive practice. Consistently practicing it will not only perfect your skill but also your strength and form. Further, it will help you discover how to leverage this effective technique for better gains.

Lastly, there’s more to push press than the technique itself. Through mastering this exercise, there’re endless potentials when it comes to things you can achieve through working out. For instance, you can raise your barbell game thanks to the push press exercise and tons more.