Starting Strength

transmitted to the bar. This may mean that the grip for a push press is a power-clean grip, wider than you use for a press, since longer forearms make the bar harder to set on the delts with a standard press grip. The solid connection between the bar and the shoulders allows the full effects of the hip and leg drive to carry the bar on up. A full breath before each rep braces the torso and makes the push more solid.
    More weight can be lifted with a push press than with our press technique in chapter three, and certainly more than with a strict press, and for this reason, a heavy set of presses might get finished with a push press or two. A better approach is to keep the two exercises as separate as possible in your mind, choosing your work weights carefully enough that a set of five presses does not turn into a set of two presses and a triple push press. After finishing your last set of presses, you might add extra work in the form of two heavier sets of push presses. Or better yet, you could use push presses as a completely separate exercise on a different day, either after bench presses or as their own primary upper-body exercise.
    In addition to the same problems that affect the press, the push press has its own problems that derive from the involvement of the knees and hips. The most common error is the tendency to dip forward onto the toes during the push. The bounce must come from the whole foot, not from the toes, or the lifter/barbell system gets displaced forward. If the dip has a forward component, the motion of down-and-forward turns into up-and-forward, instead of straight down and straight up. You will then have to “chase” the bar as it goes forward on the way up, diluting your shoulder drive.

    Figure 7-35. The tendency to dip to the toes instead of staying flat-footed introduces a forward component into the upward motion. You can control this motion by thinking about keeping the weight on your heels during the dip. A balanced dip distributes the stress evenly between the hips and the knees.

Correct this error by making sure your dip is to your mid-foot, and if you are dipping forward, the easiest way to ensure a straight dip is to raise your big toes inside your shoes before each rep. Your weight will shift back toward your heels, and once you get used to the way this feels, the problem will stop without your having to cue the big toes for each rep. This is a handy trick to learn, especially if you have entertained the possibility of any Olympic weightlifting; the dip that precedes the split jerk is essentially the same as the push-press dip, and if you correct it now, it will not be a problem later.
    Push presses can be hard on the knees, believe it or not. The knee extensor tendons are subjected to some rather high forces during heavy push presses, and this is especially true if you are dipping to your toes. Stay out of your knees as much as possible to minimize the abuse. Knee wraps may help, but good form helps the most.
    Just so you won’t think they’ve been forgotten, assistance exercises for the power clean fall squarely in the bailiwick of Olympic weightlifting and are outside the scope of this book. Those of you who are interested are encouraged to contact a competent weightlifting coach and develop a relationship with the sport. There is no better way to use barbells to train for power production.
    Ancillary Exercises
     
    Not every assistance exercise necessarily duplicates a portion of a parent movement. There is no chin-up-like motion in any of the five major lifts, yet chins are a terribly useful exercise for lifters at all stages of training advancement. Chin-ups are multi-joint, they involve the movement of the whole body, they work many muscle groups, and they depend on a complete range of motion and correct execution for their quality – all characteristics of the major exercises. In contrast, it is difficult to do a wrist curl wrong, and really, who cares if you do? Good ancillary exercises contribute to functional movement the same way the major lifts do: they work several joints at one time through a range of motion that, when made stronger, contributes to performance in sports and work.
    Ancillary exercises have traditionally been performed for higher reps than the core lifts are. This is not necessarily a hard-and-fast rule; some of these movements are very valuable as strength exercises in and of themselves. Some lend themselves better to this than others: weighted