Starting Strength

on the way up. It is critical to keep the bar close. Three common bar path problems cause this to happen; pushing the bar away, failing to get under the bar after it passes the forehead, and leaning back away from the bar are all different problems, but they all affect the press the same way.

    Figure 3-21. Pressing efficiency is strongly influenced by the mechanics of the pressing position: the shorter the distance between the bar and the shoulders, the shorter the moment arm. (A) Driving up close to the face provides this good mechanical position. (B) Any movement of body or bar that increases the moment arm length is detrimental to pressing efficiency. ( M.A. = moment arm )

    First, the most common form problem with light weights is having the bar out in front too far, away from the face; this problem is produced by a bar path that curves away from the face ( Figure 3-22 ). Heavy weights like to move in straight vertical lines because they represent less energy expenditure than do longer, curved bar paths. This is true for all barbell exercises, from the simple press to the more complex snatch and clean and jerk. Heavy weights must follow a straight vertical bar path in the press because heavy weights can’t be pressed in a curve. And if the bar moves forward, your back must go backward so that the system’s center of mass stays balanced over the mid-foot. This loss of control erodes the position necessary for a powerful press, with the delts and triceps driving up on the elbows held close to the body, in a position of increased mechanical efficiency with a shorter lever arm. Sometimes allowing the elbows to drop into a lower position is what makes the forearms less than vertical. This is an easy thing to correct if you catch it early: raise your elbows until they are just in front of the bar, and aim the bar at your nose. After you lock the bar out at the top, aim for your nose on the way down so you can practice keeping the bar close 10 times per set of 5 reps.

    Figure 3-22. Problem 1: Pushing the bar away from the face produces pressing inefficiency and a curved bar path. This error often happens if the bar is pushed forward to clear the chin due to insufficient lean-back.

    Second, leaving the bar out in front – not “getting under the bar” – is a different problem, and it most definitely will occur with heavy weights. When the bar has been started perfectly straight up but the lifter fails to move forward under the bar after it clears the head, the same position problem occurs at a higher point in the bar path. You have to get in the habit of slamming your body forward under the press just as soon as the bar passes your forehead. This pattern must be embedded early in the process of learning the exercise, and it must be consciously revisited each workout, from the empty bar on up.

    Figure 3-23. Problem 2: The failure to get under the bar after it crosses the top of the head leaves the long moment arm between the bar and shoulders intact and unmanageable. With this error, the lifter fails to take advantage of the torso driving forward to help lock out the elbows.

    There is another way to make the body get forward under the bar at lockout. As is so often the case in athletics, a thing can be conceived of and understood in many different ways. The lockout of the press can be thought of as the shoulders moving forward under the bar, but it can also be approached from the opposite direction, as the hips moving back as the bar crosses the forehead. These are obviously two different ways to explain the same concept. If the lift starts with a slight hip extension, lockout is facilitated when the hips are straightened fast and the shoulders and elbows are driven up, as previously illustrated. Both the chest and shoulders moving forward or the hips moving back produce the same net effect relative to the bar; use the cue that helps you best. As you become experienced as a lifter, you should get better at understanding the mechanics of what is happening under the bar and be able to visualize more solutions for movement problems you may be experiencing.
    An emphasis on getting forward under the bar can result in a balance problem, noticeable as a tendency to be on the ball of the foot during the drive and lockout. A good connection with the ground requires that the weight be evenly distributed over the whole foot even as the bar is centered over the middle of it. Any shifting forward during the press must be