Overhead Press

Take the bar from a rack with your jerk grip: hands about half a fist to a fist outside your shoulders.

forearms close to vertical under the bar.

Rest the bar on your shoulders, between your throat and the top of your shoulders, elbows down and slightly in front of the bar. If you can't keep a full grip with fairly low elbows, hold the bar however keeps it in contact with your shoulders.

the bar sitting on your shoulders, not held up by your wrists.

Stand tall with your legs straight and tight. Take a big breath, then pressurize and brace your trunk before the bar moves.

a stiff trunk from your hips to your shoulders.

Pull your head back just enough to clear the bar, and press it in as direct a line as you can, slightly backward. Spread your elbows so they move under the bar.

the bar passing close to your chin and nose, not swinging around your face.

Once the bar passes your forehead, push your head forward through your arms and lock your elbows hard, with the bar over the base of your neck. From the side, the bar should sit over your foot just in front of the heel, the same overhead position weightlifters use in the jerk.

arms like straight columns, head through the window.

Lean back only as much as you need for a straight bar path, never into a backbend.

the trunk staying braced while the bar goes up.

Hold the lockout still for about a second before lowering: arms straight, head through, legs straight, feet parallel and not moving. That is the standard strongman referees look for before the down signal.

still and stacked, nothing wobbling.

Lower the bar under control to your shoulders: bend your elbows to start it down, meet it with your shoulders, and soften the landing by bending your knees slightly, trunk upright and braced. Practise this on every rep, even light ones, so it is automatic when the weight is heavy.

the bar landing on your shoulders, not crashing onto your collarbones.

Re-brace before the next rep. Starting each rep from a short pause on your shoulders builds strength off the bottom.

a new breath and brace every rep.

Know the rules for your event. Strongman pressing events commonly let you press, push press, push jerk or split jerk the implement, and the log and axle start on the floor and must be cleaned to your shoulders first. Some contests ban resting the axle on your belt. Rules vary between federations, so check the event rules before you train for it.

a plan for how you'll get it overhead, chosen before the event.

For a push press, dip by bending only your knees, trunk vertical, weight balanced over the whole foot, then stop the dip quickly and drive straight up hard. Weightlifting coaches use a dip of about 10% of your height as a guide.

your heels coming up slightly at the top of the drive. Flat feet mean the drive was too short.

Start pushing with your arms as your legs finish, then return to flat feet with straight knees and lock out as in step 5. If your knees bend again to catch the bar, you've done a push jerk, which those strongman rules also allow.

legs launch it, arms finish it.

On a log or axle, brace before the implement leaves the floor and keep that brace until it is racked on your shoulders. In a study of strongmen lifting a log, the world-class athlete braced his abs together with his back and hip muscles; the less skilled athlete started the lift with his back muscles alone. The Log Clean & Press and Axle Clean & Press lessons cover the clean.

stiff trunk, hips doing the lifting.

If a strict press stalls before lockout, bring it back down to your shoulders under control and end the set. Don't lean back further to grind it out.

giving up the rep, not your back.

If you lose a barbell overhead, let it go forward or backward, never to the side. Forward: keep your arms long, push the bar out in front and step back. Backward: arms straight, loosen your grip, let go when the bar is farthest behind you and step forward. Do this on bumper plates in a clear area.

you move one way, the bar goes the other.

Practise missing with a PVC pipe or empty bar before you need to. In competition, logs and axles must be lowered under control to the chest or shoulders, and deliberately dropping one can cost you the lift, so lowering skill matters as much as bailing.

calm, because you've rehearsed it.