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Kettlebell Increasing presses from 24 to 32 kg?

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Smile-n-Nod

Smile-n-Nod

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I've been doing military presses for a while with 24 kg. Today I performed 5x(1-5) ladders pretty comfortably over about 45 minutes.

I have a shiny new 32-kg kettlebell that I'm itching to use (safely). I can press it once with one arm but not at all with my other arm.
What are some techniques, skills, or programs I can do with the 24 that can help me to be able to press the 32 at least once with each arm?
 
Just curious

Are you aware about the other types of rep schemes for ladders?

i.e. 2,3,4
2,3,4,5

Going up one size for one rung then using your previous bell for the other rungs???
 
Do ladders with 28kg or fasten weight plates to your 24. The other option would be to go to higher reps in you 24 kg ladders.
8kg is a rather large jump for presses. I think a lot of guys read articles and think they have to make 8 kg jumps. A lot of these guys will stall out because it's hard and takes a lot of work. At the end of the day you have to do what have to make progress and keep your confidence up. BTW a 4 kg jump is not trivial.
 
Yes, 8kg is a lot for presses. In the case of 24 it is 33% actually.
28 would be the best choice.
 
Yeah jumping to 32 from 24 is big 28 or weight plates or ankle weights are a good option.

another option (not nessicarily better) is once or twice a week you could do 32 on rung 1, rungs 2,3 at 24. it only works IF you can press the 32 for a single every time you try with low too no risk of missing. I would say keep it lower rep ladder like 1-3 or 1,3,5 because a full ladder starting with something close to your 1r max can drive you straight into the ground (experience told me so)

it would beneficial to work with 28kg if thats an option. OH and Congrats on the 32 press! strong work
 
Saw a video by Geoff Neupert where he talks about ways to increase your press without pressing. Bottoms up front squats, Bottoms up clean, bottoms up carry.

 
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Using the 32kg, I would start adding cleans, squats, active negatives, and maybe some bent presses -- in addition to pressing with the 24kg of course.

For example, rounds of 2 CL/3 SQ with 32kg in between your pressing ladders with 24kg - it will help a lot with the tension you'll eventually need to press it.

You could also do rounds of clean -> push press -> slow eccentric. If you can't push press it up with one arm yet, it's OK to use two hands (or better yet, use the jerk to get the bell overhead - but you need the right timing with a lighter bell first).

And of course, the bent press - also something you'll need to practice quite a bit with a lighter bell first if you haven't done before.
 
I"m just a newbie. Not claiming to give advise.
I can't believe people haven't mentioned. In one of the Russian Challenge videos. Pavel talks about when you can't press it. You hold it in place and move under it. Drop your body. I dare not explain more. I'll leave it to you to find on one of the Challenge videos.
Another he mentions is to snatch it all the way to the top to start.
 
I remember Mike Mahler saying something along the lines of "You are a strong as the bell you train with". I've found that to be true. That 32k might eat your lunch right now, but if you start swinging, cleaning, and doing jerks you'll quickly notice you'll have more control over it (instead of the other way around).
 
For me, just more reps with 24 kg worked well.

With 32 kg, start with quality jerks, then go with push presses, and that should yield in presses.
 
for me, few assisted press with the 32 kg work. i can press the 32 with right arm, but my left struggled. i did few single assited press per day, 3 to 4 times a week. after 2 week, i can press the 32 with my left
 
Smile-n-Nod said:
I've been doing military presses for a while with 24 kg. Today I performed 5x(1-5) ladders pretty comfortably over about 45 minutes.

I have a shiny new 32-kg kettlebell that I'm itching to use (safely). I can press it once with one arm but not at all with my other arm.
What are some techniques, skills, or programs I can do with the 24 that can help me to be able to press the 32 at least once with each arm?
Click to expand...

You can mix in work with adjustable dumbells when you are between bell weights. This is particularly useful for TGUs and Presses. You can also do the single rung of a ladder with the heavier bell and interleave the weight sizes by increasing the ration of the heavier to light bell. That was the good advice I got but I was working with a 4kg gap. With the 8KG gap, that will take some effort. I would also always think of your max as your weaker or strong (vs stronger) side as Pavel puts it. In other words, you might want to up the volume with your current bell until you can do a rep with your less strong side with your heavier one.

As mentioned, the bottom's up press is very challenging and helps to build tension and shoulder packing.
 
Excellent advice here.

Some more food for thought from Aleks Salkin:
How To Break Plateaus In Your Training
The Never-Fail Path to a Stronger Military Press

So basically: Fill your gaps with OAPushups, Handstand Pushups, Dips or Crawling (especially backwards crawling up a hill).

And I can't find the post, but somewhere he recommends super slow commando rocking (super slow for five minutes straight) right before pressing.

He has some succes stories about people improving their presses with nothing but crawling. I think Geoff Neupert has reported similiar experiences.
 
If you cant press it, push press
If you cant push press it, Jerk.

By doing bent presses alone and doing the negative like a MP increased my pressing strength before I started RoP.

But 8kg increments... i really think you have to try push press the 32kg. K
 
Per some of the other responses - push press and work the eccentric. Jerk and work the eccentric.

You could also pick up a 10lb kettlebell (get one with thin handle if possible) and stack it on the 24 for a transition weight. 8kg is a pretty big jump.

Including some extra volume with the 24 is a good idea as well.

Include some pushup and rowing variations. You can only press so much without strengthening the surrounding musculature. Horizontal push/pull has more carryover to pressing than pressing has to horizontal push/pull.
 
North Coast Miller said:
Include some pushup and rowing variations. You can only press so much without strengthening the surrounding musculature. Horizontal push/pull has more carryover to pressing than pressing has to horizontal push/pull
Click to expand...

Adding a bench press helped get me over the hump on 32k pressing
 
another question..

how much time per session does your (1,2,3,4,5) x5 ladders take to complete?
 
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