Kevin W
Level 5 Valued Member
Is doing long push presses (as described in ETK supplemental - clean, drop into full front squat, stand and press out the bell at the top) a good way to build strength to get to be able to do military presses?
Some back ground on myself - civil engineer, 45 years old, 5'10", 87 kg, smoked until 40, started exercise in fall of 2010 with Convict Conditioning, started using kettlebells with ETK in summer 2011, work in Afghanistan, and live in rural Thailand. In Thailand I have pairs of 16, 24, 32 and 40 kg bells. In Afghanistan I have single 16, 24, 32 and 40 kg bells.
When I started I did the full ladder progression with the 24 kg with pull ups, after which I was not able to press the 32 kg. I then used long push presses with the 32 kg with renegade rows for the full 5x5 ladder format. After completing that I was able to press the 32 kg with my right but my left was still shaky. I then went back to the ladders with the 32 kg but used off hand assistance to help the left side through the midway sticking point and worked up to the full 5x5 ladders. After the several cheating style cycles I was able to do a real ETK press ladder run through with the 32 kg.
Next was the 40 kg, which I can press once with both sides but no more than that. I am now doing the same routine that worked with the 32 kg for the 40 kg. I am repeating the previous week's ladders until I feel strong with them and currently up to 4x3 ladders on the heavy day. I am doing renegade rows in a similar ladder format with the 32 kg. On variety days I am just doing some bodyweight ring rows and incline ring push ups, mainly just to keep my elbow tendons fluid.
I have found that working with a bell heavier than I can press makes all of my other bells feel light. As I get stronger I can use less of a leg drive and more shoulder power to press. At the top I hold for a few seconds and then try and do a slow negative, and the front squat forces me to stay tight through the core. The workouts do tend to take a bit of time as I need to recover after the rungs and the ladders, 90 minutes or more on heavy days.
The question I have is this a good method for building the strength needed to move up a bell size when intermediate sized bells are not available? I am not sure that I have ever seen anyone advocate this approach.
Some back ground on myself - civil engineer, 45 years old, 5'10", 87 kg, smoked until 40, started exercise in fall of 2010 with Convict Conditioning, started using kettlebells with ETK in summer 2011, work in Afghanistan, and live in rural Thailand. In Thailand I have pairs of 16, 24, 32 and 40 kg bells. In Afghanistan I have single 16, 24, 32 and 40 kg bells.
When I started I did the full ladder progression with the 24 kg with pull ups, after which I was not able to press the 32 kg. I then used long push presses with the 32 kg with renegade rows for the full 5x5 ladder format. After completing that I was able to press the 32 kg with my right but my left was still shaky. I then went back to the ladders with the 32 kg but used off hand assistance to help the left side through the midway sticking point and worked up to the full 5x5 ladders. After the several cheating style cycles I was able to do a real ETK press ladder run through with the 32 kg.
Next was the 40 kg, which I can press once with both sides but no more than that. I am now doing the same routine that worked with the 32 kg for the 40 kg. I am repeating the previous week's ladders until I feel strong with them and currently up to 4x3 ladders on the heavy day. I am doing renegade rows in a similar ladder format with the 32 kg. On variety days I am just doing some bodyweight ring rows and incline ring push ups, mainly just to keep my elbow tendons fluid.
I have found that working with a bell heavier than I can press makes all of my other bells feel light. As I get stronger I can use less of a leg drive and more shoulder power to press. At the top I hold for a few seconds and then try and do a slow negative, and the front squat forces me to stay tight through the core. The workouts do tend to take a bit of time as I need to recover after the rungs and the ladders, 90 minutes or more on heavy days.
The question I have is this a good method for building the strength needed to move up a bell size when intermediate sized bells are not available? I am not sure that I have ever seen anyone advocate this approach.
