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Barbell OHP Issues When I Go Heavy

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@Don Fairbanks

No. Never tried. Paranoid about dropping it
I am NOT a great presser, but when learning to OHP I followed Wendler's advice to use a thumbless grip so I have been doing it since starting and I can say I have never felt uneasy with it in the OHP. I still don't like it for bench pressing, but at least at the weight I use for OHP it doesn't feel risky at all to me.
 
@BJJ Shawn

Let me play with it and try it. I imagine it is similar to how Pavel described the 2 different types of grips in ROTK (press vs jerk). For example, and I'm completely making this up, but maybe a thumbless grip has more tricep activation. And maybe antagonistic muscles are then used less... Such as neck straining muscles...
 
@BJJ Shawn

Let me play with it and try it. I imagine it is similar to how Pavel described the 2 different types of grips in ROTK (press vs jerk). For example, and I'm completely making this up, but maybe a thumbless grip has more tricep activation. And maybe antagonistic muscles are then used less... Such as neck straining muscles...
I barbell press thumbless and prefer it, but at this point it is automatic and familiar. The one "caution" I'd give is if you're very used to the kettlebell press with wrist straight, it is easy to dump the bar when you go thumbless if you try to have "no wrists" ... not sure that makes sense.
 
I am NOT a great presser, but when learning to OHP I followed Wendler's advice to use a thumbless grip so I have been doing it since starting and I can say I have never felt uneasy with it in the OHP. I still don't like it for bench pressing, but at least at the weight I use for OHP it doesn't feel risky at all to me.

What's the claimed benefit of doing thumbless on OHP?
 
What's the claimed benefit of doing thumbless on OHP?
Wendler doesn't have any claimed benefit, he simply states that it is user preference and he feels like his bar path is better when using the thumbless grip. For me just starting out, I simply followed his preference because I had none of my own.

"Use a false grip - I don't know who told me this or why I began doing this, but this made a huge difference with my pressing power and more importantly THE PATH of the bar. It may seem a bit scary at first; holding a bar over your head with a false grip. But this seems to keep the bar path perfect for me and for some reason, make it much more comfortable on my shoulders."
 
What's the claimed benefit of doing thumbless on OHP?
I'm speculating, but I wonder if it's similar to doing a bottoms-up press or waiters press; perhaps it gets you pressing more directly upwards, if that makes any sense. My barbell is in an apartment living room, so I'm probably not going to try it any time soon....
 
Wendler doesn't have any claimed benefit, he simply states that it is user preference and he feels like his bar path is better when using the thumbless grip. For me just starting out, I simply followed his preference because I had none of my own.

"Use a false grip - I don't know who told me this or why I began doing this, but this made a huge difference with my pressing power and more importantly THE PATH of the bar. It may seem a bit scary at first; holding a bar over your head with a false grip. But this seems to keep the bar path perfect for me and for some reason, make it much more comfortable on my shoulders."
Paul Carter says much the same here:

This means not having the thumb around the bar. You'll feel much stronger with a thumbless grip. There are several theories about this, but in my experience it allows for a better path of the bar by bringing it in slightly closer to the centerline of the body. The thumbless grip is also easier on the shoulders in general and more kind to the wrists.

Paul and Jim used to talk a lot. Heck they still might, I'm not exactly BFFs with them. They definitely agreed on that!
 
Wendler doesn't have any claimed benefit, he simply states that it is user preference and he feels like his bar path is better when using the thumbless grip. For me just starting out, I simply followed his preference because I had none of my own.

"Use a false grip - I don't know who told me this or why I began doing this, but this made a huge difference with my pressing power and more importantly THE PATH of the bar. It may seem a bit scary at first; holding a bar over your head with a false grip. But this seems to keep the bar path perfect for me and for some reason, make it much more comfortable on my shoulders."

I actually use a jerk grip when I press.

But a lot of people find that horrible uncomfortable or just weaker.
 
I tried to google "barbell jerk grip" but only came across "jerk grip width." Is this a particular hand position you're referring to?
Check out how the grip looks in the jerk:



Versus the press:



Look where the bar is in the hands, where the elbows are relative to the barbell. This is what I think of when I read "jerk grip." I'm sure he'll chime in what he means, but typically you don't hold the bar the same for jerks as you do for a press or a bench.
 
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