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Barbell Overhead press question

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fj333

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Hi. I'm 38 years old, 6ft, 160-175lb depending how much fat I'm carrying. I've been a hard gainer my whole life. I've been doing SL on and off for 3 years or so. A year ago I was hitting my strongest weights ever (still puny by most people's standards). My OHP was hitting around 108lb. But I had to take a year off for a number of reasons.

I started back recently and a few weeks in, after a day of doing OHP @ 95lb I woke up the next morning with a seized lower back. I am not sure if it was the OHP or the DL, but I suspect the former. The back felt better after 2 days, but I waited 10 before lifting again just to be safe. I dropped my weight to 80lb and started reassessing my form, with video, very carefully, I read the entire SL literature on OHP a few times. I don't need any video feedback, I think I have the form dialed in now, but I do have a question that I don't think is covered in the OHP literature on the SL site.

Do you pause and breathe in/out a couple times between reps? And if so do your shoulders get tired holding the bar at the bottom of the stroke? Proper form dictates that we take a deep breath before the rep and hold it through the entire up/down. At the end of a rep, I have been holding my breath and flexing all of my core, and leg/glute muscles for a few seconds, along with the strain of the press itself. So I want to breathe in/out a couple times before holding my breath for the next rep. But doing that, I realized I can barely do a full set of 5 with 80lb... because the rests are actually wearing out my shoulder muscles a bit. I'm trying to be neutral in that short rest phase, but obviously they're still engaged.

Any advice is welcome.
 
@fj333 I usually take a breath or two between reps when doing a set of 4-6 presses. I find that my shoulders don't get tired when resting but that's because I'm racking the bar just above my deltoids and taking the load off my shoulders.

You might want to look into front rack mobility so you can rest with the bar in a good position that allows you to give your shoulders a break. The bar will sit a bit closer to your throat, which can be a little uncomfortable at first, but shouldn't cause any problems at the weights you're using and you'll need to keep your chest high, which may be taxing for the upper back.

If you can post photos or a video of your form I might be able to give more specific advice.

I hope this is helpful!
 
@fj333 Have a look at the SFL standards video and tell us if your press set resembles what you see here.

Press begins at :49



Generally one breath between reps should be fine. A set of 5 should take something like 30 seconds from unrack to re-rack. Are you taking a lot more time than that?

I tend to breathe at the top of the rep, and then maybe not until 2nd or 3rd rep (here's an old video - on that one I don't breathe until the top of the 3rd rep) but I think breathing with the bar in the lower position can work too, if you stay tight.
 
Most of my Press training is done breathing at the top, with a touch and go at the bottom.

Resting at the top, the weight is supported by your bones, not muscles, like in the start of the Press.

I get a bit more mileage that way.

Maybe you started too heavy? Take a step back and practice?
 
Proper form dictates that we take a deep breath before the rep and hold it through the entire up/down. At the end of a rep, I have been holding my breath and flexing all of my core, and leg/glute muscles for a few seconds, along with the strain of the press itself. So I want to breathe in/out a couple times before holding my breath for the next rep. But doing that, I realized I can barely do a full set of 5 with 80lb... because the rests are actually wearing out my shoulder muscles a bit. I'm trying to be neutral in that short rest phase, but obviously they're still engaged.

Try breathing behind the shield technique:

Start: inhale, brace abs
Max extension: braced abs forceful exhale (like on a KB swing), braced abs inhale
Rack: braced abs exhale

Repeat

But, also:

If merely holding the weight in the rack position for 5 reps fatigues you, that's telling you something.

You may need to work on rack carries or front squats to strengthen your upper back in the rack position.

Or it's just too heavy.
 
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sometimes it depends. I usually find a pattern that feels good and stick with it. but usually I do one to two breaths at the top and hold it.
 
Most of my Press training is done breathing at the top, with a touch and go at the bottom.

Resting at the top, the weight is supported by your bones, not muscles, like in the start of the Press.

Thanks for the tip, I’ll start practicing this.
 
Thanks all for the feedback and tips! I don't like breathing or pausing at the top, because I have a tendency to arch my lower back which aggravates not my spine but my sciatic nerve. Keeping my lungs full AND my core engaged while at the top is extra protection against this.

I've found if I start my exhale just before the bottom of my down stroke, and finish my inhale just as the up stroke is starting, then I don't have to pause for as long at the bottom, and I still have full lungs for the top 90% of the stroke, which I think for me is the most important for protecting my form.
 
Thanks all for the feedback and tips! I don't like breathing or pausing at the top, because I have a tendency to arch my lower back which aggravates not my spine but my sciatic nerve. Keeping my lungs full AND my core engaged while at the top is extra protection against this.

This often means your abs are weak at preventing anti-extension.

If your abs are strong enough at anti-extension, you shouldn't need to hold your breath while pausing on the top.

Perhaps time for more core work.
 
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