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Kettlebell Thoughts or resources on pressing style/groove?

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bluejeff

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I tend to press almost as vertically as I can, somewhat in the scapular plane. I see some folks doing their press with a slight side lean, then straightening their torso at the top of the press. I just tried a couple of the latter and noticed it felt somewhat easier.
I would like my pressing to transfer to future handstand push-up gains, but the side lean is obviously not close to the same motor pattern. Might it be a good way to get used to heavier weights? Or even just to change up the pressing angle from time to time to prevent overuse type issues?
Anyone have thoughts or articles/resources on differences, or why one might choose to lean?
Thanks!
 
Not sure about the side lean, but bottoms up presses will show you the correct groove and allow you to commit the pattern to muscle memory. I'd say the "groove" is the same for handstand pushups but I'm not an expert on that one
 
I do like the feeling of bottoms up presses, but I am not strong enough to do them as strict as I would like with the size bells that I have. Even when I see strong guys bottom up press heavier bells, they lean back and slightly to the side as well. I hardly ever see someone do a bottoms up press and keep their torso mostly vertical.

That being said, doing a double bottoms up press while keeping the torso vertical would very closely mimic a handstand pushup in my mind.
 
I would like my pressing to transfer to future handstand push-up gains, but the side lean is obviously not close to the same motor pattern. Might it be a good way to get used to heavier weights? Or even just to change up the pressing angle from time to time to prevent overuse type issues?
Anyone have thoughts or articles/resources on differences, or why one might choose to lean?
One of the nice things about KB presses, double or single, is that your hand position isn't fixed as in a handstand pushup. You can find a comfortable groove anywhere from straight up out of the rack to a sweeping arc. And with single presses you can initiate the press by "pressing yourself away from the weight," which can not only help you lift bigger weights, but is also usually more shoulder-friendly. Part of the skill of KB presses is rooting and wedging under the weight, much more so than in a strict handstand pushup. And then there's the way the weight of the KB rests on the forearm so that you're sort of pressing through the elbow as much as through the hand. Not to mention that a single KB press is unilateral, while a handstand pushup is bilateral.

All of which is to say that KB presses are probably not the best direct assistance for handstand pushups, especially single KB presses. I'd expect more carryover in the other direction, from handstand pushups to KB presses. And I feel like trying to make KB presses more closely resemble handstand pushups is trying to strip away the things that make KB presses unique. It's sort of like doing bench presses because you want to get better at one-arm pushups. Yeah, there's some overlap between them, but they're really different drills that use different techniques to achieve different ends.
 
One of the nice things about KB presses, double or single, is that your hand position isn't fixed as in a handstand pushup. You can find a comfortable groove anywhere from straight up out of the rack to a sweeping arc. And with single presses you can initiate the press by "pressing yourself away from the weight," which can not only help you lift bigger weights, but is also usually more shoulder-friendly. Part of the skill of KB presses is rooting and wedging under the weight, much more so than in a strict handstand pushup. And then there's the way the weight of the KB rests on the forearm so that you're sort of pressing through the elbow as much as through the hand. Not to mention that a single KB press is unilateral, while a handstand pushup is bilateral.

All of which is to say that KB presses are probably not the best direct assistance for handstand pushups, especially single KB presses. I'd expect more carryover in the other direction, from handstand pushups to KB presses. And I feel like trying to make KB presses more closely resemble handstand pushups is trying to strip away the things that make KB presses unique. It's sort of like doing bench presses because you want to get better at one-arm pushups. Yeah, there's some overlap between them, but they're really different drills that use different techniques to achieve different ends.
makes sense. I need a break though from direct hspu work (aside from some pike pushups, to not lose the groove) due to some postural issues that give me a crooked handstand. Ideally, I'd like to use a barbell or just a stack of plates to more closely mimic the hspu. But the money for a barbell is not in my near future. So I'm just trying to increase my overhead strength with a straight bodyline, and make my left shoulder work "better" since it is connected to the postural stuff, if that makes sense. HSPU is not scalable to the level I would like to work at, and I'd just like a little change of pace.

I was just curious why someone would choose to do the lean-away pressing a KB. I know it puts the center of mass of the KB more over your own COM, but aside from that....?
 
Ok, So I'm not trying to be nitpicky here , but this is an example of the type of press I was asking about. To me, this looks more like a side press that straightens out at the top. Whereas, what I think of as a “strict” press would have little to no side bending. I'm not here to knock McIlroy or say that this exercise is wrong or bad in any way (because at the end of the day putting a heavy weight overhead is putting heavy weight overhead), but I guess I'm curious why somebody would choose to press this way. Will it work as a way to bridge the gap between current bell size and heavier ones? The motor pattern is so different from what I think of as a strict press, so it makes me wonder. It also doesn't mimic really any other movements I can think of. Once again, not knocking it, I get that it's just different.

 
The above video is a GS style press. It's not what we teach at StrongFirst nor would any of those reps pass the SFG-I technique test.

Several parts of Fabio's new Victorious pressing course have appeared lately on our social media, and those are all textbook example of the way we teach the press. (See the thread announcing the new course for a link.) @bluejeff, that pressing course will address all of the points/questions you've raised here - all of them, and then some.

-S-
 
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