The one-arm kettlebell military press is a full-body lift that requires you to master a large set of skills and the ability to use them all at the unison.
The body mastery that you have achieved once you own a perfect military press makes you way stronger, also in all the other lifts.
The best way to find out if you really own your press or you still have some flaws that must be fixed, is pushing your press to the limit, or close to it.
Do your customary warm-up and movement prep and then ramp-up, through 1-2 sets of triples, doubles, and singles, to a weight that is close to your 1RM. Take generous rest intervals between the ramp-up sets. I don’t want you to be fatigued in your top sets. Now you are ready for the test.
Make sure you film all the following attempts.
- Pick up the kettlebell that is close to your 1RM and press it for a single. Press it for one rep only, even if you feel you could complete more reps. Do this on both sides.
- After a generous rest, of no less than 5 minutes, attempt a single with a heavier kettlebell, your PR weight, on both sides. It doesn’t matter if you make it or not, what you want to see is how good you are at maintaining a perfect form under a PR weight.
If you feel that one rep was all you could do with the kettlebell close to your 1RM, and you failed your PR attempt, the test is over. If, instead, you felt you could have done more reps with the kettlebell close to your 1RM, regardless of whether you made it or not with the PR weight, do the following.
- Rest for no less than 5 minutes and then go back to the kettlebell close to your 1RM and do as many reps as you can complete, on both sides. Then, your test is over.
Now you have two or three videos or your attempts, for both sides.
Analyze the videos of your attempts and pay attention to what your body is doing, especially when you are struggling or failing. Watch it many times, at regular speed, in slow motion, and pause it when you notice a detail that deserves your attention. Most likely it will fall in the list below.
The most common mistakes that compromise a perfect press are the following:
- Allowing the kettlebell to slip out of the groove
- Failing to tighten the entire body, especially the unloaded side
- Failing the perfect timing
To perform a strong and safe one-arm kettlebell military press, you must:
- Press along a perfect groove (for you)
- Press from a solid foundation
- Use perfect timing
Keep a note of what went sideways in your attempts, in the next emails and series of free instructional videos, we will show you how you can fix it!
