Training for the Press - Russ Knipp (1967)

 

Training for the Press by Russell Knipp as told to Bill Starr

Strength & Health October 1967

Russell Knipp has broken the world record press four times in his short career.  He is the current world record holder in the press for the 165-pound division, having done 346 ¼ on June 24^th in Mexico City.  He is the only active United States lifter who holds a world record. Besides being a fantastic performer, Russ is also an astute analyser of the game. His critical eye has helped many lifters overcome flaws in their lifting. In this special feature Russell gives some of his personal views on how to train for the press.  Both the novice and the advanced competitor will benefit from his advice. BS

Basically, the press is an easy movement to learn. The problem that I have found that most lifters have today is that they just lack the strength in pushing the weight overhead. The easiest way to teach someone the correct position in the press is to have them do “forced” repetitions in the military press with a slight layback. By “forced” repetitions, I mean to have someone do just as many reps with a given weight as possible so that the last few movements really make him put out. I’ve made a few changes in my style of pressing since last year and found that by placing the bar off my clavicle about 2” lower than before I could get a more direct drive from my shoulders to arms length. You must learn to keep the bar directly over the balls of the feet at all times during the press. By putting the bar in this position, it increases your efficiency and there is less chance for error. This is a mistake that I see a lot of lifters doing incorrectly when they do military presses. Instead of bending into the weight much as the way an archer strings his bow, then bend backwards away from the weight thus decreasing the amount of force to push the weight upward. You have never seen a lopsided bow, in which one end is bent more than the other. This is what I mean by bowing into the weight – having an even knee bend from your shoulders to your ankles.

It is important to realize how to do the military press so as to receive the maximum benefit and also to understand how it correlates with the Olympic press. In doing the militaries, start with the slight layback that you use as your starting position for the Olympic press. Keep the abdomen and thighs as tight as possible. Now push the weight upward to arm’s length and hold the layback for all your remaining reps. This is the important factor as the weight is going upward – use your hips as a wedge to force the weight out. You have to work up to a heavy set for reps to experience this, as the weight begins to stop, then lean into it with the hips. I usually advocate 5 reps in this exercise. Another thing that I recommend is a wide grip (I use 20” hand spacing) for my press. The reason for this is there is no sticking point in my press.  If your grip is too narrow, then you restrict your triceps strength in locking out the weight.

The other afternoon I was in the York Gym and noticed a youngster performing military presses.  He seemed to be having some difficulty and asked me to assist him. So I demonstrated the movement from start to finish. I break the military press down into four basic parts.

1)     The starting position is the layback you assume for the Olympic press

2)     Now come forward to the erect position so that the bar is at the top of your head. Remember that all of the drive comes from the tight grip, the contraction of the abdomen and the thighs.

3)     As you drop back into your layback position the arms should lock out

4)     Finally, you recover to the finished erect position.

Within ten minutes the youngster was doing the whole movement correctly, driving the broomstick from the shoulders to arms length in one movement. This is what I call “all drive”. I instructed him to use light weight to practice the “all drive” movement and to do military presses for power. The movement with the light weight is called “Developing Motor Pathways” (part of the PHA system) so that the pattern will eventually become automatic.

This is the system that I use for my press up until three weeks before a contest and then I work up to heavy doubles so that I have to press out where the drive stops. This is where the work with the militaries really pays off.

Remember that the military and the Olympic press are done the same. The movements are identical 0 the even bow from start to finish, maintaining the layback until the arms are locked to keep your balance, making sure that the weight is always over the balls of the feet, and the arms, abdomen, and thighs are tight. The only difference between the military press and the Olympic press is the explosive speed that you must use in the latter. The press is now a quick lift and speed is as critical in the Olympic press as it is in the snatch and clean and jerk. So think speed on all of your pressing movements. I have outlined a program for the press that I used prior to setting the world record at the Mexican National Championships. I hope that some of these exercises will enable each of you to put pounds on your Olympic press.

MONDAY, WEDNESDAY, FRIDAY

Bench Press to Neck: 135 x 10, 205 x 8, 240 x 5, 255 x 5, 275 x 5, 255 x 5

Reverse Curl: 45 x 8, 65 x 8, 75 x 5, x 3

Sit-up Crunches: 25 reps for 8 sets

TUESDAY and THURSDAY

Military Presses: 135 x 10, 175 x 8, 205 x 5, off rack 225 x 5, 230 x 5, 235 x 5, 220 x 5 x 2

Reverse Curl: Same as M-W-F

Sit-up Crunches: Same as M-W-F

SATURDAY

Olympic Press: 135 x 5, 175 x 5, 205 x 5, 240 x 5, 275 x 5, 290 x 3

Reverse Curl: Same as M-W-F

Sit-up Crunches: Same as M-W-F

Dips from Chairs: 6 sets of 15 reps

Hanging from upside down after each workout to decompress vertebrae.