Buzz
As we proceed with our month-long training on the overhead press, it's time to discuss whether you're potentially cutting corners—or not, depending on how you see it. The press essentially consists of two variations, based on whether you bend your knees during the movement.
I’m not here to argue which one is ‘better,’ as both lifts are fantastic for training and serve distinct purposes. Let’s now dive into the differences between them.
Overhead Press Without the Legs
A strict press is performed without bending the knees. As you press the bar upward from chest or shoulder height to overhead, you might add a bit of momentum by tilting your torso and pushing your hips forward, but your knees remain locked throughout the movement.
The strict press isn't commonly used in competitive lifting, though there are exceptions. Strengthlifting, a powerlifting-related organization, has substituted the bench press with the strict overhead press in their competitions. Historically, the clean and press was an Olympic event but was removed due to varying judge opinions on what constituted a sufficiently strict press. (The snatch and clean and jerk lifts remain less controversial for judging.)
As a general guideline in training, your feet should stay grounded, and your knees must not bend under any circumstances.
Strict press is a great exercise for building tricep and shoulder strength. If you engage in another press variant, incorporating strict presses into your routine is likely beneficial. You can also prevent leg cheating by performing your presses seated on a bench or on the floor.
Overhead Push Press
Here’s an alternative perspective on using your legs during the press: If a little leg drive can help you lift more, why not take advantage of it?
That’s the concept behind a push press. You begin in the same stance as a strict press, but just before initiating the press, you bend your knees into a near quarter-squat. Then, you explode upward, using your leg strength to propel the weight overhead, assisting your arms in the process. This technique allows you to lift more weight. For context, I recently tested my strict press at 95 pounds and my push press at 118.
Push press is a fundamental movement in strongman and strongwoman competitions, where 'press' often simply means getting the weight overhead by any means necessary. Strict presses aren’t required, so competitors can be seen push pressing logs, barbells, dumbbells, and occasionally unconventional items like sandbags or stones.
If you’re training the push press, do it with purpose. Include it deliberately in your program, such as doing strict press on Tuesday and push press on Thursday. Don’t let it happen accidentally because you weren’t focused. Be intentional with your training.
The advanced level
Here’s another method of lifting weight overhead that offers a more mechanical advantage: You push with your legs, similar to a push press, but once the weight begins to pick up speed, you bend your legs again to drop underneath it, catching it with straight arms, even if it hasn’t risen very far.
This technique is called a jerk. If your feet stay roughly in their starting position and you only slightly bend your legs, it’s referred to as a power jerk. (This variation is often seen in strongman competitions.) Olympic lifters typically perform a split jerk, where one foot moves forward while the other steps back. In comparison to my strict press of 95 pounds and push press of 118, my best clean and jerk is 143, and my power jerk is likely somewhere in between those two numbers.
Each type of jerk has its own pros and cons, but discussing them in detail is beyond the scope of this article. If you're interested, Catalyst has an excellent article on them here.
