The Press Prescription with Dr. Jonathon Sullivan

[@adalas]

I got your book "Barbell Prescription" last summer. After reading it, I finally understood that going to the gym every day is not the wisest thing for a 52 y.o. Today, I am not afraid of lifting weights anymore, and I am already squatting my BW. Thanks very much Doc for all the quality content you provide.

[@Kma11111]

For years I suffered from shoulder impingement. Only the press helped significantly here (no machines, no rows, no stretching, no hanging, etc.). Impingement patients, do these exercises! Greetings from Germany

[@jahreigns888]

The only time the press has bothered my shoulders was when I utilized too wide a grip. I narrowed my grip and was all right.

[@anthonyluisi7096]

Jah Reigns , I’m just that opposite to narrow , hurts my shoulders . I use a wider grip ..everybody is different based on their body type , injuries , etc... the bottom line is that you found what works for you 👍🏻

[@jahreigns888]

@@anthonyluisi7096 👍

[@DM-sk3gk]

Dr Sullivan you are a great teacher. Thank you for your time.

[@TiberiusStorm]

I talked to two physiotherapists on KZbin "Bob & Brad" and they refused to believe me when I told them the OHP was safe for the shoulders. They claimed it was dangerous due to shoulder impingement. I'm glad to see your video here! Sadly, this is one of the hardest exercises to add weight on.

[@sullydawg]

"The Most Famous PTs on the Internet?" Yeah. Well, you can tell them I am suitably contrite.

[@TiberiusStorm]

haha no doubt! Any advice on how to increase the OHP? I've been stuck at 115 lbs for years and I'm only 41 years old!

[@sullydawg]

@@TiberiusStorm You should be pressing a lot more than that. It's going to be form or programming or both. Get thee to a coach, in-person or online.

[@TexicanMr]

I have found the press to be the most dependent on body weight, bench press is second. I'm 40 and my press recently went up just from holiday eating.

[@sullydawg]

@@TexicanMr Awesome! Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go find a lasagna. :)

[@cpawp]

Let 'The Press' begin!

[@broonbreed7193]

I hope this encourages older people to lift and not consider themselves 'past it'

[@HAL-dm1eh]

The press was my favorite exercise when I was lifting. I had to stop because of nerve impingement issues in my neck which I just got an MRI for to see what's going on. Anyway, this may seem really obvious and maybe it is, but when I was learning to do it the SS way and moving my whole body back out of the way of the bar instead of just the neck, I wasn't keeping my abs tight enough and it put some pressure on my spine in a way I still feel. I'll be getting that looked at eventually too. I hope I can go back to doing this soon. Not only is it healthy and staves off the degeneration that comes with age, it's FUN!

[@marusdod3685]

Have you tried shrugging at the top? Not doing that can lead to shoulder impingement

[@HAL-dm1eh]

@@marusdod3685 It's not shoulder impingement, the press actually cured a lot of rotator cuff problems I had for years prior. The problem is nerve impingement of vertebrae in my neck and it causes intolerable pain and burning from the neck, down my right trap, into my shoulder and all the way down into my hand. The last straw was when I was trying to do something and my arm and hand got so weak they almost became paralyzed. It's existed for years as numbness in both hands but got worse and worse as I lifted through my LP doing SS and the pain got so bad I finally had to stop just as I was getting the hang of HLM programming. I was gonna try to work through it but researching the SS forums I saw Rip advise people with such symptoms to get it examined because you have a neck injury and it can be dangerous. It's probably the only thing I've seen him say "do whatever doesn't make it hurt" which is everything with me so oh well.

[@Fortress333]

Hope you can get it fixed. I read your comment and I wish you well. The press is indeed fun and will be very beneficial if you can do it.

[@HAL-dm1eh]

@@Fortress333 Thanks I appreciate it. I'm glad you commented too, because I noticed you have very interesting playlists and I'm gonna be going through them! haha I have certain tastes in movies and music, too.

[@Fortress333]

@@HAL-dm1eh Oh, hahah, yeah, I guess I spend too much time on KZbin watching all kinds of stuff. I have only a couple old videos myself of bad quality when I was new to lifting, but I do keep a close watch on a few good lifting channels and make sure to always leave a like and sometimes a comment to hopefully help those people out. I guess it also makes my viewing history traceable, but I have nothing to hide. I also watch 'controversial' content on some subjects, but hey, I guess overhead pressing is controversial in its own right in the realm of fitness :) Again, take care.

[@zorkan111]

The press, i.e. The Preeayhs - by far my most favorite exercise. And by far the most underutilized by your average gym goer. Bodybuilder types will often sit on a bench pressing dumbbells, but standing barbell press can hardly ever be seen in the gym.

[@ethanallenhawley1052]

Thanks for the video. You do great work.

[@futures.scalper.808]

My shoulders were one of the weakest muscles starting out. After strengthening it, my bench press and tricep pushdowns went alot higher too.

[@ho2673]

With deadlifts ( conventional ), squats, press and chinups and rows tou have everything

[@kaminski3036]

Thanks a lot for the content! The press like every basic powerful technique is important

[@Rangerfan-gz1rx]

I don’t compete in anything, I just want to be all around strong, healthy, look good and look like I lift, I focus on squat, deadlift, weighted chin up, and press, and for conditioning I do sled push, farmers walks, sledge swing, weighted pushups and row in a circuit. I think the weighted pushup for non powerlifters is a better exercise.

[@gard1726field]

Interesting. I wonder why you don't do bench press

[@legitboss100]

Ranger 18 But you can only progress the weighted push up so far. You can’t continually add weight in the same you can for a bench press. I don’t think then that It should take priority over bench.

[@JohnRhodes-lv3rg]

Pressing overhead is invaluable. They will heal your upper body.

[@Fortress333]

I have a little over a year of experience with the press. Along with the squat and deadlift, it's been the lift that has made me feel a whole lot better. I also love chins, but would put them below the movements I just mentioned. Now, the press is something I wish I had read more about years ago, because I've been lifting for a few more years and only fairly recently started pressing, for which I thank Bill Starr (RIP), Starting Strength, Brian Alsruhe, and Alan Thrall, among others. There is so much nonsense about pressing overhead on the web, and I had fallen for it, buying into the nonsense that lifting overhead is bad for shoulders, at least for some folks. As I always had wonky shoulders since starting with lifting and didn't know what the heck was wrong and I quickly got weird sounds like clicks and pops in one shoulder, I thought pressing overhead was not for me. Boy, was I wrong. My pressing for a few years consisted of -- you guessed it -- benching, mostly with a barbell and sometimes with dumbbells, for example on an inclined bench. I did nothing for well-rounded shoulders, like the whole shoulder girdle. I also did just about nothing for my upper back, except deadlift, chins, and rowing (never enough). Even though I'm obsessive about technique, the bench caused my shoulders to become much stronger on the anterior side and the chins didn't help, although I thought they would prevent disbalances. I got the first signs of shoulder issues, was unable to lift an arm over my head, got a lot of pain on a few occasions for a few times. I still tried to improve bench pressing, thinking my technique was off (probably was), but still, I could not fix my shoulders -- until I used the press as a shoulder medication. Light weight, high reps, I quickly felt much better. There is no feeling like after pressing, when the upper back feels nicely sore and the shoulders like they worked hard all over. It was a lengthy journey with ups and downs pressing, because it's not an easy lift and I did have no coach in real life (I learn from watching channels like this), and in my previous gym there was no one who pressed (well). Very few seem to press well. If they do it at all, they use light weight and they press in front of their body or with all kinds of body English. Most folks just immediately run to the bench with the barbell and start benching, and they also do this with light light and with horrendous form. Anyway, recently I improved my technique further, placing the barbell on my shoulders, like in the clean. Before, I held it below my chin and dipped it down quickly to that spot to proceed pressing it. Each time, especially when things got heavy, I had to more or less catch the weight and holding it up floating there under my chin, which felt unstable and made me prone to aches if I made a mistake. Now that I press from a more stable base, the press feels even more wonderful, but I had to reduce the weight :) I was convinced I could not get the bar on there, even though I can front squat holding it there just fine. But pressing from that position, no, I thought my body could not get into the position with my forearms held up as is necessary. I have tried before, but a couple of weeks ago I said damn it, I will do it no matter what. Way better. Hope this can help someone out there. Just press and press well and keep pressing. I haven't bench pressed with a barbell in many months, but I think of doing it again as assistance for the press (overloading the triceps with more weight than I can press). Thank you for the video and it looks impressive to me for someone to press those blue plates.

[@bestfitpro874]

Barbell training is medicine

[@GreySteel]

It is!

[@csjs123]

Subbed, great content 👌

[@tejyeshroxrocking2021]

1St like from india

[@CP025129]

Can you do the press if you don’t have a beard for the bar to rub against as it passes your chin?

[@jonathonsullivan2609]

Yes. But it won't be beautiful.

[@tejyeshroxrocking2021]

Your perfect

[@salsal9336]

What do u think with the football/Swiss barbell with angle hand grips

[@kf6pfk]

I've been learning the clean and jerk. Does the jerk compare favourably with the press as a regular strength exercise?

[@nickname5711]

Brandon White from Buff Dudes

[@operationtruth288]

Do you lift weights?

[@johanhansson4574]

It's called the scapulohumeral rhythm not the "active shoulder".

[@BrewTimeRS]

Is shrugging advisable during the press? Does that not introduce instability of the shoulder/scapula? Thanks

[@BrewTimeRS]

Just finished watching and saw that shrugging seems to aid in prevention of impingement

[@TexicanMr]

I've never had to consciously shrug. It just happens when I push my head through and lock out.

[@sullydawg]

@@TexicanMr Go talk to Nicholas R above. HE might find your observation interesting and germaine. Adding a conscious, deliberate shrug is beneficial.

[@artmakesUfree]

Also watch Marc Rippetoe on OHP. He explains how shrugging gives more space in the shoulder. Very logical! kzbin.info/www/bejne/a5TRqoWhj7mnpa8

[@bignades1]

I just can’t look him and not think about werewolves

[@sullydawg]

This is logically equivalent to saying, "I just can't look at a coffee cup and not think about a coffee cup."

[@lgarcia1249]

Hahahahaha

[@lgarcia1249]

@@sullydawg correction: Look at a coffee cup and not think about taking a poo