How to get a Big Press | Starting Strength Network Previews 

A big press is really the most imPRESSive lift to me. Because it is all strength. No back arching, sumo position, whatever. Just hard training and raw strength.

Listen to Rip. Follow his advice. I did. My press is now 231 for 3 reps. I weigh 220. 5’9’’. Still going up. I’m 48.

A bodyweight press has always been a lofty goal and Mark's advice is right. Pressing more than 3 days a week is much like what was done in the USSR when the press was still in the Olympic Lifts.

A 225 standing press is already impressive. Most natural lifters will never reach a 300 lb press with full ROM. I know guys that bench 450 and can't press 300.

I strict press 130 lbs for 11 @160 lbs 17 years old.(not a huge number but considering no layback its quite good for my age and size) What works for me is pressing 2 days a week, one day a heavy single and rep work the other day dynamic effort work and rep work.

There's me pressing once a month and wondering why it's so hard to improve it. 😄

Did this clip get cutoff before Rip said “eat more protein?”

405 press @ 250lb body weight? That's insane!

Of the two, bench vs ohp, which one has the biggest carryover. In other words, if you just focused on one, which would give the biggest bang for increasing both lifts.

I struggle with the press so much. Maybe this is my problem. I bench 385 and weigh 205, but can’t press more than 185.

I find it difficult to use the hip movement as i approach my workset weight. Is there something i can do about that?

How would you program this around squats/deadlifts etc? Lighter press days for those?

QUESTION If you want a big bench press would you recommend the same approach or different?

If you want Rips sexy shoulders, keep pressing for singles lol!

The press depends on volume and mechanics. Your body wants a T-Rex instead of Hercules. So practice the overhead press. Always fresh, as frequent as you can, for power and heavy weight.

Did Rip just use CM?

Gentleman, questions, What's a dynamic effort workout ?

Practice the Push Press.

What does dynamic mean in this context?

Do I have to bench less and press more on my linear program , in case to press more heavy and progress on press ???????

Is that a life size statue of Paul Perkerson??

How to get a big press. Test E and halotestin there's ur answer

I agree same with bench press

2:42 I’m sorry but Rip is so out of touch with reality and can easily get someone hurt with this line of thinking. Low 300’s is a crazy amount of weight for the press. If someone has a 225-250 press, no matter what context in body weight they have a big press. 275+ is hit by the 0.0000001% of the population and I’ve never seen someone go above 230 (on average 135) in person. Yet he says 300-345 is the norm for a big press? Even the SS standards say a 284 press at 320+ lbs is considered elite. Lol gtfo

Thank you sir for this. I’m 65 and just beginning the strict standing press. Just got to 135 x 2. Been pressing once a week. Now going to follow your advice and work 3 times a week and ensuring I finish with heavy singles. (Been focusing on deadlift/front squats/curls/ rows/chest work forever). No idea why I never got into heavy bar strict presses. Fun to have a new challenge. Straight up and down. I respect the Chase lift, but it is certainly not a strict press. “Body weight is a starting point.” Indeed. 85 below bodyweight. Again/ your reality checks and advice are golden.

Good information, thanks Rippetoe. Perhaps 5 days a week presses will be in Chase's future? We can only hope.

Learnt so much from rips videos, I only just came across them a week ago. I'm loving squats more than ever!!

Very strict press is at 165lbs for 5 reps at 210 bw at 42 years old recovering from a torn rotator cuff in both shoulders

I think dynamic effort would be good when 65% is close to your bodyweight. The best weight to train press in general is when the center of mass of the barbel- lifter system is close to the bar. If you cant press bodyweight then the only real way to practice this is with heavy triples, doubles, singles.

If you press 4 times a week, you’re gonna be a weak presser because you’re not going to be recovering between training sessions, not to mention you’ll also likely get hurt from lack of variation & overuse. Training the press 3 times a week is only good for beginners who have no muscular foundation & need to learn the lifts but should only be done for at most 12 weeks if that. Then you want to press once a week hard & do other accessory lifts like incline dumbbell press, lateral raises, tricep pushdowns, etc to build up the muscles involved in the press in the same workout. It’s really simple, go into the gym, find your 1 rep max by adding weight to the exercise until you can only do a single rep with it & then afterwards, whatever weight you did, take 60% of that & do it for 5 x 10, same with your accessory lifts then the next week, add 5 lbs to the 60% weight you did.

The other thing that is necessary for a heavy press, is some heavy duty gear. That's why most people don't press heavy. They are law abiding citizens.

As always THE most important voice on the internet

Hit that like button 💪👍✨️🌟

How much can Chase bench?

Do you think 5 days a week is too much to train the Press?

I meant to say probably not optimum . Either too much rest or too little rest .

Do you even lift bro

How would you structure a 4 day press program ? Monday , Wednesday, Friday, Sunday and then start again on Tuesday or Wednesday? I don't understand how best to structure it . Maybe pin presses and dynamic effort work can be done on back to back days ? Does anyone know how you would go about this because if done wrong it can not be optimum

Is the bench that much less technically important? You mentioned benching once every couple weeks vs pressing 4x week, or 8x frequency of the bench. Is this because he's trying to specifically improve the press? I do agree about the importance of bar path in that the muscles that have to overcome the moment caused by deviation from the centerline (glutes abs traps) have to work very hard and quick to stabilize.

If you applied this to the bench press, What should the set rep scheme be for the pin press day and also do you try to keep adding 5lbs a week on each workout?