bent press Archives - Breaking Muscle

Tackle the Kettlebell Bent Press: Part 1

Chris Abbott — Fri, 10 Aug 2018 00:00:00 +0000

If you know much about old-school strongmen like Arthur Saxon, Eugen Sandow, and Sig Klein, chances are high that you’ve heard of the bent press. Typically performed with a barbell, strongmen would use the bent press as the preferred method to hoist a heavy load overhead with one arm. Arthur Saxon once did a bent press with 371lb!

Somewhere between then and now, the bent press has become more foreign, and I could understand why. At first glance, the bent press is intimidating. Its complexity is liable to leave you scratching your head wondering where to begin. Once you decide to give it a go, you might find limitations in your shoulders, hips, or back that prevent you from safely attempting the lift, turning you away from it altogether.

Today, I hope to point out to you why you should not only get to know the bent press, but use it as a means to get seriously strong and increase the control you have of your attachment sites. I’ll break this into two separate parts; building a foundation and practicing the full bent press.

The bent press is a skill, and like any skill requires constant practice. There are subsystems to the bent press that can, and should, be practiced daily. Two in particular are the arm bar and bent arm bar. When used frequently, not only will they allow you become a successful presser, but they may prove to be the missing link between your mobility/stability needs in the hips, shoulders, and upper back.

The Rationale Behind the Bent Press

Dave Whitley’s Taming the Bent Press was my first exposure to the lift, and a book I revisit frequently. Whitley is a performing strongman himself, and touches on the history of the bent press in his book. If you’re truly interested in learning to master the lift, I’d highly recommend getting his book.

But why would you want to use the bent press in the first place? Well, if you’re interested in significantly increasing your overhead strength, adding a supplemental total-body lift to your kettlebell, barbell, or bodyweight training, or if you just want to wow your peers with a truly awesome lift, the bent press is your answer.

Before we break it down, below is a quick look at what the overall movement looks like:

There’s a lot going on here. To fully comprehend what’s happening, we need to deconstruct the lift from the very beginning, starting with the rack position. We will start with perhaps the one of the best catchall exercises there is: the arm bar.

Breaking Down the Arm Bar

The bent press, like most kettlebell lifts, requires a balance of tension and relaxation. I can’t think of too many other drills that demonstrate this better than the arm bar. Aside from the direct result of teaching you how to properly pack the shoulder, you’ll also see an increase in mobility and stability of the upper back and shoulders, as well as the hips.

Gray Cook refers to the Turkish get up as “loaded yoga.” I might consider the arm bar “loaded meditation.” My clients often note a feeling of complete relaxation following an arm bar while being able to move more freely throughout their entire body. When people ask me if I stretch, I often use the example of the arm bar as to why I don’t do a whole lot of “stretching.”

Flexibility is considered the passive range of motion you have at a specific area, while mobility refers to the useable range of motion you have at a specific joint. For example, let’s say you can lay on your back and hug your knees all the way to your chest, but can’t properly perform a deep squat when standing. You posses the proper flexibility needed to perform a deep squat while unloaded, lying on your back. But when standing and under load you lack the mobility—or control—needed to properly execute the movement.

This sums up why you get so many benefits from a lift like the arm bar. Your tonic muscles (pecs, biceps, and hip flexors) all begin to “shut off” or stretch as your phasic muscles (delts, glutes, triceps, and deep core muscles) “turn on.”

Some people view the arm bar as something they need to prepare for first, fearing they could injure themselves. I’d say this is your solution to your current mobility/stability problem. Learn to properly perform an arm bar and you likely won’t have very many shoulder issues appear in your future.

The Arm Bar

The arm bar will help teach you to properly stabilize and control a load overhead, while at the same time increasing the mobility and control needed to perform a number of lifts aside from the bent press.

If you’re someone who already has a lot of mobility, 1-2 reps on each side is likely all you’ll need. For my clients with more mobility needs, it’s not uncommon to perform 8-10 arm bars on each side throughout our training session.

Step 1: The Set Up

You want to make sure you grab the bell properly before rolling and starting the lift. Lie on your right side and put your right hand under the handle so that the back of your wrist is flat against the bell. Once you get your grip right, and your wrist is firmly on the bell, place your left hand over your right hand, roll over to your back and press the bell up with both hands. At no point should the back of the wrist come off the bell during the roll or any other time of the lift moving forward.

Pack your shoulder and when comfortably secure, remove your left hand and straighten it over your head. Bend your right knee and straighten your left leg. You’re now set to roll into the arm bar.

Step 2: The Roll

Once set, drive your right heel into the floor to roll onto your left side. As this happens you’re going to think of punching to the ceiling with your loaded hand. Allow your right knee to land in front of you at a 90-degree angle. Stabilize the bell, relax your head on your left arm, and start to breathe. I typically count breaths here, rather than seconds, as it allows you to relax more into the exercise. Try and leave your hand imprint in the bell (squeeze hard), check your wrist to make sure it hasn’t come off the back of the bell (it usually does) and create as much tension in your loaded arm as possible. This should fire the triceps and create an even tighter pack in the shoulder.

As you relax more, you can slowly start to slide your right knee out in front of you more and possibly even get your right hip all the way to the floor. If you reach a point where the load overhead becomes unstable, you’ve gone too far. Take a few more breaths and relax into your deeper position.

Step 3: The Return

After 5-10 breaths, you’ll want to bring your knee back up to 90-degrees, then hook your right foot behind your left leg to provide support for the roll back into your starting position. As you do so, make sure you maintain a tight pack in the shoulder. Once on your back again, you can bring your left hand over your right hand to safely return the bell to the floor. Drag the bell around your head, not over your face, to your left side and repeat on your left arm.

The Bent Arm Bar

Once you’ve properly demonstrated the ability to perform the arm bar, the bent arm bar is next in your progression to the bent press. The bent arm bar looks sexy, which is why most people try it too soon. If you don’t have the proper mobility to do a good arm bar, be patient and stick with the traditional arm bar before moving to the bent arm bar. This is your foundation you’re creating, if your foundation is unstable, then your bent press will be ugly and dangerous.

The bent arm bar will teach you how to properly side rack the kettlebell in the standing bent press. It’s not uncommon to experience some cramping in the lat the first time you perform this exercise. My recommendation is to start with a light load—lighter than you think you should use.

Here’s what the bent arm bar looks like in action:

Step 1: The Set Up

To set up for the bent arm bar, repeat all the set-ups steps you completed in the arm bar up to where you’ve rolled on your side with your right knee at 90-degrees in front of your body. Your head is relaxed and resting on your left arm.

The Rationale Behind the Bent Press

Before we break it down, below is a quick look at what the overall movement looks like:

Breaking Down the Arm Bar

The Arm Bar

Step 1: The Set Up

Step 2: The Roll

Step 3: The Return

The Bent Arm Bar

Here’s what the bent arm bar looks like in action:

Step 1: The Set Up

Step 2: Pull Back and Down

Turn your loaded arm so that the point of your elbow is facing your feet. Slowly start to pull back behind your body and down toward your left glute. The forearm must remain vertical at all times. Never at any point should you lose the tension you’re creating and simply let gravity “drop” the bell down behind you. This is a voluntarily, tight “pull” back and down. It helps to visualize puffing your chest out as you pull back and down with the loaded arm.

Step 3: Press and Return

When you feel like you’ve reached your comfortable end range, take in a breath, imagining filling your lat with the air, and press the bell back up over your head. Hook your right foot behind your left leg and return to your back.

Perhaps the biggest, most important piece of information here is the constant tension throughout the lift. Never at any point should gravity be doing the work for you. In addition, the need for a vertical forearm is paramount. Failure to do so will result in the bell rolling on your wrist and onto your body, resulting in possible injury.

Give It a Try

While the bent arm bar may look intimidating to those with lack of mobility or stability in the shoulder, don’t let it turn you away. I feel the arm bar and bent arm bar can develop healthy shoulders. A great bent press starts with an excellent bent arm bar. A great bent arm bar starts with an excellent arm bar.

Don’t over-complicate these pieces to the bent press. Take the time to establish a solid foundation with these two lifts. If you can’t perform a great bent arm bar, then don’t even attempt the bent press. If you can’t perform a great arm bar, then don’t perform the bent arm bar. In part two we’ll move on to the half kneeling bent press and finally the bent press. As I like to say, “an arm bar a day keeps the doctor away.”

Continue with Tackle The Kettlebell Bent Press: Part 2. More on kettlebell training: Make Turkish Get Ups Your Best Movement

The post Tackle the Kettlebell Bent Press: Part 1 appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

Tackle the Kettlebell Bent Press: Part 2

Chris Abbott — Fri, 10 Aug 2018 00:00:00 +0000

If you know much about old-time performing strongmen, then chances are high that you’ve heard of the bent press before. Names like Arthur Saxon, Eugen Sandow, and Sig Klein probably ring a bell.

Typically performed with a barbell, strongmen would use the bent press as the preferred method to “hoist” a heavy load overhead with one arm. Arthur Saxton once did a bent press with 371 lbs! Somewhere between then and now the bent press has become more foreign, and I understand why.

If you know much about old-time performing strongmen, then chances are high that you’ve heard of the bent press before. Names like Arthur Saxon, Eugen Sandow, and Sig Klein probably ring a bell.

The Foundation of the Bent Press

In Tackle The Kettlebell Bent Press: Part 1, I talked about building a foundation for the bent press with two skills; the arm bar and bent arm bar. I also noted that a great bent press starts with an excellent bent arm bar and a great bent arm bar starts with an excellent arm bar.

If you missed part one, make sure to go back and read it before continuing. Taking the time to establish a solid foundation with the two lifts mentioned is absolutely critical to successfully completing the bent press. If you can’t perform a great arm bar, then don’t perform the bent arm bar. If you can’t perform a great bent arm bar, then don’t attempt the bent press and any of the variations we’ll go over today.

The focus now is getting to the full bent press. I’ll go over a couple exercises I like to use to prep and fine-tune the lift and also go through my step-by-step thought process in performing a successful bent press. IronTamer Dave Whitely has a great book titled Taming the Bent Press, and much of what I mention in this article, and my prior article on the bent press, has been adopted from his book. If you want to master the bent press, grabbing a copy of his book would be a great idea.

Think Under, Not Up

It seems logical that when putting a weight over your head the thought process would be to visualize the weight going “up.” However there are actually some sneaky tension skills you can tap into when shifting the thought process to getting “under” the weight rather than pressing it “up.”

This was a skill we practiced at my SFG Level 1 cert during our pressing session—arguably the most enjoyable part of the weekend. We worked on wedging ourselves under the bell rather than simply pressing the bell overhead. The result was a much tighter pack in the shoulder and a stronger press overall. It’s a little easier to practice in a strict military press, and I’ve got three great drills to help apply it to the bent press.

The Half-Kneeling Bent Arm Bar

This is the first exercise where you’ll actually be performing a bent press, except from a half kneeling position rather than standing. The half kneeling position will take your lower half out of the equation and allow you to focus on getting under the bell rather than pressing it overhead.

Here’s what it looks like:

You’ll note that in order to do this drill you’ll need to have ability to properly side rack the bell. This gets back to the foundational drills (the arm bar and bent arm bar) that I spoke about in the first article.

Once you’ve side-racked the bell, the thought process should shift to “falling away from the bell” in what will be more or less a diagonal hip hinge.
As you fall forward, your arm begins to straighten, and the bell ends up overhead. The actual height of the bell from the floor will change very little from the start to the end of the lift.
Once your arm is locked out, simply sit up. Congratulations, you’ve just done your first bent press.

The Elbow Switch

This is probably one of my favorite bent press drills as it not only helps practice the idea of getting under the bell, but also helps you with the timing of the bent press itself.

My recommendation is to do a half kneeling bent press to begin. From there you’ll start to straighten the bottom arm while simultaneously bringing the loaded arm back into a side rack position. Once your bottom arm is extended and the loaded arm racked, fall (with control) into another half kneeling bent press. The bottom arm slowly gets closer to the floor as the loaded arm begins to extend overhead.

Here’s what the elbow switch looks like:

As you can tell it’s a little tricky. This timing drill will really help tie together your bent press. Grab a light bell, probably a size lighter than you think you would use, and get to work. You’ll notice that it’s not as easy as it seems at first but with continued, focused practice, you’ll see the carry over into the full bent press. I’d recommend practicing with low reps of 1-3 on each side. When you can successfully do one or both of these drills, you’re ready for the full bent press.

Breaking Down the Bent Press

Essentially, at this point you’ve already bent pressed and all that’s left is to perform the lift from a standing position. Here’s the play-by-play on how to break down the bent press.

Step 1: Clean and side rack the bell.

Step 2: Shift your hip and adjust your stance to your personal preference.

Step 3: Start to fall away until you feel your bicep start to grab to support the bell. From this point on you’re fully under tension.

Step 4: Continue to fall away from the bell as your loaded arm begins to straighten.

Step 5: Attain a solid lockout. Your loaded arm should line up over your opposite hip, knee, and ankle forming what Dave Whitely refers to as your “structural column of support.”

Step 6: Recover from the bottom position by standing up with the bell over your head.

Step 7: Bring the bell down to the clean position, with assistance if needed. Shake it out and repeat on the other side.

Put It Together

Remember, the bent press is a skill, and like all skills it requires repeated, focused practice. But don’t let the complexity of the bent press deter you from learning how to perform the lift; learning how to properly perform the bent press can increase your overall shoulder stability and mobility.

Regardless of your competency level, first build a strong foundation with the arm bar and bent arm bar. Once you feel confident in each of those moves, you can begin to play around with some skills to help get you closer to the full bent press—the half kneeing bent press and the elbow switch. There are plenty more movements that can help improve the bent press; these two are simply a couple of my favorites.

Once you’ve reached the ability to properly perform a full bent press, have some fun with it! I love adding it in the mix with get ups and windmill flows. I’ll train heavy some days with singles and use a lighter load as a warm-up on other days. Also, the bent press doesn’t end at the kettlebell. Barbell bent presses present an entirely new challenge. That being said, I do feel the kettlebell provides the most useful tool in teaching and learning the bent press.

Do not miss Tackle The Kettlebell Bent Press: Part 1. More on kettlebell training: Make Turkish Get Ups Your Best Movement

The post Tackle the Kettlebell Bent Press: Part 2 appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

How to Get Strongman Strong With the Bent Press

Logan Christopher — Mon, 08 Jun 2015 11:00:00 +0000

The bent press is a unique lift that was once quite famous due to the strongmen of the golden era. But as it is quite technical, it was considered a trick lift by some and became largely discarded. But as we learned in my article on the Jefferson deadlift, just because something isn’t popular, doesn’t mean it’s not useful.

And frankly, I think we need more trick lifts in our exercise routines. And really, it is not just a trick. The bent press builds lat strength and the ability to handle massive weights overhead, which aids in other sorts of pressing.

Breaking Down the Bent Press

Not to be confused with the bench press, the bent press gets its name because you bend over as you press the weight. Actually, the truth is you are not pressing it so much as you are supporting it while lowering your body to get under it. It’s essentially a moving support (which, I know, is a bit of an oxymoron).

Another name for the move is the screw press. This accurately describes how the exercise is done in that you screw your body under the weight, rather than just bending.

“For best results it is important to practice – a lot – and with light weights in the beginning.”

The reason for the bent press’s fame is that with this exercise (and, of course, after a lot of practice) you can put up a heavier weight with a single hand than in any other manner, including the one-handed jerk.

The record in this lift has stood for almost a hundred years now. The great Arthur Saxon did an amazing 370lbs in this lift. That’s a weight most people can’t even lift off of the ground with two hands. To put it overhead with one is barely believable.

Many other strongmen typically performed the bent press in the 200-300lb range. In my opinion, getting up to bodyweight-equivalent weights is pretty good. My current best in this exercise is 135lbs with a barbell as you can watch in the video below.

Lessons From a Strongman Legend

Since Arthur Saxon was so great at the lift I offer up his instructions on how to perform it followed by some of my tips in how to get started:

Having gotten the bell to the shoulder with the elbow firmly placed on the hip, the first thing to do is to get the feet in the proper position. As may be supposed, when one is pressing, say, 200 pounds, it is not easy to shift the feet about without destroying the balance, and causing the weight to fall. Therefore, get your feet placed in the correct position before you commence to press. Another point I will mention here is that the eyes must not at any portion of the lift, be taken off the weight.

Holding the bell at the shoulder, fall away from same, but do not allow the elbow to move from off the hip until compelled to do so, as you can support far more in this position, without tiring the muscles, than you could if you allowed the weight to fall on muscles alone, without supporting same rather by bone strength than muscle strength. In allowing the body to fall forward, the speed of the movement must be at all times governed by the balance you feel you have attained. Of course, it is best to get the lift over as quickly as possible, but a fair speed in pressing may be obtained only when it is felt that a perfect balance has been gained, otherwise to hurry will only be to cause the weight to fall.

Saxon demonstrates the bent press.

Another hint is that the bell should not be held any longer than absolutely necessary at the shoulder before commencing to press, as your strength begins to wane immediately as the bell reaches the shoulder. Having pressed the weight to a straight arm, then you must not endeavor to rise until you are certain that you again have gotten thorough control over the weight. Your position at this point should be such that your hand is held over your shoulder, which, in turn, should be over the shoulder belonging to the disengaged arm. This shoulder, in its turn, should be over the left knee, so that a straight line could be drawn from the right hand to the left foot, and if this line be broken or thrown out in any way, the weight, if a heavy one, will pass out of your control and fall to the ground.

If you feel that you are holding the weight firmly, then you may bend the right leg a little to bring yourself well beneath the weight, and by pushing firmly with the left hand or forearm at the left knee, you will be able to stand erect, when the bar bell may be changed from one hand into two, and so lowered to the chest and then to the ground. In the body press, I hold my elbow well to the back and fall forwards. Some weight-lifters hold their elbow more to the front and fall sideways, and such men, of course, will have to be very supple, and a disadvantage, to my mind, in this position is that in falling sideways the right shoulder has to be pulled up close to the right side of the face, and it becomes very difficult to lock the shoulder in its right position at the end of the lift, so that often such a lifter will press a weight to a straight arm, and then be compelled to drop same.

I do not allow the bar bell to swing any more than possibly can be helped. Some lifters commence with the bar bell at right angles to the shoulders instead of merely parallel to same, which latter position is the one I adopt. The men who hold the bell at right angles allow the body to turn and the bar to revolve as they allow the body to sink.

Bent Pressing With Different Tools

The barbell is probably the most difficult tool to use for this exercise because of its leverage and balance. You’ll notice that with any implement the weight turns as the exercise is done. So all it takes is a small slip up and the weight can come crashing down. Even getting the weight into place at your shoulder can be a challenge (and is an article by itself for a future time).

Easier, but still great to use are dumbbells or kettlebells. As the weight sits in closer to the hand, there isn’t as much of a balance issue. With the kettlebell, the weight is even below the hand and slightly behind your arm, which can help you to maintain the best position in this exercise. For these reasons I recommend starting out with a kettlebell as it helps pull you into the right position.

It’s All About Technique

Because most of us are so used to pressing weights, it can be hard not to press at all in this lift – to rely fully on our structure. My video above does not demonstrate perfect form as you notice once I am mostly bent over I end up pressing the weight slightly to get the final lockout.

While I recommend practicing this lift on both sides of your body, be aware that your non-dominant side will tend to lag far behind your dominant side. To put it simply, with my left hand this movement just plain feels awkward to do.

“With the kettlebell, the weight is even below the hand and slightly behind your arm, which can help you to maintain the best position in this exercise.”

Also be aware that this is a highly technical lift, just like an Olympic snatch or jerk. As such, for best results it is important to practice – a lot – and with light weights in the beginning. I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that Saxon did 20,000 bent presses in his life.

I recommend spending ten minutes or so simply working on the technique at the beginning of your workouts. After you’ve done that, then move onto your normal training. As learning and working the bent press should be treated as a practice, you might check out my other articles for more helpful hints in improving your “practice” skills .

Find Your Inner Strongman (or Woman)

It may be an old lift, and some might consider it a “trick,” but I say give the bent press a try. While it will take some time to get any sort of groove going, if you take to this lift, you may find just how strong you can become. Will you be the one who beats Saxon’s record?

Check out these related articles:

How to Do a Proper Bent Press With a Kettlebell or Barbell
3 Reasons You Should Do the Bent Press: the King of Lifts
L essons From a Modern Strongman: Dave “Iron Tamer” Whitley
What’s New On Breaking Muscle Today

References:

1. Arthur Saxon,The Development of Physical Power, (South Carolina, Strongman Books,

2010), 34 – 36.

Photo 1 courtesy of Josh “Chimpy” Halbert.

Photo 2 courtesy of Breaking Muscle.

The post How to Get Strongman Strong With the Bent Press appeared first on Breaking Muscle.