On April 5, 2022, Kirvay took to a staggering high-endurance, high-capacity workout when he shoulder pressed 225 pounds for 20 reps. In a likely indication of the lift’s ease, Kirvay one-hands a ballcap onto his head and trots away once he finishes the set.

Check out the video of the workout below, via Kirvay’s Instagram profile:

 

 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Kyle Tiger Kirvay (@kylekirvay)

[Related: Watch Strongman Trey Mitchell Crush A 405-Pound Behind-The-Neck Press For 3 Reps]

Kirvay lifts and lowers each of his 20 reps with control and minimal signs of strain. He repeatedly breaks the elbow parallel angle — going lower than 90 degrees — which some people might consider more difficult because it lengthens the range of the eventual press. In addition, Kirvay maintains an upright position while sitting, forcing his anterior deltoids (or front) to bear more of the load through the set. This positioning contrasts with a heavier shoulder press where a lifter could position themselves back a little more, involving more of their upper chest muscles.

It is not until the 16th rep that Kirvay starts to slow down. Even with some short breaks toward the end, he still completes the set relatively easily. 

Don’t neglect the 20 rep sets!

While Kirvay’s shoulder press set primarily working his front delts is impressive, it’s important to note that having a balance of shoulder strength is vital — for regular people and powerlifters.

One study noted that up to 69 percent of people will eventually develop some form of a shoulder injury or dysfunction in their lifetimes. When working out, if they focus mainly on their front delts, neglecting their medial delts (what gives shoulders their rounded appearance) or posterior delts (the back shoulder muscles), they could place themselves at future risk. (1)

A well-rounded strength-sports athlete, Kirvay likely understands this shoulder dynamic. He simply appeared to polish off his front delts with his shoulder press. 

A Strong Start

A bodybuilder turned powerlifter, Kirvay has only recently begun his foray into powerlifting. According to Open Powerlifting, he has one official powerlifting meet to his name thus far — the 2022 United States Powerlifting Association (USPA) Battle at Atilis.

While competing in the 140-kilogram weight class, that event saw Kirvay break four New Jersey state records — including a 365-kilogram squat (804 pounds), a 365-kilogram deadlift (804 pounds), and a 1,005-kilogram total (2,214 pounds). His 275-kilogram bench press (606 pounds) was both a New Jersey state and national record. 

At the time of publishing, Kirvay has not yet announced his next powerlifting competition. His upper-body dedication might pay off with more tremendous, record-breaking dividends whenever that day comes. 

References: 

1. Sweeney, S., Porcari, J.P., Camic, C., Kovacs, A., Foster, C. (2016). Shoulders above the rest? Ace ProSource; Sep 2014

Featured image: @kylekirvay on Instagram

The post Watch Kyle Kirvay Make a 225-Pound Shoulder Press for 20 Reps Look Easy appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

The one-arm press.

Whether you’re looking for performance through strength or power, or rehabilitation through patterning, the kettlebell one-arm press covers so many bases. This exercise could quite simply be the best thing you can do for your shoulder. 

I’ve used this drill to offset the high-volume throwing, spiking, serving, and contact of international handball and volleyball players. Even if you’re a recreational athlete, you can reap the benefits on posture and shoulder girdle strength. When the chips are down, I’ve found it to be unbelievably restorative. Athletes who do the one-arm press regularly in their programming discover more hitting power and durability.

The one-arm press is great because it meets the following four criteria:

1. Start and finish position
2. Safe movement patterns
3. “Clean” power
4. Protection

The one-arm press will improve your shoulder strength and health, whether you’re a pro or an amateur. (Photo courtesy J Perez Imagery)

Start and Finish Position

The start and finish positions of the one-arm press are safer than other favoured shoulder strength exercises, such as the front and side raise. The long leverage of weights lifted in front and side raises often causes the scapula to tip away from its stable position at the start and finish of the movement. That’s like allowing a crane to come loose from the ground before lifting a large building. Front and side raises cause more trouble with shoulder blade positions than any other exercise, affecting the muscles that attempt to hold the shoulder to the neck and trunk, the trapezius and rhomboids.

The scapula’s main job is to support the arm. It can move freely to position the socket appropriately for the ball of the humerus to be supported. If a scapula “wings” (the medial border comes away from the rib cage, or tips forward), or the medial/superior part of the scapula gets higher than the lateral part, this places the socket in a position that limits elevation of the arm. This is not appropriate, nor is it stable. In this position, the scapula has lost its appropriate alignment.

Contrast that lack of alignment with the positioning offered by the one-arm press. In the one-arm press, the scapula is dynamically stable. This means it displays unrestricted freedom of movement in a supportive situation while also maintaining appropriate alignment. The movement begins with the kettlebell in the rack position, just in front of the shoulder. The kettlebell rests on the upper arm, outside the fist. The elbow faces forward. The palm side of the hand points towards the face. In the finish position, the kettlebell is directly above the shoulder, elbow straight. Both of these positions, start and finish, place the scapula in a stable position.

Safe Movement Patterns

The movement pattern of the one-arm press is safe. Pressing from the rack to the finish position should be vertical. The elbow faces forward at the start, yet at the finish it faces to the side. This means the shoulder joint moves from a neutral position to a laterally rotated position, whilst the scapula moves into an even safer position of retraction and upward rotation, opening the space for the shoulder joint to spin and glide into a well-balanced position.

This coordination takes reflex-driven rotator cuff coordination and ideal scapula movement. During the pressing pattern, the scapula starts flush against the rib cage – not elevated, depressed, retracted, or protracted, but somewhere in the middle. At the start of the press, the spine of the scapula should incline approximately ten degrees. At the finish, it should incline approximately seventy degrees without tipping forward or losing its flush connection with the ribcage.

Another Beneficial Overhead Press Variation:

Bottoms-Up Kettlebell Presses for Solid Shoulders

The position in the one-arm press means the neck doesn’t need to pigeon. Many shoulder strength exercises that require lifting a weight from below the neck lead to the athlete attempting to bring the neck to the weight. The resulting movement is akin to a pigeon poking its head and neck forward, hence the name pigeoning. Pigeoning leads to neck joint shearing and upper neck muscle recruitment, resulting in limited neck movement, pain, and headaches. If you think you don’t pigeon your neck, check yourself neck time you do upright rows or front raises. In the one-arm press, the kettlebell is pressed from the neck position to overhead, so pigeoning doesn’t happen.

The scapula tips further back during the pattern of pressing, clearing the space for the rotator cuff to operate and minimizing the risk of impingement. Not only does it tip further back, but it also rotates upwards, opening the space even more. It takes coordination of all of the back muscles to cause this rotation. The interesting thing is that the kettlebell can’t be pressed overhead when this scapula pattern doesn’t happen, so the drill is limited by scapular stability. This is contrary to upright rows and front raises, where the upper trapezius, pec minor, and deltoids can still lift a long-leveraged weight when the pattern coordination is poor.

Clean Power

This drill is great for development of “clean power.” Power is work done in a set period of time, so it requires strength, speed, and controlled movement. Controlled movement means the activity has appropriate timing, sequencing, and coordination.

Determining if a pattern of movement has appropriate timing, sequencing, and coordination is nearly impossible. However, if a pattern is shaky, jerky, or occurs in stages, we call it “dirty and difficult.” The opposite is a path of smooth movement, which we call “clean and easy.”

Another advantage of a vertical press is that it allows higher weight than a front or side raise because the lever is so short. The stimulus to the upper arm is higher, and the scapula remains stable. When the weight gets too heavy, the movement loses speed, and therefore power. It will become dirty and difficult. By that stage, more work has been done with a stable scapula and higher weight than the rival exercises of upright row, front raise, or side raise – all of which lose involve neck pigeoning and deviations of the scapula from appropriate alignment.

Protection Against Weak Links

The last benefit of this great drill is that it reveals weak links that present injury risk.

When the weight gets too heavy for the normal pattern, there are some compensation movements that can occur. Most compensation occurs with the person leaning backwards to turn it more into an incline chest press. When this happens, the neck starts to pigeon, the lower back hinges, and the scapula gets away from its ideal position. The pigeoning neck is a dysfunctional compensation for poor trunk stability. This can lead to pain, limited movement, and altered motor control – three well-established risks for injury.

There’s two easy fixes for this fault:

1. Sit down and finish the set. This removes the stability requirements of the hips and pelvis so the low back can’t give up its stable position. Or you can keep the hips and pelvis involved by standing on one leg and resting one foot on a high chair or bench. The hip flexion position of the raised leg minimizes the possibility of tilting the pelvis forward and hinging at the back.If a hinge still happens, simply lift the foot off the chair or bench to stop it. I prefer this one-legged variation since it connects the press to the ground through the feet, ankle, knees, and hips, rather than through the sit-bones of the pelvis. It’s a more holistic exercise, challenging more than just the shoulder girdle.
2. The second fix is to lower the weight and finish the set with cleaner form. This one is a less favoured option, since a person can still compensate with a lighter weight if they are chasing reps. It’s also less favoured because it requires conscious control of form. Self-limiting fixes always have more carryover to adaptation than conscious control fixes. The first fix is self-limiting, as it automatically won’t let you disconnect from a stable trunk. This helps to save the pattern into your nervous system better than lowering the weight.

Placing one foot on a box can help correct pelvic rotation. (Photo courtesy Greg Dea)

A Balanced Shoulder is a Strong One

It’s common for individuals to want bouldered shoulders, but nothing kills shoulder gains more than neck pain and shoulder impingement. The rounded shoulder appearance associated with front raise and upright rows should be nowhere near as attractive to an athlete as a well-balanced shoulder girdle.

If you favour the latter – and you should – switch to the one-arm press for your pressing work. 

I’ve used this simple strategy to support high-volume shoulder use for many athletes for years. The combination of positions, patterns, and power adjustments has proved protective for athletes in pre-season training, and as a superset for other prime lifts. I’ve had a Chinese national handball superstar demonstrate clear gains in throwing capability using the one-arm press with a torn labrum and rotator cuff tendon. I’ve used it for my own development, and had no trouble surprising bigger lifters with starting weights greater than their front raise peaks.

Whilst the position and pattern is clearly challenging, none of my athletes who’ve pressed to failure have suffered injury or post-training soreness. Trust this drill. It works.

The post The Best Exercise for Shoulder Strength and Health appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

Similar exercises using different modes or implements can result in varied muscle activation, joint stability, and the inability to compare one-repetition maximum (1RM) efforts between modes. That is pretty much undisputable. We also know that if you work as hard as you can against whatever resistance is used – whether it’s a free weight or machine – you will accrue positive results.

But if there is an acknowledged difference between using a barbell and a dumbbell, what is the difference? And shouldn’t you know this to properly plan your training for your desired outcome? In this case, we’re going to discuss a barbell against dumbbells relative to the overhead press exercise, and whether you are seated or standing.

A Norwegian study compared a seated and standing barbell overhead press with a seated and standing dumbbell overhead press. The extent of muscle activation via electromyographic activity (EMG) and strength via a 1RM were the aim. The researchers hypothesized the greater the stability required (dumbbells more than a barbell and standing more than seated) would show equal EMG activity of the various shoulder muscles, but a lesser 1RM. EMG testing was done at the anterior, medial, and posterior deltoids, as well as the biceps and triceps brachii.

The participants in the study were fifteen healthy men (age, 22 ± two years, average weight 174 ± 30 pounds, and height 5’-10.5” ± 2.5”). They were not competitive power- or Olympic lifters, but they did have an average of five years of strength-training experience.

Four testing sessions were used separated by three to five days of rest. Here were the objectives of each session:

• Session #1: Determine a 1RM in the seated barbell and seated dumbbell presses.
• Session #2: Determine a 1RM in the standing barbell and standing dumbbell presses.
• Session #3: With 80% of their 1RM, each participant performed five repetitions on each exercise in randomized order.
• Session #4: Done with the experimental group, and identical to the third session, but added EMG measurements.

Notes: A four-minute rest was given between each 1RM attempt in sessions one and two. The seated presses used an upright bench with a 75-degree back support. This can assist with mid-section and core stability and therefore augment ability.

I think you all get the basis of this study. It was practical, simple, and realistic in intent. So, what was determined?

Front shoulder (anterior deltoid) EMG results

• Seated barbell vs. seated dumbbell – muscle activation was 11% greater for the seated dumbbell press.
• Standing barbell vs. standing dumbbell – muscle activation was 15% greater for the standing dumbbell press.
• Seated dumbbell vs. standing dumbbell – muscle activation was 8% greater for the standing dumbbell press.

Middle shoulder (medial deltoid) EMG results

• Standing barbell vs. standing dumbbell – muscle activation was 7% greater for the standing dumbbell press.
• Seated dumbbell vs. standing barbell – muscle activation was 7% greater for the standing barbell press.

Back shoulder (posterior deltoid) EMG results

• Seated barbell vs. standing barbell – muscle activation was 25% greater for the standing barbell press.
• Seated dumbbell vs. standing dumbbell – muscle activation was 24% greater for the standing dumbbell press.

Biceps brachii EMG results

• Seated barbell vs. seated dumbbell – muscle activation was 33% greater for the seated barbell press.
• Standing barbell vs. standing dumbbell – muscle activation was 16% greater for the standing barbell press.
• Seated dumbbell vs. standing dumbbell – muscle activation was 23% greater for the standing dumbbell press.

Triceps brachii EMG results

• Standing barbell vs. standing dumbbell – muscle activation was 39% greater for the standing barbell press.
• Seated barbell vs. standing barbell – muscle activation was 20% greater for the standing barbell press.

When it came to the 1RM strength test, the standing barbell press was 7% greater than the standing dumbbell press and 10% greater than the seated dumbbell press. So, what can be gleaned from this study is pretty simple:

• An overhead press performed standing versus seated requires more stability.
• An overhead press performed standing versus seated results in a lower 1RM.
• The majority of overhead pressing exercises requiring the greatest stability (standing and/or with dumbbells) demonstrated greater neuromuscular activity in the deltoid muscles as compared to exercises performed seated and/or with a barbell.
• The standing barbell press activates the biceps and triceps brachii to a greater extent than the seated barbell press and either the seated or standing dumbbell press.

References:

1. Saeterbakken, A.H. and M.S. Fimland, “Effects of Body Position and Loading Modality on Muscle Activity and Strength in Shoulder Presses,” Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research,” 27 (7): 1824–1831, 2013

Photos courtesy of Shutterstock.

The post The Overhead Press: The Difference Between Seated, Standing, Dumbbell and Barbell appeared first on Breaking Muscle.