Push Press

An overhead press driven by a short leg dip. Lets you move more load overhead than a strict press and trains the transfer of leg drive through a rigid trunk.

DIFFICULTY
Intermediate
EQUIPMENT
Barbell
PRIMARY MUSCLES
Deltoids · Quads
ALSO WORKS
Triceps · Glutes · Abs · Traps
HOW TO DO IT
  1. 01Take the bar in a front rack at the shoulders, elbows slightly in front of the bar, feet hip-width.
  2. 02Brace the trunk hard and dip straight down 10 to 15 cm by bending the knees only.
  3. 03Reverse instantly and drive the legs, letting the bar leave the shoulders on that momentum.
  4. 04Press the bar the rest of the way and lock it out with the head through and biceps by the ears.
  5. 05Lower under control back to the rack position and reset your brace for the next rep.
COACHING CUES
  1. 01Dip straight down, not forward.
  2. 02Legs start it, arms finish it.
  3. 03Head through at the top.
COMMON MISTAKES
  1. 01Dipping by hinging at the hips — the bar drifts forward off the chest and the drive goes in the wrong direction.
  2. 02Dipping too deep — it turns into a slow squat and the bar loses the elastic drive off the shoulders.
  3. 03Ribs flaring and the low back arching at lockout — the spine is making up the range the shoulders do not have.

Note: Reference material, not a prescription. Load, volume and whether this movement suits you at all depends on your assessment — if something hurts, stop and get it looked at.

Want a program built around you?

BOOK YOUR ASSESSMENT →