Is The Press the best measure of upper body strength?

Both can be "cheated" pretty easily.
Excessive arch and wide grip on the bench
Lean back on the press.

I'm not including leg drive in the press ("push press"), because it's a lot easier to say "you used your legs, lift is invalid", than to say "that's too much arch/too wide a grip".

Then push press is the best one because you can't cheat by leaning backwards.

But then it's no longer a test of upper body strength

you need upper body strength in a push press.

Finally hit 145lbs for 7 reps today on The Press™. Still benching 180lbs for 5.

The fucks wrong with my bench, Veeky Forums.

I have it a bit worse than you my man. I can OHP 1pl8 for 2 but can only bench 1pl8 5x5

I call bullshit.

you just cheat by using your legs instead

How is this fucking possible? I rep like 105 for ohp and can do around 155-165 for reps on bench. Manlets?

there's no way you can strict press 1pl8 and can only bench 1pl8, i point blank refuse to believe it. i can do 65 x 3 and my bench is 95 x 3, which i consider to be pretty shitty

I'm 6' 180 lbs. I swear, I think it's fucked up too. I also don't look weird either.

You dont cheat if you use your legs in push press since you are supposed to use your legs.

m.youtube.com/watch?v=LUCZJRsGBVY

You dont think you need a strong upperbody for this?

I wish I had recorded it. I was with my friend (bodybuilder for years) and I did 2 perfect form reps. Next bench day I struggled for last rep on 5x5 135. It's fucked up and I want nothing more than my bench to increase.

No, it's definitely the clean & jerk
The absolute best show of strength and speed

requires massive pulling strength, leg strength and upper body explosiveness
strict press doesn't come close

That split jump makes it a boring lift imo.

>t. kid who has never done a c&j before

Yep and completely uninterested.

Push press > strict press >>>>>>>>>>>>>>c&j

and completely DYEL

kys

Ok

stop lying friend

if anything, that makes it nerve-wrecking because failing the """jump""" could potentially mean guillotining yourself

>grip too wide
>elbows flared too much and likely behind the barbell
>not using lats as a base to press from
>likely not squeezing glutes or quads

0/10 would not train with

I'll film myself next time, but swear I'm not e-statting. I just think my bench is relatively shit.

My chest just wont fucking grow, it just looks flat as shit from any angle. And I train it just as often as my shoulders but for some reason I progress more with OHP.

I'll trade my body for yours if you'd like to trade bench strength. If that makes you feel any better...

>My chest just wont fucking grow

So are your forearms, shoulders, traps

Do you even lift you faggot?

>my chest just won't fucking grow
NOTHING of yours has grown. Eat more retard

>ohp is stagnating for months, cant even 1pl8
>4 months later, did a small bulk and swapped barbell for dumbbells
>start at 35lbs, now doing 60 lbs for 3x8
>see a barbell. some jerk left it on the squat rack. Had about 185lbs on it.
>decide to go over and take it off. Feels not that heavy
>put it back and mentally prepare
>unrack it and bust out a slight pushpress. Pushpushpush is all i can think. Almost at top..
>reach full extension. Cant fucking believe it. Hold it for as long as i could and put it down gently on the floor after.

Sorry but had to share m8s. If you are slowing down like i was give db a try and stay in the 8-12 rep range and try for a rep up per workout like 3x8, 3x9 etc

Been cutting. Hopefully getting myself on a bulk in June. Pls dont hurt me.

Completely agree with you. Everyone, refer to this video for a proper squat: youtube.com/watch?v=MI0L7E_5Qac&feature=youtu.be&t=143

If you're going to bulk again then its fine. If you're staying that way, well.... >:(

Nah, definitely gonna bulk up this summer. But I need to find myself a routine that puts a focus on chest and forearm size. My 14 year old sister has bigger wrists than me.

how long did that take you?

I'm maybe a bit slimmer than your before pic

Took the first pic around Christmas. Been cutting consistently since then, but took over 3 weeks off gym in easter and just ate at maintenance.

>4/4 exact things I thought

10/10 would cuddle and be autistic with. No homo.

It is very easy to say "you used too wide a grip" because grip width is in the rules and is marked on the bar.

Having a strong arch is crucial for any bench, even if you are bodybuilder and don't care about your total. It increases tightness, incorporates more muscle groups, and puts your shoulders in a far healthier position to press from.

To be honest, when I see someone bench heavy weight with a strong arch, I am impressed. Getting into an arched position on the bench like that is very difficult, let alone maintaining it under heavy weight.

I'll admit, sometimes you see a video of some superlight girl with t-rex arms and a ridiculous arch, press weight with almost no RoM, and this does looks pretty funny. But this is very much the exception to the rule and almost only occurs in the lightweight female divisions.

Just to add a scientific perspective, Poliquin suggests that the best indicators are:

upper body - Incline press
lower body - front squat
overall athleticism - hang (power) snatch

All this debate aside, how many here have done a bodyweight overhead press? I weigh 262 and I've only done a 242.5 for a single after 2 years of strength training.

Nobody cares tripnerd

I'm doing 75 lbs OHP.

ayy lmao

...you need to do some serious deadlift work. Your core gives you a really wonky v-taper..but it's more like a u-taper.

Fair but how much of an incline is standard?

I do ohp 155x3 pp 175x4 and jerk press 185x3. 5'10 167 lbs. I Haven't gotten to the point where i need to incline press for an accessory but i incline 185x5 last i did it. I might actually start pause incline barbell to see how it helps my presses. Pause dead hang L pull ups have done wonders for my pulls and oly lifts.

>How much of an incline is standard
I believe the study said 45 degrees

>Jerk press
what the fuck is that?

>Pause dead hang L pull ups have done wonders for my pulls and oly lifts
that's a very unusual carryover

>his name is eleiko
>what is a jerk press

That's like wearing a volcom shirt and asking what a skateboard is. You use hip extension and catch it like a jerk.

Those pull ups crossover very well like pause squats or push ups. I tried em and it works.

>tfw bench 140 3x5
>tfw ohp 105 3x5
how did it end up like this?

Good start. Keep working.

I've just never heard of the exercise - it could just be a difference in what its called over here

>You use hip extension and catch it like a jerk
this brings me no closer to understanding what it is - is it like a push press from split?

A "Le Mayo"

for the record, i think you look fucking sexy

Definitely working hard on that, just started doing them a few months ago, but I'm liking them. Currently can rep our 3 plates for a max of 10, but my strength goes down for the subsequent sets.

Should I focus on strength or volume?

Hmm. It honestly might just be your insertions at this point. Your lats are naturally kinda flared even before you were lifting much so you'll just have to rock that look. Remember no one apart from us nitpicky fucks will care, rock on dude.

Iktf.
I can OHP 62kg/140 for 1 but only bench 160 for 1.

6'4 here. I've finally managed to bench 2pl8 for a couple of reps but my strict ohp is lagging around 125lb (micro loading) for 4 reps. It's just like benching where my initial explosion is good but I'm having to move the weight so far to lockout that those last few inches end up stalling. I'd love to hit bodyweight someday but at 200lb I don't see that happening.

It's also a great way to completely fuck up your shoulders if you apply too much weight too quickly.

The shoulders are very fragile, and people often overdo it like myself.

widen your grip on your bench, give your back a bit of an arch so you are using your upper back as a platform for the lift.
Leg drive.

Or you are pushpressing your OHP

Try narrowing your grip.