Search Results for: Bent press

Bent Press

by Thom Van Vleck

Wayne Smith, JWC member and All Round legend, performing a Bent Press while still in the Navy in Hawaii at Tommy Kono's Gym

The Bent Press is a very unusual lift.  It is difficult for just anyone to perform even with an empty bar, but with practice fantastic poundage’s can be lifted as evidenced by men such as Arthur Saxon (370lbs officially and 385 unofficially).  In the USAWA I believe that Bob Burtzloff was the finest bent presser our organization has seen.  Bob had the top Bent Press in the Missouri Valley All-Round Record List with an official competition lift of 209 pounds in 1985.  In 1984 I saw Bob do a 225lb Bent Press at Sailor’s Gym in Wichita after an old odd lift meet and was told at that time he had done 253lbs.  Al Myers has told me that Bob’s best training Bent Press was 275 pounds!   Just recently at the Heavy Lift Championships in York, PA I witnessed the heaviest Bent Press that has been done officially in the USAWA.  David Whitley joined the USAWA following the meet with the sole intent of doing a record Bent Press.  He performed a 137 pound Bent Press with the bar using both arms. To me, it looked like he could have done much more but just settled for setting the All Time record on this day. Dennis Mitchell has been the most proficient Bent Presser in the history of the USAWA. At the age of over 60, Dennis performed a Bent Press of 88 pounds weighing only around 175 pounds.  Dennis has the most USAWA Records in the Bent Press, totalling over 25 in number.  He has told me that his best Bent Press when he was younger was 175 pounds, which was bodyweight.  That is quite impressive and should be the goal of anyone wanting to achieve excellence in the Bent Press.    The Bent Press has been criticized as a dangerous lift by some,  and lauded as a great lift by others.  If done properly, I feel it is not dangerous at all.

Newcomer to the USAWA, David Whitley does 137 pounds in the Bent Press for the All Time best mark in the USAWA.

Here are the USAWA rules on the lift:

The lift begins at the lifter’s discretion. The bar may be taken from the platform to the shoulder in any manner. This may be done with a one arm clean, or with two hands, or stood on end and taken onto the shoulder using one or two hands. The bar will then be gripped in the center by one hand with the bar parallel to the platform. Once the lifter is in a standing position, with the bar held at the shoulder, the body is bent forward and sideways while the bar remains in a stationary position.  This bending away is continued until the lifting arm becomes straight.  The body will be in a bent over position at this point of the lift. The bar is allowed to rotate in any direction during the lift. The non-lifting arm may rest on the body or legs during the lift.  Width of feet placement is optional.  The lifting elbow may be brought into contact with the hip during the lift. Once the bar is locked out and the lifting arm straight, the lifter may stand when ready. The lifter may use the non-lifting arm as support on the knee or thigh. The lifting arm must remain straight once locked out. The lift will end on command from an official when the lifter is upright, the feet parallel and in line with the torso, the non-lifting hand free from the body, and the bar overhead and motionless.

Al reprinted a great story by Arthur Saxon in the USAWA news titled “What it feels like to lift 350 pounds with one hand” and I recommend going back and reading that one if you missed it or re-reading it if you have an interest in this lift.  Personally, I believe the Bent Press is an exercise that if done properly (and getting flexible enough to do it properly) is very beneficial.  But trying to just go to the gym and “do it” could lead you to real injury trouble.  So, read the rules, watch some videos, try to find someone like Dennis, Bob, or David who are proficient at it to coach you and then “GET AFTER IT”!

Masters Pressing

by Roger LaPointe

At the Atomic Athletic Meet last fall, the Clean and Push Press was contested. Longtime masters lifter Denny Habecker knows how to press!

Fans of the now defunct Hardgainer magazine will remember John McKean. He is an avid All Round and Olympic style weightlifter who has been competing and setting records as a Master’s age athlete for … some time. Now that I am well into the Masters realm, John gave me some great advice, “Don’t hurt yourself. When you do, work around it and learn.”

That sounds like the most obvious truism ever. As a Masters Age lifter, it is reality.

Right now, while I am primarily an Olympic style weightlifter, I am focused on improving two somewhat related lifts: the crucifix and the clean & press. With these lifts as the primary ones I am working on for a 1-Rep Max, here is a small snapshot of what I am doing to help in that regard.

1. I always work the Indian clubs, for my messed up rotator cuff.
2. I still do snatches and full cleans, as well as a number of related accessory lifts, such as: overhead squats, front & back squats, clean grip and snatch grip pulls.
3. I added in the clean & press as well as the crucifix.
4. I also added in bent over rows.
5. If my back is not recovering as quickly as I need it to be, then I do the incline bench press and incline dumbbell fly.
6. I still do curls and stomach work.

The key is to listen to your body. Especially with orders of weights coming in and going out, I don’t get too hung up on sticking to some pre-determined workout. If something is going really well, then I go with it. If it is not feeling good, I switch it up and work around it.

The Push Press – From Rack

by Al Myers

Scott Tully, of the Dino Gym, training the Push Press from Rack with 330 pounds in preparation for the Straight Weight Postal Challenge.

One of the lifts that will be “tested” at the Straight Weight Postal Challenge hosted this month by Thom Van Vleck is the Push Press from a Rack.  I want to “highlight” some of the rules for this lift.  The USAWA Rule book defines the rules for this lift as:

The rules of the Press – From Rack apply with these exceptions. The heels and toes may rise during the press. However, the feet must not move. The legs may bend during the press to initiate upward movement, but the legs must straighten simultaneously with the completion of the press.

The USAWA rules for the Press from the rack are as follows:

The lifter may take the bar from a rack, stands, or supports. The bar must be positioned on the chest as defined by the rules of the Clean prior to the start of the lift. The lifter must step back from the rack at least 2 steps. Once the bar and lifter are motionless, an official will give a command to press. The press is done according to the rules of the Press as defined in the rules of the Clean and Press. An official will give a command to lower the bar. Upon completion, spotters may assist the lifter in returning the bar to the rack.

As you can see, the rules are pretty straight forward for this lift.  One rule that I want to point out is “the legs must straighten simultaneously with the completion of the press”.   You can not  “catch” the weight overhead with your arms straight and  legs bent. That is not allowed.  This is a Push Press – not a Push Jerk.  Also, unlike a strict press, the heels are allowed to rise when doing a Push Press.  This DOES NOT mean the feet can move from their original position!  The bar MUST be held overhead until a down command is given by an official.

Thom has proposed this postal meet to find the STRONGEST team, not the best formula adjusted team.   There will be NO formulas used (bodyweight adjustments or age adjustments) in determining the best 3 person team.  Just the “total weight” lifted!!  This is the time, and opportunity,  for those supporting this idea to enter a USAWA competition where formulas can not be used as an excuse not to enter all-round weightlifting meets!   Results must be sent to Thom by the end of August to participate.

The Foot Press

by Al Myers

Dave Glasgow lifting over 1000# in the Foot Press at the Dino Gym Challenge

Recently at the Dino Gym Challenge we performed an “exhibition lift” that was a very popular Old Time Strongman performance feat. I initially termed it the “Plank Support”, but the proper name for the lift we did in the meet should be the “Foot Press”. This lift has never been contested before (in modern times at least) so I had some uncertainty in how the event would go. The difference between a Plank Support and a Foot Press is this – in the Plank Support the legs are already locked as weight is added to the feet while with the Foot Press the weight is pushed up with the legs/hip to lockout. Both of these were favorites of Arthur Saxon, and it is reported that he did 3200# in both. Saxon would lay on his back while a heavy plank was placed on his feet in which weight (often in the form of people) was loaded onto the plank. He did “a little extra” with his act in that once the weight was loaded and supported he would slightly unlock his knees and then leg press it out again. So in a sense he was doing both a Plank Support and Foot Press at the same time! Other strongman didn’t unlock their legs when doing this stunt. He also didn’t use any hand supports, thus maintaining balance with his feet only! The rules for the Foot Press as was done at the Dino Gym Challenge is as follows:

Rules for Foot Press

An apparatus is used in which weight is loaded onto the feet only while the lifter is laying on his/her back on the floor/platform with the legs vertical and perpendicular to the floor. The apparatus used must allow the weight to rise without providing any leverage to the lift, but may be guided in a tract. It is also acceptable to use a plank resting on support platforms. The lift starts at the lifter’s discretion. Hands may be placed on the legs or any part of the apparatus, but must not be used to push directly against the weight being lifted. The weight lifted must clear the supports and be held motionless, at which time an official will give a command to end the lift.

The following is a story told and written by Sig Klein, “When Arthur Saxon came to this country to fill an engagement with the Ringling Brothers Circus, weightlifters in and around New York thought here was the athlete for Warren Lincoln Travis to meet in competition. For reasons never made clear to me, this match never materialized, although Travis trained for the match that was being talked about. He told me that he could never hope to equal Saxon in the Bent Press or on the Foot Press, but he trained on these lifts nonetheless. Travis spoke to Saxon about the Foot Press and I will tell you what transpired regarding this lift. Travis asked Saxon if a contest was to be arranged and the Foot Press was one of the tests, if he, Saxon, would agree to allow Travis to do his lift with the plank resting on two trestles and iron placed on the plank. Saxon, who had his two brothers trained and a group of men who were placed on this plank in perfect order by the brothers, agreed to allow Travis to do anything that he desired. Travis said that this was the way Saxon acted about most any lift. He was very fair and would agree to most any kind of arrangements for a contest as long as Saxon could get a contest. Travis had the greatest respect for Arthur Saxon and told me that in an overhead weightlifting contest Saxon could beat him but that Travis hoped to defeat Saxon on the Back and Harness and Finger Lifts.”

I was very impressed with this lift and everyone at the meet seemed to enjoy it. It is a lift that can be done in almost any gym. All it takes is a Vertical Leg Press Machine or a Power Rack in which a plank could be placed across the supports. The Foot Press is the Heavy Lift version of the Leg Press. There are a couple of Leg Press Lifts as official USAWA lifts, but they are full range of motion lifts and nothing like the Foot Press. I am going to present this lift to the USAWA Executive Board for new lift approval so hopefully, the next time the Foot Press is done it can be “official” and records can be set in it.

Strength Musings #2

By Clint Poore

What a magnificent quote by Socrates, it almost seems like something Arnold Schwarzenegger would have said in Pumping Iron! Pushing the human body to its limits is a feeling unlike any other. The satisfaction that comes with reaching a goal only achieved through hard work over the course of many years. Recently, I saw one of my training partners rise to the occasion and achieve a massive goal. He eclipsed 315 lbs on the Bench Press for the first time in his life. It was a glorious moment, that I was honored to be there for. The same feeling can be true for all of us in our own training, when we see a lofty goal and set our minds to achieve it. This is one of the magnificent things the USAWA offers people who lift with us. The resplendent opportunity to focus on a National Record and make it your own! Whether it is the Dinnie Deadlift, the Allen Lift, the Barbell Bent Press or any of the other over 200 lifts that are available to set records in the USAWA! Now go the gym and train with vivacious vigor & break some records in the USAWA!

Remember the feeling and ………….

Embrace the Iron, Feel the Cold, Hard Steel & Know the Glory that comes from BEING STRONG!

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