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Getbig Bodybuilding Boards => Training Q&A => Topic started by: nodeal on April 11, 2007, 08:51:25 PM
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i used to do military press standing and was always stronger doing it that way. about 4 months ago i switched to seated. my military press has been sky rocketing in the seated position, but then the other day i went to try a set standing and it was a lot harder. i had to use a lot less weight. my questions are...
why is this?
could i benefit more from switching between standing and seated presses?
which do you guys prefer more and why?
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I much prefer seated seeing I don't like the stress standing military presses put on my lower back. Standing is obviously more of a power excercise but doing them seated means you can focus more on the shoulders rather than having to (subconsciously) worry about balancing etc.
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worry about balancing etc.
This is one of the reasons I do them. I try to do as many exersises standing up when training for sports, it's more natural. In the offseason, for bodybuilding purposes or for strength, I stick to many more seated, isolated exersises, Seated Military being one of them.
Vary it up if you are standing though. Jerk Press, Push Press, Standing BNP, and all the variations of the Standing DB Press we discussed in a previous thread.
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i like seated better then standing. i feel that i have my control and focus on the shoulders. when i tryed standing, i didnt like the motion of the exerise. thats just me.
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This is one of the reasons I do them. I try to do as many exersises standing up when training for sports, it's more natural. In the offseason, for bodybuilding purposes or for strength, I stick to many more seated, isolated exersises, Seated Military being one of them.
Vary it up if you are standing though. Jerk Press, Push Press, Standing BNP, and all the variations of the Standing DB Press we discussed in a previous thread.
Good post!
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Seated with back braced is safer and slightly more intense on the delts IMO, then again standing's a good alternative if you want an alternative. Standing would be a little more useful for athletic application.
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Seated with back braced is safer and slightly more intense on the delts IMO, then again standing's a good alternative if you want an alternative. Standing would be a little more useful for athletic application.
agreed, the only type of standing press movement i believe in is the push press for the greater amount of weight you can use safely.
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I like the standing variety myself. If you do it correctly it should be harder than the seated. I can do a lot more weight seated.
Just my 2 cents.
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Gravity. ::)
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Gravity. ::)
lol
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I did standing presses once in the last 10 years...horrible on the lower back, not worth it at all IMO. What could you possibly gain by doing them standing? Push press might be different as SF mentioned but to do standing military presses is just a bad idea. Protect your low back at all costs cause once it's screwed up it sucks bigtime...trust me.
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I train shoulders at home and alternate between standing barbell and seated dumbell.
I've never had any lower back problems from the standing version. I do a kind of clean and jerk to get the bar in position and never go lower than 6 reps. As long as your form is good and you don't ego-lift then I don't think it's a bad exercise. It can also be used last in a routine so you don't have to use as much weight.
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It varies by individual, some never get back problems while standing, others will.
The main differences i see with standing:
-Slightly different angle, may or may not be as good as seated.
-Better for athletic applications.
-Easier to cheat when needed.
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If anyone has a problems with the military press, than they might bend the knee's slightly and place one foot ahead of the other. This tends to reduce the stress on the lower back. Also, when the bar is held overhead too far forward, rather than straight overhead in a lockout position, stress is not only on the lower back but the shoulder joints themselves.
The push press (bar resting more on the heels of the palm...want the bar in line with the wrist...usually a false grip like most heavy bencher's do) is an exceptional exercise for size/thickness for the whole shoulder girdle. I would have to pick that one over the seated version of the overhead press for max returns of effort. Though the seated version does have it's place as a pure pressing exercise, also a good size builder. A stricter movement when the legs are taken out of the exercise. (and there is that old theory that the higher a given weight is raised from the point of ground level, the more resistance from gravity; as press or squat vs DL's...do not have a clue if this is true or not) Though the seated version can put undo pressure on a lot of guy's lower backs. If you have a pressing bench, so more the better. Alternate or use both pressing styles in the same workout.
When returning to the standing press Nodeal found it harder and used less weight. Adjustment to the mechanics (force/function/motor response), even only 4 month's ago, need relearning. After a couple of workouts Nodeal show be using a little more than before in the standing press. Good Luck.
Side Bar: A old friend of mine for Sicily use to sit flat on the floor, both legs straight out in front, and press a pair of 120lb+ DB's together like they were toys. Granted 120lbs are not overwhelming while standing or sitting on a bench but, to me, this was pure pressing power. He weighted about 200 at the time. Noticed, among the white boys, Italians seem very strong and good size muscle mass.
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I don't really like standing military press.....if you lean back to far to get a rep you can hyperextend your spine. Seated is more comfortable and also puts more emphasis on the shoulders IMO
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I start shoulders with the hang, clean & press and then do 3 sets of heavy dumbell presses and 2-3 sets of medium weight arnold presses. Hang, clean & presses are awesome and my dumbell press weights have increased since i started doing them. They're actually kind of fun too, which I can't say for dumbell presses.