Happy Thursday to you,
Cold showers, cable workouts, kettlebells, boxing and playing lots of chess are what I’ve been up to this week.
I’ve also been starting the day with a shot of turmeric, ginger, lemon and orange. Everything is fresh and I make it myself in my Nutribullet. Delicious!
If you struggle with shoulder issues when pressing a kettlebell overhead then this is the newsletter for you…
Overhead pressing
One of the most problematic movements is the overhead press.
Shoulders really have to be in good condition in order to perform consistent heavy pressing overhead.
You may be surprised to hear that I don’t use strict overhead presses that often with my clients. Yes, I use overhead movements but I always build up to them gradually.
Here’s a good test for your shoulder health:
- Can you hold a kettlebell overhead, locked out arm and walk around for 60 seconds?
If you cannot hold a weight overhead then your shoulder stabilisers are not conditioned enough to press a weight overhead.
This is the reason why I use exercises including the Turkish get up before lots of heavy overhead pressing in my workout programs.
I want to condition your smaller stabilising muscles first before stressing the larger prime mover muscles of the shoulders.
Here’s how to progress your overhead exercises:
- Overhead holds (just holding, get ups and windmills)
- Push press (gives you a mechanical advantage)
- Squat and press (helps use momentum to make the exercise easier)
- Overhead press (strict press with no assistance)
Your shoulder and thoracic mobility will also play a large part in how well you press too.
If you are limited in these areas then you will compensate and arch your lower back in order to press directly overhead.
Plus, if your core muscles are weak you will not be able to stabilise the weight overhead and lower back issues are common.
The further the kettlebell is away from your centre-line the better your core and stabilising muscle need to be. Hence why goblet squats are safer than overhead presses!
If you struggle with overhead movements then don’t worry, they are not as important as other exercises. Push ups are a great substitute and are generally safer for the shoulders, and work the core muscles too.
Learn more and watch the videos? Guide to the overhead press
If you are comfortable with pressing overhead then here is how to gain some serious strength in a safe and controlled way from week 9 of my Men’s kettlebell program:
- Overhead Press x 1 each side
- Overhead Press x 2 each side
- Overhead Press x 3 each side
- Overhead Press x 4 each side
- Overhead Press x 5 each side
- Rest 120 seconds
- Repeat
The above workout is classed as a pyramid or ladder and involves adding 1 extra rep after each round.
You may have heard that ‘strength is a skill‘ and you can get stronger just by improving your muscle recruitment.
The above workout can be performed more frequently than muscle building based workouts because you don’t leave the muscles totally exhausted after each workout.
If you can only climb the ladder to 3 or 4 reps then that is OK, rest and then climb the ladder again. When you can complete 3 ladders of 5 reps it’s time to increase the weight.
Give it a try around 4 – 5 times per week and you’ll be surprised at how much stronger you will get at this movement.
Learn more and watch the videos? Guide to the overhead press
This weeks question and the inspiration for this weeks newsletter topic:
Q. “I’m a 73 year old male with a right shoulder injury that prevents any overhead presses or snatches. I currently follow many of your workouts and also mix in short intervals on a concept 2 rowing machine. Do you have any suggested KB exercises that will help compensate for the lack of overhead presses and snatches?“
A. I would simply remove all overhead pressing from your workouts, I do this with many clients. You can try push ups and also work on just holding a light kettlebell overhead eg. with the Turkish get up. Ultimately, you should work on your shoulder mobility and concentrate on the other main movements squatting, deadlifts, rows etc.
I hope this helps.
Take care,
Greg