1. Or the jerk….

2. How to Push Press  The push press is started with your arms bent and weight held at shoulder height.  This can be done with either dumbbells or a barbell.  The knees are then bent mimicking a semi squat.  The athlete then explodes through the hips and pushes the weight vertically above their head while straightening their legs and arms.

3. Do you need help Push Pressing? Like most other lifts, if the athlete is not comfortable with the weight a spotter is necessary, especially if the press is done for the first time. Push press can be done with a lot more weight than a normal dumbell shoulder press, so the eccentric motion is often helped down with a spotter. The spot should stand behind the athlete and watch for an imbalanced lifter and be quick to help the athelte regain balance or help the athlete with the eccentric motion with the weight down to the starting position.

4. The Muscles of the Push Press  There are many muscles used in the push press making it a good exercise for coordination.  The glutes, quads and triceps help extend the knee, hip and elbows in the execution.  The calf is used for plantar flexion  The shoulder are used for the flexion of the exercise.

5. Variations of the Push Press  There are numerous ways of performing the push press.  Dumbbells or a barbell can be two different ways of performing the exercise.  One dumbbell can be used as a one armed push press that focuses on core stability more than using both hands.  One can add a clean before the exercise as seen in the clean and jerk technique.  The range of motion in the squat phase where the athlete lowers themselves to the ground before the push can be varied as well.  Also the weight can be caught above the head in either a fully straightened body stance or with the legs bent in a squat, and then straightened.

6. Technique Errors With the Push Press…  Inexperienced athletes or athletes who have overloaded the weight sometimes will not explosively push the weight fast enough and therefore do not “catch” the weight with fully extended arms. Therefore a traditional slow push is seen after the initial explosive motion. This is an error in technique and should be remedied with less weight and an emphases on the initial explosion through the hips and shoulders.