How can I press the ___KG bell? (5 different ways)

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That was the question Paul recently emailed me about..
So, I thought that you might want to know the answer in case you’re looking to Press a heavier KB or pair of KBs.
For context, here’s exactly what he said:
“I know there is know easy answer, but how can I press the 36kg bell? I can press my 32kg twice each arm usually, occasionally 3 times, but the 36k is too challenging!”
And you know what, he’s right.
There isn’t an “easy” answer per se…
But there is a simple one - 5 actually.
Here they are:
STRATEGY #1 - Press MORE:
Depending on how long you’ve been in the Iron Game, this saying may be cliche -
“Too Press A Lot, You Must Press A Lot.”
And that’s because strength is built from VOLUME - the amount of work you end up doing.
Recent search confirms that volume is one of the key drivers for increasing maximum strength. (Not nearly as much as it is for building muscle, though.)
So, plan on Pressing more.
How much more?
For experienced trainees a minimum of 12-20+ sets per week.
Keep your reps between 1 and 3 for “neural strength” - strength that doesn’t necessarily build muscle.
And keep your reps between 4 and 6 for strength and muscle.
And remember - BOTH are important because the cross-sectional area (size) of a muscle directly correlates to its strength. In other words, a bigger muscle is potentially stronger than a smaller one.
Use ‘THE GIANT’ 3.0 for your neural strength and either 1.0 or 2.0 for building strength and muscle.
STRATEGY #2 - Use Specialized Variety:
In his book, A System of Multi-Year Training In Weightlifting, AS Medvedyev (Olympic & World Weightlifting Champion and USSR Weightlifting Team Coach) describes over 100 different exercises weightlifters used to train their Snatch and their Clean & Jerk.
In other words, they didn’t “just” Snatch, Clean, and Jerk.
They used variations of those exercises.
For example:
Power Clean from Floor
Power Clean from Below Knee
Power Clean from Above Knee
Power Clean from Plinths
Classic Clean from Floor
Classic Clean from Below Knee
Classic Clean from Above Knee
Classic Clean from Plinths
… as “variations” of the Clean (Classic Clean).
You can do the same thing with your KB Press.
Examples:
Double Press
Single Push Press
Double Push Press
Bent Press
Bottoms Up Press
See-Saw Press
Tall Kneeling Press
Half Kneeling Press
Seated V Press
… to name but some.
Personally, Push Presses ALWAYS make my Presses go up. (TGUs not at all.)
And that’s because I can either use (a) more weight or (b) do more reps or (c) more reps AND more weight with Push Presses.
All 3 are forms of overload.
For a program that uses Pressing specialized variety, I recommend ‘THE GIANT X2’ here.
It’s getting late and I’ve gotta run.
We’ll cover the others next time.
Stay Strong,
Geoff
REFERENCES:
[1] Pelland, Joshua & Remmert, Jacob & Robinson, Zac & Hinson, Seth & Zourdos, Michael. (2024). The Resistance Training Dose-Response: Meta-Regressions Exploring the Effects of Weekly Volume and Frequency on Muscle Hypertrophy and Strength Gain. 10.51224/SRXIV.460.
[2] Schoenfeld BJ, Ogborn D, Krieger JW. Dose-response relationship between weekly resistance training volume and increases in muscle mass: A systematic review and meta-analysis. J Sports Sci. 2017 Jun;35(11):1073-1082. doi: 10.1080/02640414.2016.1210197. Epub 2016 Jul 19. PMID: 27433992.
[3] AS Medvedyev. A System of Multi-Year Training In Weightlifting. Sportivny Press. 1989.