ELBOWS FRONT PRESSES - PART I

As stated in previous posts I'm a big fan of overhead pressing (I know
the pic is not of a press; more on that later). This fondness was solidified
during my years as FIELD EVENTS COACH for Troy (MI) High School's track
team. I must have read every scientific study published concerning the
relative merits of various weight exercises for IMPROVED ATHLETIC
PERFORMANCE. Believe me, overhead pressing is wayyy up there! Not as
high as NUMBER ONE, the power clean, but definitely one of the best
upper body moves you can do to transfer any kind of ARM-STRAIGHTENING
power to your chosen sport. I, of course, was most interested in
improvement in my athletes'shot-putting prowess, but I also learned
that it is the best form of pressing for INCREASED PUNCHING POWER --
exponentially better than the bench press (but even that exercise takes
on a whole new dimension of TRANSFERABLE STRENGTH if one adheres
to the following simple recommendation, which is . . .

KEEP YOUR ELBOWS TO THE FRONT.

The ADVANTAGES of this strategy?
Most importantly, the avoidance of many nagging shoulder irritations,
inflamatory conditions & injuries. The shoulder joint is more "closed"
in this position and less vulnerable. That is why our upper arm and
elbow are INSTINCTIVELY kept along our side when we initiate a sudden
and violent "push" in everyday life, such as getting a stalled car
rolling, initially, or in throwing a punch (although in the latter
the elbow does flare up and wider during the finish). The anterior
deltoid is not given a chance to ABRADE back and forth over the bony
projection of the underlying bones -- snap, SNAP, snap, SNAP -- thus
becoming sore and inflamed, as has been the case with regular presses
in my own experience and ditto with numerous other older trainees
I've worked with and/or spoken to. There is also less chance of
pinching and irritating the SUPRASPINATUS tendon which, when inflamed,
is the SINGLE MOST COMMON shoulder problem men have according to my
son, an orthopedic surgeon whose specialty is the shoulder joint.

There are other advantages but this post is getting rather lengthy.
I will discuss those in PART II -- along with HOW TO APPLY this
elbows-front technique most effectively, comfortably and without
compromising your PRESS POUNDAGES. Right now I feel it is
important to remind readers that my NUMBER ONE REASON for starting
this blog is to present ideas that will allow a person to keep STRONG
OVER A LIFETIME, and an important tenet there is the AVOIDANCE OF THAT
WHICH SLOWLY BUT SURELY ACCUMULATES HARM. By the way, the picture
is of Bill March, still considered by authorities to be one of the strongest pressers
of all time (390 in perfect, military style), even though in this
picture he is doing a curl hold.