As you already know from the video above (or his 202.5kg Log) WSM competitor Graham Hicks has a beastly Press.
In the 200kg Lunges post I asked if you had any questions regarding the Overhead Press you would like to ask Graham.
Below are his answers.
PS: Graham offers online personal training. For 120£ per year (200 next year) you can get coaching (programming, events, diet) from one of the strongest people on this planet.
Check Out: Graham’s Website, Graham on Twitter, Graham on Facebook
In an interview I read that until you started Strongman you never really trained any overhead. How long ago was that? And when did you realize that pressing was a strength a strength of yours?
I use to play football from age of 12 to 24. I went to gym, but never really did a great deal. No Squats or Deadlifts etc. When I got into strongman pressing was something I naturally liked more than the other events and it just seems to go well.
And what does your overhead training look like today? What has changed and why? How often do you go heavy?
PS: in the 2012 WSM interview you mentioned that “I train deadlifts and assistance on Tuesdays, pressing on Wednesday, Squats and Sled Pulls on Fridays and I do event training on Sunday”, is this still the case?
My training is similar.
I always train over 80% of my max in general, even on Deload weeks
I change my training all the time to see what works. I’m trying to do less gym work pressing wise now and train the strongman events instead. Makes sense when you think about it.
Now I do very little assistance work and I try to train a minimum of 2 strongman events a session. Seeing how it goes over next few months. If I have spare gym time i’ll go do some assistance stuff, but I’m not concentrating on doing them much.
I always train over 80% of my max in general, even on deload weeks.
In hindsight is there something you would tell the younger Graham to avoid/ focus on more?
I would tell myself that I should train as a strongman not a bodybuilder
How important is one arm training (like with dumbbells) vs barbell / work?
Besides the actual Giant Dumbbell Press pretty irrelevant.
Reader Questions:
Dirtyd asked:
Any tips for keeping your elbows healthy? Whenever I go high volume on the overhead work I get some ulnar irritation, which kills my progress.
Try reducing volume, high rep on initial warm up set then singles on build up to your main set or sets.
Billiam asked:
How to overcome plateaus in the OHP?
Change your training. Shock your body.
Gee asked:
What’s the best way of preparing for a log in comp (either press or clean and press) without a log in your gym?
Very difficult. Cleaning a lot requires much practice.
Windee asked:
What kind of training program does he recommend for an olympic weightlifter who wants to transition to strongman?
Keep your usual practices, but think outside the box. It’s a totally different sport.
Magneto had a lot of questions:
What do you prefer regarding a big loglift: training with the log only or with a barbell too?
Log only.
How do the different exercises contribute to the loglift (percent) in your opinion (example: 40% front squat, 30% push press, 30% press)?
None. To be better at log, train log. It’s not complicated
Do you train log cleans or strict presses with the log specifically?
Clean and strict log all the time.
General overhead pressing: as heavy as possible or rather at ~80% with more speed?
I like to go heavy, I never do speed work.
Do you do high-rep sets with pressing movements in the offseason?
Nope. Never go over five reps.
Do you do bodybuilding-style training for shoulder hypertrophy?
No neither.
What are your favorite prehab/rehab exercises?
Lunges and dumbed flies. Good stretching movements.
Would you recommend (narrow) benching besides overhead pressing to improve the latter?
If you have to then yeah. I usually bench narrow but having a break to see if it makes me better or worse. Trial and error.
As it is no strongman-specific exercise: Do you bench regularly?
Usually
Solaris asked:
Does he use chains in OHP training?
No, never used them, ever.
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