# Overhead press: legs used or no?



## motionman04 (Jul 16, 2007)

I notice at the gym a lot of guys use their legs when doing overhead presses. I myself have not done so, but is it considered cheating to use legs in the overhead press?


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## KelJu (Jul 16, 2007)

I have to use my legs to absorb the shock, or I would rip my shoulder out of socket. I do not use my legs to get the weight up, rather act as shock absorbers for the weight coming down.

I have a point that if I go to low I will injure my shoulder worse than it already is. The point is right in the middle of my nose and chin.


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## Burner02 (Jul 16, 2007)

...and as 'opposed' to what kelju stated..(as in, pushing up, not bringing it down)
It's called a push-press. It's a cheat to get more weight up.


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## soxmuscle (Jul 16, 2007)

When I'm doing Standing Military, I won't use my legs at all unless I'm going to failure and need to stick out a final rep or two.

As the burner mentioned, they may be performing a different exercise altogether, the Push Press, which would make sense why they're using their legs.


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## The Monkey Man (Jul 16, 2007)

Burner02 said:


> ...and as 'opposed' to what kelju stated..(as in, pushing up, not bringing it down)
> It's called a push-press. It's a cheat to get more weight up.



Ummm...  A push press *is not a cheat*, it is a hip and torso power movement.
The arms are only slightly used to support the weight

YouTube - 160 kg power jerk


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## CowPimp (Jul 16, 2007)

The Monkey Man said:


> Ummm...  A push press *is not a cheat*, it is a hip and torso power movement.
> The arms are only slightly used to support the weight
> 
> YouTube - 160 kg power jerk



Well, it is cheating if the exercise you were intending to perform is the military press...


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## drew.haynes (Jul 17, 2007)

The Monkey Man said:


> Ummm...  A push press *is not a cheat*, it is a hip and torso power movement.
> The arms are only slightly used to support the weight
> 
> YouTube - 160 kg power jerk



Bingo! Push press is not cheating. Some people are pretty narrow minded. Sure if you think you are Jay Cutler or some shit you may think you are "isolating the delts" or somethin by not using the legs. Push presses are a common exercise where you intentionally use the legs some. Different than a jerk - whereas a jerk involves an initial thrust and then a second knee bend to get under the weight, the push press starts the movement with a short explosive thrust from the legs and finishes with the tricep and shoulders. It's a good power movement for athletes, but also.. anyone who says it won't still give you some massive shoulders is full of sh*t and probably spends 10 hours a day on HERE when they should be eating to finally pass that 150lb body weight ;-)

Look at Marius Pudzianowski. He push presses. He does it for athletic purposes, clearly, as the push press, ATHLETICALLY speaking is much more practical than a strict military press, but whether he does it for mass or not.. are his shoulders small?


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## mike456 (Jul 17, 2007)

Push Presses and Military Presses are two different exercises. 
If you want to do a vertical press don't use your legs. 
If you want to do a power movement for your legs you can do push presses.


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## Witchblade (Jul 18, 2007)

Push presses are not for the legs. Jerks are.


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## fufu (Jul 18, 2007)

Well, no legs in an overhead press, but a push press is a great way to overload the eccentric portion of the overhead press and it could help to increase your strict press.


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## Andalite (Jul 18, 2007)

i dont use leg drive at all. only a little bit of it to absorb the shock when the bar comes down. but i dont use any leg work to push the bar up.


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## fufu (Jul 18, 2007)

For you guys that flex the hips and knees to absorb the force of the eccentric press, have brought into consideration that you may be using too much weight if you can't control the descent? I mean, technically I would call that cheating, because depending on how fast you let the bar drop, that is a large portion of the lift. 

However I think it is kind of interesting that you do that since in my experience pressing the weight up has been alot tougher then controlling it downward.


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## Andalite (Jul 18, 2007)

fufu said:


> For you guys that flex the hips and knees to absorb the force of the eccentric press, have brought into consideration that you may be using too much weight if you can't control the descent? I mean, technically I would call that cheating, because depending on how fast you let the bar drop, that is a large portion of the lift.
> 
> However I think it is kind of interesting that you do that since in my experience pressing the weight up has been alot tougher then controlling it downward.


i like to control the weight dowards...not really a reg effect but basically controlled u know...and i use my legs to absorb the shock when and if i fail. otherwise, knees are just bent and remain that way


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## fufu (Jul 18, 2007)

^ not sure I entirely follow, but sounds good.


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## buening (Jul 25, 2007)

The only time i would use my legs as a shock absorber would be on the last rep to failure when a controlled negative is not possible. Otherwise, a controlled negative FTW.

You might hurt your ego if you go from push presses to military presses


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## VILBAUGH (Jul 30, 2007)

I love to military press, push press and push jerk, all three are great movements and compliment eachother very well. and hell yes they will "destroy your delts"


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## VILBAUGH (Jul 30, 2007)

if your goal is to lift a load overhead, you would be cheating yourself by pressing strictly, as the jerk is by far the most efficient of the three.


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## CowPimp (Jul 30, 2007)

VILBAUGH said:


> if your goal is to lift a load overhead, you would be cheating yourself by pressing strictly, as the jerk is by far the most efficient of the three.



Well yeah, but most people's goals are not "to lift a load overhead."  Lifting the load overhead is merely a means to another end, like increasing the size of their deltoids.


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