shirt training - hesitation in middle of press

[jmccown]

long story short I sucked at the meet this past weekend. I don't know what my problem was and I'm not going to make any excuses. I set my opener at 485 which had been a really easy lift for me in training. I got on the platform and took the handout, weight even felt light at the top, lowered the weight, touched and when I got the press command i powered up fast but when I got to mid point I got stuck for a split second and then I restarted and locked out easy but was red-lighted for this reason. I stayed with the same weight for 2nd and third attempts and same result every time. I have been thinking about why I got stuck mid ways all weekend and can't figure it out. By far my worst meet ever. I've now decided to try to rebound at another meet in 1 month. I am wondering if I should do band training with my shirt to help me push through this sticking point. I have video's but my spotter got in the way of the cam so it's hard to see. But the weight goes up really fast and then stops like I've picked up another 100 pounds and then I resume to lockout, best I can describe what happens. I know it's not a lot of time till next meet but i have to get a good meet under my belt or it will drive me nuts. I'll probably hit it hard for 3 weeks and rest the 4th week. Maybe do 70/80/90% ranges each week.

[Sean S]

I used to do this all the time when I was in a bench shirt. The problem was I was letting the shirt pop the weight off my chest, but I wasn't engaging fast enough and thus the stall in the middle. The way I fixed this was to consciously think about firing my triceps as soon as I started up with the weight. The whole way down I'm thinking "fire your triceps" and it works like a charm. The bar never slows down until maybe it's an inch from lockout if it's really heavy. Practice this when you are doing speed bench or raw benching as well. That way it becomes second nature.

[dammstrate]

I do this frequently (unfortunately) and its due to pressing UP off the bottom
rather than back. About 1/2 way up you run out of gas, try to flare back and
the bar hesitates and/or even dips a bit. Concentrate on BACK off the chest.

[Travis Bell]

Like DS said, its not a sticking point, it's the shirt getting ahead of you

[Ryano]

If you are pushing up, like Dammstrate said, instead of back, you're pushing away from the support of the shirt. Let the bar drift back and up as you flare your elbows out. This will keep the weight in the support of the shirt. It's obviously just a barpath issue, not strength since you locked it out anyway.

[jmccown]

Not really gettin what you guys mean by letting the bar go BACK. Do you mean let it drift up towards my face or push down past my sternum.

[Ryano]

Let it drift back over your face as you turn your elbows out. If you have a chance, go to Rob Luyando and Paul Keys seminar.