arching back on seated barbell military press

[helvering221]

is it pretty much impossible to avoid some arching of the back? if i arch my back some, i can do substantially more weight, but if i try it real disciplined with my back completely flush against the seatback, i have to use way less weight, and it just feels like less of a workout on the muscles, and just seems to hurt my joints more (or at least it feels that way). any thoughts?

 

[BlkWS6]

I arch my back quite a bit on seated military press, and I really couldnt think of any way not to. The military press I use even has foot things in the front and I try to push myself back into the seat as much as possible to minimize any arch but that still doesnt work. It just seems as though it is a natural thing for the body to do when pushing a weight overhead. Even in a standing military press (or push press) the back is normally arched quite a bit. Now Im not exactly sure if this is a good thing or not, but I have been doing seated militaries for a while with quite an arch and I have felt no back discomfort whatsoever (knock on wood ) And I guess sometimes I feel as though I arch more then I actually do. Yesterday, I felt as though I turned militaries into an incline barbell press but my lifting partner watched and said it wasnt all that bad. I wouldnt mind hearing some thoughts on this matter as well.

 

[bignate73]

if you have poor shoulder flexibility you will find it hard to press vertically with your back flush against the pad. i allow for a slight gap from the pad near my lower back. this directs most of the force into my shoulder/upper back and into the pad itself instead of down my spine directly. plus i cant put my hands directly overhead if seated flush against the pad. most people cant unless they stretch a bit. sit flush and put your hands over your head in a pressing motion, you will probably see that they are angled forward a bit, now push your hips forward a bit and see how the arms near vertical. slight change in bodyposition makes a world of difference.

 

[BigBadBootyDaddy29]

Good advice, Big Nate. You want to minimize "layback" as much as possible, it is perfectly fine to leave a gap between your lower back and the padding, but be careful.....REAL careful not to turn to movement into an incline press, I have seen this done quite often in gyms and it negates the effectiveness of the movement....if you're really having difficulty try standing overhads or standing overhad d-bells to minimize layback.