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1. Cambered Bar Shoulder Press

Usually a bar you associate with squatting and good morning but press it overhead and reap the benefits to the rotator cuffs and the stabilisation of the trunk as the bar swings slightly out of alignment as you press it overhead. Watch you don’t catch you hands on the support racks when you put the bar back into the racks at the completion of your set.

2. Trap Bar Shoulder Press

Pressing with the hands facing into the body allows you a better range of motion to activate the deltoids, a great variation, especially in my sport, rugby as the hands are in a more useable position. A little awkward in getting the bar up, either get two spotters to lift it into position for you or place it on it’s middle on a bench and good morning it into position.

3. Military Press with bands

And you thought squatting and bench pressing with bands was difficult, either attaching the bands to a power rack or to dumbbells and then to the bar this again places and increasing load towards the end range of movement and also places a stress on the stabilizes of the anterior and posterior core.

4. Steel Log Press or Thick Bar Press

Our log weighs 45 kg unloaded, with the hands facing in provides a nice variation for pressing and because of the thick diameter of the bar you have to work to keep the body upright as you firstly clean the log up and then press it overhead, ensure that you finish the press by bringing the chest through so the log finishes overhead.

5. Stone Press

Should really be called a full body pull into press as you first must zercher/continental clean the stone to the shoulders and then the fun begins, the whole body must be braced in order to press the stone overhead. We are awaiting eagerly the delivery of three granite stones from atomic athletic in the US, so watch this space for updates. A water partially filled swiss ball could also fill the gap but makes a huge lahar if dropped

Thanks Ash

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