History of the Olympic Press

[Guest guest]

Craig Rifkin wrote:

<I'd love to hear more about the Olympic Press. Who was the first to break

the 300 lb and 400 lb barriers? What's the current World Record? Where can I

see some videos of the classic Olympic press in action? (I do have high speed

connection so I can download them easily).>

*** If we are to talk about records in the Press, we need to distinguish

between the " military press " of the earliest competitions (which did not

allow any backbending or ballistic driving from the shoulders) and the

Olympic Press, which was accepted around the 1950s. Of course, one's ability

to Press depends on bodymass.

The honour of the first over 300lb press seems to go to a Russian. After

World War II, Grigory Nowak of the USSR pressed 140kg (308lb) in the 82.5kg

division at 1946 World Championships in Paris. did the same

weight in the superheavy class (then over 82.5kg) at the 1947 World

Championships. He then did 150kg at the 1952 Games. He seems to have been

the first American to break the 300lb barrier.

(USA) in +90kg class seems to have been the first man to break

through the 400lb pressing barrier when he did 185kg (407lbs) at the 1955

World Championships. In the same event, but in the 90kg class, Arkady

Vorobyev, the author of " The Textbook on Weightlifting " which I sometimes

quote, pressed 145kg.

Doug Hepburn's Press record was broken at the 1963 Worlds by the athletic

Russian legend, Yuri Vlasov, in the +90kg class with a lift of 187.5kg,

weighing much less than Doug (something like 80-100lbs or so less, I seem to

recall). Some of you may recall my publishing some articles last year about

Vlasov who was openly critical of steroid use in Russian sport and earned

himself some rapid demotion soon afterwards! The following year, Vlasov

pressed 197kg (433.4lbs) at the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo and that was the last

time that world competition ever heard of him again!

His replacement was the gargantuan Leonid Zhabotinsky of the USSR who became

the first lifter to Press 200kg (+90kg class) - at the 1968 Olympics in

Mexico, with my old Belgian friend, Serge Reding, in 2nd place pressing

195kg. Serge went on to press 202.5kg at the 1969 Worlds in Warsaw, with

Joe Dube of the USA lifting the same weight but at a higher bodymass.

Interestingly, Serge and Joe could only jerk exactly what they could press,

which tells us how much the technique of the jerk was neglected until the

press was dropped from competition after 1972.

At the 1970 Worlds in Columbus, Ohio, Serge Reding and eyev both pressed

215kg, with Serge winning the press gold because he was lighter than

eyev, while eyev won the overall gold largely because he had a much

stronger jerk than Serge. The following year eyev became the first man

to press over 500lbs when he lifted (or rather " push-pressed " with plenty of

knee bend, if you study the film of his lift) 230kg (506lbs) at the 1971

Worlds in Lima. Serge did a 227.5kg (500.5lbs) press in the same event

using a pressing style which conformed far more closely to the lifting rules

of the time. If judging had been fair and strictly according to the book,

Serge would have become the first man to have pressed over 500lb overhead,

but it seems that he had to play second string to the politics and aura

surrounding eyev.

In the year that the press was dropped from competition (1972), eyev

raised the standing press to 235kg (517lbs) and it is that Olympic record

which will stay on the books forever. His jerk, however, was 5kg less than

his press - which tells us that his (push) press technique really was better

than his jerking technique! A few years later, the death of Serge Reding

from unknown causes and many rumours, was announced. In 1976, with the press

no longer around, eyev could spend some more time of improving his

jerking skills and did a 255kg jerk at Olympics in Montreal.

The lightest man to press over 300lbs as Evgeny Kacura of USSR who pressed

145kg (319lbs) in the 67.5kg class at the 1966 Worlds. It appears as if

n Zielinski (67.5kg) was the first lifter to press over double

bodyweight (135kg) -- at the 1963 Worlds in Berlin).

Other early Pressing achievements:

Doug Hepburn (USA) +90kg class = 167.5kg (1953 Worlds)

Tommy Kono (USA) 82.5kg class = 140kg (1953 Worlds)

Tommy Kono (USA) 75kg class = 135kg (1958 Worlds) -- just

below 300lbs!

<Finally, I'd love to know how I can increase my press. I'm currently at 235

but gosh is that heavy. How does one train the press from here to increase

poundages to 300? >

*** First of all, you may well have to improve your technique. Secondly, the

best way to improve your Press is to do the press and its many variations

(press from racks, push press, pressing between different ranges on the rack,

inclined press, narrow grip bench, very short range drives from the chest,

etc). Remember, too, that strict pressing requires great strength of legs,

abs and back so that you can powerfully execute the explosive back bending

drive that is necessary.

There are very few exercises indeed which place such wide range demands on

all of the abdominal musculature as the Olympic style Press, simply because

the prestretched back extension and the ballistic activation of the abdominal

stabilisers and movers creates far more tension than any ball or standing

crunch exercises you can dream of (I have actually measured the abdominal

tension with a myotensiometer). What develops that sort of 'functional' ab

strength? Well, there's only one major contender - the Press itself.

Dr Mel C Siff

Denver, USA

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Supertraining/