In my eyes there are two events that really stand out when it comes to strongman; The Atlas Stones and the Log Press. The Log Press is to strongman what the bench press is to every other gym rat. “How much ya Bench”…. Pffft How much do you Log Press! If you want to build massive shoulders and triceps then overhead pressing should be a staple in your program and if you want to compete in strongman then a big log press is an absolute must.
The Log Press can be a weak lift for many lifters. The Implement is large, awkward and requires skill and time to master the best technique for you as an individual. The current record set by The Worlds Strongest Man, Zydrunias Savickas is a staggering 228kg,which is more than most people could even deadlift. What is even more amazing is that there are a few other WSM competitors hot on his heels and this record seems to keep increasing steadily every year! Everyone has to start somewhere and without efficient technique in the log and the necessary pressing strength the log will get the better of you every time. At Iron Revolution we break the log movement down into different phases for our clients to teach each step effectively and help them develop the most efficient technique for their individual leverages to ensure no energy is wasted throughout the lift, in particularly the clean.
Lapping and Cleaning The Log
Getting into a good lap position to clean the log is critical to the success of the lift. At lighter weights it is less important as the weight generally doesn’t crush you but once the log gets closer to your 1RM a crappy clean will take away much needed energy from the press and put you in a poor position to drive the implement up overhead. Looking at various athletes press the log there are a few different positions that the log can be effectively cleaned from. This may vary depending on height, weight and natural leverages of the athlete and also depending on diameter of the log. Once the log is lapped however you must work hard to keep the log in close to the body rolling it up over the stomach and chest to receive it in a high position on top of the chest. The most effective way to do this is by getting down low in the lap position with the chest as close to the log as possible and the hips low to generate power from the legs and hips. Keeping a high elbow position with the log tilted forward slightly in the lap position allows you to rotate the log fast as its rolling up the body. If you are doing some kind of reverse curl back extending heave motion you will do yourself no favours. Just because Kaz did it doesn’t mean you can!
Pressing the Log
We refer to it as a press but most of the time it’s more of a jerk technique used to get the log over head. The majority of the best log pressers in the world use a Power Jerk/Push Jerk type movement or a push press. As previously stated the Log itself is a large awkward implement that is very hard to move around and makes the getting under it in the split jerk and recovering the feet back to a parallel position much more difficult than with a barbell. While I personally am not a fan of the split jerk technique it works well for some. We focus on building a big press first to develop the strength and stability needed to lift big weights and once they are comfortable with the implement they can develop their own individual technique to continue progressing the lift. Mechanics of the lift aside it is quite common to have a log clean and press for reps event in competition so using a split jerk technique can cost time in the event as it takes longer to complete each rep.
Warrick Brant, former Southern Hemispheres Strongest Man can be seen in the video below using a small split jerk to do a 185kg Log lift. He currently holds the Australian Record.
Putting it all together
We train the log every week in one form or another. We do a lot of overhead pressing for our clients who train strongman because believe it or not, lots of pressing makes you better at pressing! We do vary the type of movement done depending on what competitions are coming up and also what phase of training we are in. Addressing weak points is important but if you’re not pressing your body weight or more (as a male) then you just need to focus on getting comfortable pressing the log and building strength repeating the exercise and progressing accordingly. Next week I’ll be putting up an article with some specifics on technique variations and exercises to help develop a monster overhead press.
If you’re interested in learning proper use of the strongman implements and the many benefits they can bring to your strength training then head over to our strongman for beginners workshops to register today. Simply click on the tab below to register or find out more details
