For those of you who are late to the party :), I’ve been working towards a goal to press 24kg (53lbs), which is almost half my bodyweight.  I have pressed it before on the left side, but not with correct form; never on my right side.  I have been working on increasing my press skill and strength in order to improve this lift.

Twelve weeks ago I started a press program that I wrote for myself in order to work towards this goal and to improve my press skill and to increase my press strength.

Throughout the program I have only pressed sub maximal weights 16kg (35lbs) to 20kg (44lbs) and I’ve worked my way up to a solid five sets of three rung press ladders with 20kg.  I could probably take the rungs of the press ladders up to four or five rungs but I don’t want to sacrifice form for volume.  (I will write more about press ladders in Part Three of 7 Ways to Train for a Stronger Press.)

Last Monday (May 26, 2014) I decided to see where I was at and pressed 22kg (48.4lbs, 43% of my bodyweight) for 5 singles. I’ve done this before but these presses were better and stronger than in the past AND I could have done more.

First Time Pressing 22kg on July 12, 2013

Yesterday (Sunday June 1, 2014), as part of the program, I set out to press 22kg for 10 singles. I’ve never been able to complete more than 5 reps in a session with 22kg. I completed all 10 singles and could have done 10 more.

Below is a fabulous video montage of all 10 sets of single 22kg presses. It’s 5 minutes long, but if you’re bored at work and have 5 minutes to spare, why not watch it! 🙂 I wanted to set the video to Titanium by David Guetta but the song was too short. So I chose I’m in Love by Alex Guadino because it has a nice flow…

If you want to learn how I lift, programming I use, how I progress movements, such as the press and the pull-up, the secret to Superhuman Strength 😉 and the importance of weight lifting for women in general, I will be presenting my workshop “I Am Not Afraid to Lift” at Drive495 in New York City, New York on September 6, 2014.  This workshop is for ALL level lifters – for ladies who lift and ladies who want to learn to lift!  If you are just learning to lift and don’t know where to start or if you have been lifting all of your life and you are looking to add variety to your training then this is the workshop for you.  It will be a “lift and learn” type workshop so be prepared to get moving, get sweaty, and #DoWork and #BeXena because WE are #NotAfraidToLift!  You can read a summary agenda and register HERE.  Feel free to email me with any questions you have about the workshop at artemis@ironbodystudios.com

I hope to see you there!!!