I'm stuck right at 135lbs.
Are there a few common mistakes people make that I should look for?
I've tried to incorporate all of Wendlers tips but I haven't progressed in 2 months (after de loading and making a run again at going beyond a plate). Been pressing about a year (seated db press only previously).
Thanks. 
In, I suck at this lift
Do you stand to do the press. Maybe give a little push with the legs to break your plateau. I feel like if you're doing 135 pounds your form can't be too off 
Might be a personal thing but for me to break my overhead press plateau I had to start pressing more than once a week.
If you're doing 5/3/1 deload again and perhaps make your assistance work on your bench day be standing overhead dumbbell presses for reps (like 5x10-15 or something) to build those muscle groups used in the press. If you're weak at lockout push presses for reps (<10 reps tho form breaks down pretty quickly on those imo) might be a better prescription. I think the dumbbell press variation is best unless you feel up to just strict military pressing again for reps.
It doesn't need to be a crazy 3-4 day a week russian pressing routine but from personal experience 2-3 days of a lift allows me to progress much faster than just one day. That said I'm a very big responder to that kind of work but some people get over use injuries quickly. So use your own judgement.
Resistance from the antagonists might be a major factor. Might be time to stretch a lot and do what ns said
Can you post a youtube of yourself doing the lift? Would be easier to give you tips if we could see what your doing and maybe we will be able to see some things your doing wrong or could try to tweak your form.
A few things that come to mind that you could try if you aren't already- Take a narrower grip on the bar, grip so that your forearms are straight and not angled in or out. Try a thumbless grip. Wear a belt and wrist wraps. When you take your grip push your elbows forward and up and force them toward each other you want them "high and tight". Wear a flat hard sole shoe like Chuck taylors. Wear elbow sleeves. Don't spread your feet too far apart, shoulder width or slightly narrower. Keep your weight on your heels, grip the bar tight, get your whole body tight. Flare/flex your lats hard, suck in some really big air before you begin the press and hold it until you are passed the sticking point. Flex your glutes hard. Push your head through aggressively the moment the bar clears it. Look either straight ahead or at spot on the floor a few feet in front of you don't look up at the bar, this helps you remember to push your head through. Be aggressive and focused from start to finish, like get your mind right before you even approach the bar, unrack it with purpose and bad intentions. Imagine the power originating from the floor and traveling and building as it moves in a straight line up through your body and into the bar where it is unleashed and forces the bar aggressively over your head.
Damn that got me pumped just reading that, now I gota go work out.
Funny you should post this today - Rippetoe just put up a new article at his site on the press:
http://startingstrength.com/index.php/site/article/grippaldi_the_great_how_to_train_the_overhead_press#.UfrHGKyDmSo
None So Blind - Funny you should post this today - Rippetoe just put up a new article at his site on the press:
http://startingstrength.com/index.php/site/article/grippaldi_the_great_how_to_train_the_overhead_press#.UfrHGKyDmSo
He's also posted a detailed instructional video:
Great tips on that lift on t-nation. I used it and it helped tremendously. My biggest adjustment was hand placement. I was too wide by what they said. I took it in all the way to exact width of shoulders. Imagine a column. I can now do 205 strict press. Which is my body weight. 1 of my lifting goals/standard
thanks NSB & Whaledog
Wow - great stuff in here. Thanks guys.
Based on that video my grip is waaay too wide and my elbows aren't forward enough
Ive been having some problems lately as well. Ive push pressed 300 before and strict pressed 245. I quit doing overhead work completely for about 2 months before a powerlifting comp and when I came back to it it was killing my lower back. No idea what changed. And I cant put up more than 225 now.
LiftorDie - Ive been having some problems lately as well. Ive push pressed 300 before and strict pressed 245. I quit doing overhead work completely for about 2 months before a powerlifting comp and when I came back to it it was killing my lower back. No idea what changed. And I cant put up more than 225 now.
If I could curl 100 lbs and then did no curling for 2 months, I wouldn't expect to curl 100 pounds the next time I tried
That's some interesting technique tweaks in that Rippetoe vid. A lot of what he is teaching there with the forward hip movement and body bowing is technique that lead that to the difficulty in judging and the eventual elimination of the strict press as one of the Olympic lifts. At first I was watching it thinking that you couldn't really count it as a strict press because it is kind of a cheat technique but he is right you end up doing that with your hips either way just in a different order making it less effective. So might as well reverse the order and take advantage of it rather than lose power to it and miss lifts that you could be hitting. I'm going to start experiments with this technique.
andyman011 -LiftorDie - Ive been having some problems lately as well. Ive push pressed 300 before and strict pressed 245. I quit doing overhead work completely for about 2 months before a powerlifting comp and when I came back to it it was killing my lower back. No idea what changed. And I cant put up more than 225 now.If I could curl 100 lbs and then did no curling for 2 months, I wouldn't expect to curl 100 pounds the next time I tried
Your sarcasm I see it....obviously while training for a PLung comp my bench was steadily improving, and one would think my overhead would at least stay put, rather than drop. Irregardless of weight though, I was referring to the lower back pain. I've never experienced it before with overhead work.
LiftorDie -andyman011 -LiftorDie - Ive been having some problems lately as well. Ive push pressed 300 before and strict pressed 245. I quit doing overhead work completely for about 2 months before a powerlifting comp and when I came back to it it was killing my lower back. No idea what changed. And I cant put up more than 225 now.If I could curl 100 lbs and then did no curling for 2 months, I wouldn't expect to curl 100 pounds the next time I tried
Your sarcasm I see it....obviously while training for a PLung comp my bench was steadily improving, and one would think my overhead would at least stay put, rather than drop. Irregardless of weight though, I was referring to the lower back pain. I've never experienced it before with overhead work.
I have usually found the reverse to be true. Meaning that when I cut the bench out in favor of more overhead pressing my bench tends to stay strong and/or even increase along with my overhead but if I lay off the overhead in favor of bench the overhead always suffers.
In.
Isn't Rippetoe's version of using the hip thrust just as much "cheating" as doing a push press? How is that ok and the push press isn't? Just curious.
jonpall - Isn't Rippetoe's version of using the hip thrust just as much "cheating" as doing a push press? How is that ok and the push press isn't? Just curious.
Do a press without moving your hips. Its fucking impossible considering you have to lean back so you don't hit your face and you have to shift the hips to get lockout