This is hardly an invention and if it is, it's nothing as monumental as the invention of the wheel. But the side lunge with an overhead press is one of my favorite exercises for a number of reasons.
- It can serve as a screen much like the Turkish get up (kelosthenos version as taught by Gray Cook and Functional Movement Systems).
- It's definitely an advanced exercise (who doesn't want to be called advanced!) Following the idea that asymmetries are risk factors, this exercise is compound in nature but still offers that appraisal of the left and right sides. So if one side catches you out, you can simply stick with it until you have managed to correct the areas that are lacking before you progress.
- It offers mobility, strength, and power work simultaneously.
- I think it qualifies as a self-limiting exercise.
THE MOVEMENT
The move is basically a side lunge and an overhead press with the same side arm. When I teach the side lunge, I'm looking for the side view to be identical to what I would see when doing a squat. For the sake of clarity, I'll go over the parts of the squat that are related to this movement.
Typically, we want the butt to be going back and down. The initial backward movement gets the hips into flexion. The knees will also go into flexion as you drop your butt towards the ground. Because the ankle is in plantar flexion, the squat is often referred to as a triple flexion pattern.
The secondary reason for describing the movement as the butt going back and down is because the rearward movement takes the femur (thigh bone) with it so that when it flexes, it does so without tracking ahead of the toes. There will be some movement of the knee towards the toes, but it should be minimal and not end up in front of the toes.
The move is basically a side lunge and an overhead press with the same side arm. When I teach the side lunge, I'm looking for the side view to be identical to what I would see when doing a squat. For the sake of clarity, I'll go over the parts of the squat that are related to this movement.
Typically, we want the butt to be going back and down. The initial backward movement gets the hips into flexion. The knees will also go into flexion as you drop your butt towards the ground. Because the ankle is in plantar flexion, the squat is often referred to as a triple flexion pattern.
The secondary reason for describing the movement as the butt going back and down is because the rearward movement takes the femur (thigh bone) with it so that when it flexes, it does so without tracking ahead of the toes. There will be some movement of the knee towards the toes, but it should be minimal and not end up in front of the toes.
Similarly, there should be minimal if any tracking of the knee medially. The coming together of the knees as if they are going to touch is called knee valgus and is undesirable. When this happens under load, the foot pronates and we see the outside of the foot on the side of the small toe come up. It's also a fairly common observation in jumping sports, particularly among female athletes. Both conditions (heavy load and high speed) predispose athletes to ACL injuries. Read more about that in this post.
The heels should stay grounded throughout the movement. This is not too difficult if you sit back and down into the hip. I have separated this point from number 2 because this is a major stress point in the side lunge with the overhead press. Even people that have good squats have a tendency to lean forward in a side lunge, either lifting the heel or allowing their knee to track ahead of their toes.
The last part I want to highlight is that the triple flexion if of the lower body only. A lot of people lack the back extensibility and the flexion in the hip to go below 90 degrees of a squat. They compensate by bending forward- dropping their chest towards the ground. This should be minimal, if present at all. One way to get a feel for what should be happening when you squat is to lie on your back and raise your knees towards your chest. Obviously, because you are on the ground, the back does not move at all. All the flexion has occurred at the hips, knees and ankles.
The overhead squat requires all the aforementioned parts. On addition, there is an opposite appraisal going on in the upper body. Whereas there is triple flexion in the lower body, there is extension of the thoracic spine which allows the hands to go overhead without dropping the chest down.
AS A SCREEN
This move is little more that an overhead squat looking at one leg and one arm at a time. Therein lies it's strength. It's weakness is of course that it is an advanced movement. Not everyone will be able to do this.
It challenges extensibility of the thoracic spine in the demand to press the weight (or simply raise an arm) over one's head. In the same aspect as we look at the arm going overhead, we assess shoulder integrity. Internally rotated shoulders make this move difficult. The mobility lost in the shoulders will have to be found somewhere. Usually this will be in the forward tracking of the knee with the heel lift.
I've had complaints of discomfort in the low back while doing this. In one person, the discomfort went away immediately after reinforcing that he 'sit lower into that hip'- effectively, keep the heel down while pressing. In someone else, she was able to do it with no discomfort after just a minute on floor running the foam roller across her back.
MODUS OPPERANDI
- Hold a kettlebell in the rack position, with legs together.
- Step laterally, wider than shoulder width. Keep the toes pointing straight ahead.
- Descend into a side lunge on the same side as the racked kettlebell. Remember the triple lower body flexion. Stay as tall as possible in the upper body.
- Once stable, press the kettlebell overhead. Extended the unburdened arm in whatever direction for added balance. Cycle a breath with the kettlebell overhead before eccentrically bringing it back to it's racked position.
- Return to the starting position.
Expect a level of core challenge as you go through the exercise. It features the 'changing levels' idea as you descend squat-like into the side lunge. The elevation of the kettlebell overhead changes the center of gravity, effectively pulling it up. Poor core stability and strength will be caught out here. I mentioned that shoulder integrity is scrutinized as well. As with any exercise that involves a weight overhead, many will thrust the chin forward as they press. Try to achieve the finish position while keeping the neck packed. Similarly, the scalenes, sternocleidomastoid and the other neck muscles should not suddenly make an appearance. Always try to keep the neck area tension free when lifting weight. If they do, they are making a contribution to the stability process and they should not be.
