This page is an edited presentation of Bill Starr’s published writing on the Olympic press. It is not newly written material by Bill Starr.
Part one covered the strict military press — the foundation. Part two covers its faster, more athletic cousin: the Olympic press, the narrow-stance, coiled-start variation that ruled competitive weightlifting until the press was removed from the Games after 1972. Starr considered it a movement for advanced lifters only — but taught it with a set of rules that kept it productive and controlled.
The Technique
Compared with the military press, everything gets tighter and faster:
- Stance: narrower than shoulder-width, toes pointed straight ahead — a smaller base that demands balance.
- The coiled start: rather than standing tall, the lifter bows into a loaded position — midsection pressed forward, body braced like a compressed spring.
- The drive: an explosive push off the shoulders, with bodyweight flashing from front foot to heel and back again through the middle of the movement.
- The finish: the same overhead lockout line as the strict press, directly over the spine and hips.
Done correctly, the bar moves in one continuous burst — which is precisely why the lift eventually destroyed itself in competition.
The Knee-Bend Story
Olympic press rules required the knees to stay locked from start to finish. The famous loophole, Starr explained, traces back to Tommy Garcy: lifters learned to assume the starting position without ever fully locking the knees — a bend of a few degrees that was visually undetectable under massive thigh development. When the press signal came, they snapped the knees locked as they hurled the bar upward, adding real thrust to the start. Some contended the trick was worth as much as forty pounds on a maximal press.
The roll call of lifters who mastered this fast style reads like a hall of fame: Tommy Kono, Joe Puleo, Fred Lowe, Bob Hise, Tommy Suggs, Ernie Pickett, Joe Dube, Bob Bednarski, and Ken Patera — whose presses, Starr noted, moved so fast they were hard to see. But the same looseness that made headlines also gave judges and officials their excuse, and by 1972 the press was out of Olympic competition entirely.
How Starr Taught It
Starr’s rules for learning the Olympic press were strict precisely because the lift is not:
- Gate: reserved for advanced, very athletic lifters — not a teaching progression for beginners.
- Default version: knees locked at the start. It simplifies the skill while keeping nearly all of the training effect; the bent-knee start belonged to competitors, not learners.
- Prerequisites: genuinely strong midsection, lumbar, and abdominal muscles — the coiled start and rapid return put those areas under serious stress. Preventive work matters here; see our summaries of his rotator-cuff routine and shoulder-girdle stabilization drills.
- Warm-up rule: always warm up the abs and lower back before any pressing session that includes Olympic presses.
- Load rule: stay light while learning the finer points.
- Rep rule: three repetitions per set, so full attention stays on every form point through the entire movement.
His standard applied to every lift he taught: “if you can’t use perfect form with a light weight, you’re not going to have it with heavy poundages.”
Military Press vs. Olympic Press
| Military press | Olympic press | |
|---|---|---|
| Stance | Shoulder-width | Narrower |
| Start | Tall, vertical body | Coiled spring, midsection forward |
| Legs | Knees locked throughout | Historically bent at the start in competition |
| Pace | Grinding strength | Explosive, single fast burst |
| Who it suits | Every lifter, foundational | Advanced, athletic lifters |
Frequently Asked Questions
Who should learn the Olympic press?
Advanced trainees with solid pressing technique, strong midsections, and healthy lower backs. Everyone else gets more from mastering the strict press first — start at our getting-started guide.
Should I use the bent-knee start?
Starr’s answer for non-competitors was no: learn it with locked knees, which keeps the skill simple and the stress predictable. The historical bent-knee trick was a competition weapon, not a training recommendation.
Why only three reps per set?
Because the Olympic press is a high-skill movement — grip, coiled start, drive, shift, and lockout all at once. Three reps let you concentrate on every form point; sloppy extra reps teach sloppiness.
Sources
Bill Starr’s press-series writing (archived text covering both the strict and Olympic press, including the Garcy knee-bend history and teaching rules); historical competition context from “The Tragic History of the Military Press” (Starting Strength). Series start: The Press, Part One. Programming context: our pages on the Big Three 5×5 and quick lifts.
Last updated: August 2026 · Edited presentation of Bill Starr’s published methodology — not newly written by Bill Starr.
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