Military Press

digitalwolf · 19 Jun 2007 at 22:58

This exercise never seems to work my shoulders which is slighty disturbing as it is the king of shoulder exercises.

Instaed it seems to cause the muscles in my lower back to pull.

What am I doing wrong lol?

Morba · 19 Jun 2007 at 23:10

are you standing or seated?

how is your form? bad for on this exercise will put lots of stress on the back.

have you tried dumbell press? does this give the same result?

digitalwolf · 19 Jun 2007 at 23:34

Morba said:
are you standing or seated?

how is your form? bad for on this exercise will put lots of stress on the back.

have you tried dumbell press? does this give the same result?

Dumbell shoulder press is fine.

I'm seated but was going to try standing.

I have a feeling I am arching my back but I have knocked the weight right down to try and cure the problem.

Styles · 19 Jun 2007 at 23:36

Make sure you're seated. Give yourself a back support. Concentrate on not arching your back and squeeze hard as you press. Drop the weight right down for a starter, and perform the movement perfectly, and slowly. Do it until you can connect with the muscle and feel it working, feel the burn.

@if ®afiq · 20 Jun 2007 at 08:23

I was doing this without a back support for a while but have found it really helps to isolate the right muscles with the correct support and you can concentrate more on the muscle.

A2Z · 20 Jun 2007 at 10:10

do it standing

MTA99 · 20 Jun 2007 at 12:21

Try dropping the shoulder press, be it BB, DB or machine for a few weeks and try this...

Standing front raise and negative dips (superset)
Seated lateral raises (with a drop set)
Cable rear head flies

My shoulder progression was always really slow. I'd always start with seated DB press then tried all kinds of isolation sets to get the progress. It wasn't till I went against the accepted golden rule that shoulder press = big shoulders that the things started to grow.

Basically if you feel like shoulder presses aren't working don't be afraid to drop them because the inter-nerds say you shouldn't

digitalwolf · 20 Jun 2007 at 14:36

I'm going to have a go at it standing, dropping the weight concentrating on form.

I'm a little concerned that I never feel anything (apart from my legs) the day after the gym.

Is this normal? I seem to be stuck at 12 stone 2 at the moment even thought I'm eating loads of the rightn stuff and having shakes!

edit : do I need a belt for SLDL's and deadlifts?

Thanks.

MTA99 · 20 Jun 2007 at 15:49

digitalwolf said:
I'm going to have a go at it standing, dropping the weight concentrating on form.

Be careful with your back if you do it standing.

digitalwolf said:
I'm a little concerned that I never feel anything (apart from my legs) the day after the gym. Is this normal?

No you're a freak!! :eek:

Just change your routine a little. Vary the exercise or the rep range. Try slowing down, squeezing the muscle harder. Or do the opposite, be more explosive.

digitalwolf said:
I seem to be stuck at 12 stone 2 at the moment even thought I'm eating loads of the right stuff and having shakes!

If you're training hard and not adding weight its a diet thing. Try more overall cals or look again at the ratio of protein/carbs/fat. If all of the above is in place you might be overtraining and/or not getting enough rest.

digitalwolf said:
edit : do I need a belt for SLDL's and deadlifts?

I don't use one but my training buddy does. I always use one for squats over 120kgs.

digitalwolf said:
Thanks.

You're welcome

digitalwolf · 20 Jun 2007 at 18:37

I went to the gym today, jumped on the machine and to my horror, I have not put a pound of muscle on in a month :eek:

Fat yes, 300g of the stuff.

Muscle, nope.

I'm really pee'd off/ confused at the mo.

It has to be diet then surely?

Morba · 20 Jun 2007 at 18:40

go get caliper tested.

digitalwolf · 21 Jun 2007 at 00:11

Morba said:
go get caliper tested.

Excellent advice

digitalwolf · 21 Jun 2007 at 17:11

digitalwolf said:
I went to the gym today, jumped on the machine and to my horror, I have not put a pound of muscle on in a month

Fat yes, 300g of the stuff.

Muscle, nope.

I'm really pee'd off/ confused at the mo.

It has to be diet then surely?

Anybody?

Morba · 21 Jun 2007 at 19:45

ignore it, go get caliper tested.

digitalwolf · 21 Jun 2007 at 19:59

Morba said:
ignore it, go get caliper tested.

How do you mean? I thought you had replied to the wrong thread lol.

Morba · 21 Jun 2007 at 20:14

caliper testing is a far better measurement than the scales. i have scales at home that vary so much, not to mention they put me at 40% and above bodyfat!