Can't Do a Dip. Can't Break OH Press Plateau

[quote]Biskui wrote:
Why don’t you start by bench dip between two chairs or one chair and a desk ? It’s far easier and you won’t hurt your shoulders (you probably will on your mill)

For OHP, I was stuck at 25 kgs, then an advanced lifter corrected my form. I was lifting like a sucker, hurting my shoulders etc… It’s not an easy move… [/quote]

At least not everybody here is rude.
Thanks a lot for the kind reply.
Am already planning to shorten my grip next time, thanks.

Hmm, can you tell me what you were doing wrong? Maybe we have/had the same problem. How much do you press now?

[quote]Reed wrote:
Have you tried switching to push presses and really overloading your shoulders and triceps. Really helped me up until recently and I am now having to focus more on strict pressing but worth a try in my opinion. Also buy a decent bench and Squat stands both are reasonably cheap but priceless in a home gym or get a gym members ship.[/quote]

Thanks for the reply, will definitely try that out next week!

[quote]LiftAndLetLive wrote:

[quote]dopes1 wrote:

[quote]LiftAndLetLive wrote:

[quote]dopes1 wrote:
How long have you been lifting?
What are your stats? (height weight etc)
Whats your training split like?

most people will need to know the above things before they can give a proper answer, but first of all its no wonder you can only do half a dip, if your treadmill is anything like the ones at my gym the sides are wayyyyyy too far apart for any normal person do to dips on. you need a set of parallel or dip bars. Also i don’t understand how your workout revolves around dips if you cant do them? please clarify that.

I’ll need to know how long youve been doing overhead pressing for to understand why your weak in that area, but as a suggestion i would replace them for preferably dumbbell shoulder presses or even smith machine shoulder press as it sounds like you are on the beginners side. (correct me if im wrong)[/quote]

I have been lifting for half a year, but only SERIOUSLY lifting since the start of this year.
I’m 69kg and 180cm tall. Estimated body fat level is around 14-16%
My training system is very similar to Rippetoe’s Starting Strength.

It revolves around dips because dips and push ups are the best chest exercises I could do. I do not have a bench at home. Doesn’t the fact that O increased my ROM mean already that I’m improving? This thread is to seek out a faster way.
As I have small arms, I have always been stuck at this weight for half a year. I used to be stuck at 15kg but managed to break that plateau.

Yes, I’m ALOT on the beginners side. [/quote]

you really need to invest into a gym membership, or even some better gym equipment because by the sounds of it your really limited to what you can do, as a beginner you want to be hitting all the major compound movements (bench, squat, deadlift, chin-up) then throw in other isolation movements when you get stronger and more experienced. i really dont even think someone whos been training as little as you have should be targeting shoulders for a whole workout, thats just my opinion but i think you should be doing full body workouts for a year or until gains slow right down.

if you cant afford a gym membership or equipment then yeah go for pushups like everyones said, when you get stronger (40 reps+) you can even get someone to put a weight plate on your back, as for the OH pressing it is probably your form, just look up a video on OH pressing form and correct yours if need be and stick at it.[/quote]

Thanks for the kind reply.
Not trying to make excuses here but, I’m just a teen (no drivers license), nearest gym to really far away, parents work till 8 so going to a gym is out of question.
I do, do deadlifts but progress has been limited so far due to lower back pain, New Years Resolution is to hit 400lbs before the year is over.

I DO NOT target shoulders for a whole workout. Dips and OPresses are just a part of my workout. I hope I clarified that for everyone. Reason I do OPresses are because Mark Rippetoe recommends them, and who am I to question a person of his level? As for dips, in Rippetoe’s book, he clearly stated that a dip is a good replacement for the bench press.

Will take your advice on the push ups and form checks, thanks![/quote]

Look up lever pushups and hindu pushups… the way you do dips is pretty pointless and potentially harmful on your shoulders. Forget about my advice to join a gym, apparently you’ll have to work with what you have. Which means advanced calisthenics and barbell work. Deadlifts, hack squats, military presses, floor presses, barbell rows.

[quote]nighthawkz wrote:

[quote]LiftAndLetLive wrote:

[quote]dopes1 wrote:

[quote]LiftAndLetLive wrote:

[quote]dopes1 wrote:
How long have you been lifting?
What are your stats? (height weight etc)
Whats your training split like?

most people will need to know the above things before they can give a proper answer, but first of all its no wonder you can only do half a dip, if your treadmill is anything like the ones at my gym the sides are wayyyyyy too far apart for any normal person do to dips on. you need a set of parallel or dip bars. Also i don’t understand how your workout revolves around dips if you cant do them? please clarify that.

I’ll need to know how long youve been doing overhead pressing for to understand why your weak in that area, but as a suggestion i would replace them for preferably dumbbell shoulder presses or even smith machine shoulder press as it sounds like you are on the beginners side. (correct me if im wrong)[/quote]

I have been lifting for half a year, but only SERIOUSLY lifting since the start of this year.
I’m 69kg and 180cm tall. Estimated body fat level is around 14-16%
My training system is very similar to Rippetoe’s Starting Strength.

It revolves around dips because dips and push ups are the best chest exercises I could do. I do not have a bench at home. Doesn’t the fact that O increased my ROM mean already that I’m improving? This thread is to seek out a faster way.
As I have small arms, I have always been stuck at this weight for half a year. I used to be stuck at 15kg but managed to break that plateau.

Yes, I’m ALOT on the beginners side. [/quote]

you really need to invest into a gym membership, or even some better gym equipment because by the sounds of it your really limited to what you can do, as a beginner you want to be hitting all the major compound movements (bench, squat, deadlift, chin-up) then throw in other isolation movements when you get stronger and more experienced. i really dont even think someone whos been training as little as you have should be targeting shoulders for a whole workout, thats just my opinion but i think you should be doing full body workouts for a year or until gains slow right down.

if you cant afford a gym membership or equipment then yeah go for pushups like everyones said, when you get stronger (40 reps+) you can even get someone to put a weight plate on your back, as for the OH pressing it is probably your form, just look up a video on OH pressing form and correct yours if need be and stick at it.[/quote]

Thanks for the kind reply.
Not trying to make excuses here but, I’m just a teen (no drivers license), nearest gym to really far away, parents work till 8 so going to a gym is out of question.
I do, do deadlifts but progress has been limited so far due to lower back pain, New Years Resolution is to hit 400lbs before the year is over.

I DO NOT target shoulders for a whole workout. Dips and OPresses are just a part of my workout. I hope I clarified that for everyone. Reason I do OPresses are because Mark Rippetoe recommends them, and who am I to question a person of his level? As for dips, in Rippetoe’s book, he clearly stated that a dip is a good replacement for the bench press.

Will take your advice on the push ups and form checks, thanks![/quote]

Look up lever pushups and hindu pushups… the way you do dips is pretty pointless and potentially harmful on your shoulders. Forget about my advice to join a gym, apparently you’ll have to work with what you have. Which means advanced calisthenics and barbell work. Deadlifts, hack squats, military presses, floor presses, barbell rows.
[/quote]

Are those two effective? Maybe I’ll stick to push ups and get up to 100 good push-ups then come back to the dips with two chairs instead of my threadmil.
Am already doing deads, barbell rows, Overhead presses, power cleans.

[quote]LiftAndLetLive wrote:
Are those two effective? Maybe I’ll stick to push ups and get up to 100 good push-ups then come back to the dips with two chairs instead of my threadmil.
Am already doing deads, barbell rows, Overhead presses, power cleans.
[/quote]

Anything you can’t do for 10-15 pretty looking repetitions is effective. Your muscles only know contraction - they do not care if they lift a weight or your body. And since your overhead press is so weak, something like a strict jack knife push up will be very tough.
The two chair idea is actually pretty good, just be careful - chairs can be pretty wobbly.

Another thing you should get is a pair of gymnastic rings. Stuff like push ups, pull ups, dips becomes so much harder with them.

[quote]LiftAndLetLive wrote:

[quote]Jaycuts wrote:
Yes, basis as in basic? Lol gtfo if you base youre chest and shoulders on dips, overhead presses i could relate but sounds to me if you do dips on the tredmil you have no equipment or you’re just over-stating the fact that you’re a begginer. You’re asking how much to de-load? how much YOU think is comfortable enough to slightly push. [/quote]

I don’t really understand what you’re talking about.
Let me try again to explain stuff to you.
For my shoulders, I do OVERHEAD PRESSES.
For my chest, I do DIPS.
Since I can’t do bench presses (no bench,spotter) I chose to do dips over push ups.
I DON’T have a dip bar.
I use the bars on threadmil since its wide and sturdy.
I over-state the fact I’m a beginner because I AM one, and I’m trying to humble myself here.
I created this thread to GET help and FIND solutions but unfortunately for me, some people here answer my thread rudely and ignore the fact I’m here for HELP.

[/quote]
For my chest, I do DIPS./ Congrats for clarifying, again.
I DON’T have a dip bar/ use youre bench set dumbass
I use the bars on threadmil since its wide and sturdy./ poor ROM
I over-state the fact I’m a beginner because I AM one, and I’m trying to humble myself here/i can easily see this.
I don’t really understand what you’re talking about/ not using bigs words you’re just an idiot who should have payed attention in school.

I created this thread to GET help and FIND solutions but unfortunately for me, some people here answer my thread rudely and ignore the fact I’m here for HELP./ should have mentioned you have a vagina.
Let me try again to explain stuff to you/ you’re explaining you’re poor clarification to someone smarter then you. EH WRONG

If you dont own a bench press, get a regular bench you sit on. You take these threads too seriously and being forceful upon my responses is how you’ll learn!!

If you don’t have one already, absolutely get one of those pull-up bars that you can easily install in your house.

Since your goal appears to be strengthening your body, just doing pull-ups/push-ups/dead-lift/OHP/goblet(or in your case plates I would assume) squats will be enough to strengthen your body to a reasonable degree.

You should definitely work on your squats. BW squats are great for both building a strength-base and increasing mobility. You should do them even if you can’t do loaded squats.

Just keep your form good at on the calisthenics and do them slowly. No cheating. You’re trying to build strength, not get reps in.

[quote]1 Man Island wrote:
If you’re doing an SS style routine… Rip has 5x3 for OHP, not 3x5.[/quote]
Incorrect.

[quote]LiftAndLetLive wrote:
I’m pretty sure OPresses in Rippetoe’s program is 3 sets of 5 reps as well as most of the lifts he recommends. [/quote]
Correct. Power cleans are 5x3.

But in any case, what you’re doing resembles Starting Strength about as much as Kourtney Kardashian resembles Courtney Cox.

I didn’t notice it mentioned, but I’m presuming you don’t have a power rack or access to a full gym, correct? Is there a campus gym you can get in to? The sooner you can get into a well-equipped gym, the faster you can get closer to your goals. I’d stick with something basic for a while:
Lessons From Southwood or
Strength Training: College Edition

A slight bit of brainpower should be enough to figure out what exercises you need to sub in to account for your limited equipment without drastically changing the coach’s intention. Or if that’s too tough, just ask.

[quote]Jaycuts wrote:

[quote]LiftAndLetLive wrote:

[quote]Jaycuts wrote:
Yes, basis as in basic? Lol gtfo if you base youre chest and shoulders on dips, overhead presses i could relate but sounds to me if you do dips on the tredmil you have no equipment or you’re just over-stating the fact that you’re a begginer. You’re asking how much to de-load? how much YOU think is comfortable enough to slightly push. [/quote]

I don’t really understand what you’re talking about.
Let me try again to explain stuff to you.
For my shoulders, I do OVERHEAD PRESSES.
For my chest, I do DIPS.
Since I can’t do bench presses (no bench,spotter) I chose to do dips over push ups.
I DON’T have a dip bar.
I use the bars on threadmil since its wide and sturdy.
I over-state the fact I’m a beginner because I AM one, and I’m trying to humble myself here.
I created this thread to GET help and FIND solutions but unfortunately for me, some people here answer my thread rudely and ignore the fact I’m here for HELP.

[/quote]
For my chest, I do DIPS./ Congrats for clarifying, again.
I DON’T have a dip bar/ use youre bench set dumbass
I use the bars on threadmil since its wide and sturdy./ poor ROM
I over-state the fact I’m a beginner because I AM one, and I’m trying to humble myself here/i can easily see this.
I don’t really understand what you’re talking about/ not using bigs words you’re just an idiot who should have payed attention in school.

I created this thread to GET help and FIND solutions but unfortunately for me, some people here answer my thread rudely and ignore the fact I’m here for HELP./ should have mentioned you have a vagina.
Let me try again to explain stuff to you/ you’re explaining you’re poor clarification to someone smarter then you. EH WRONG

[/quote]

You know your coming off as bit of a douche bag there my friend which isn’t really anything new considering you usually do but, there is no real reason for you to give this Guy such a hard time. He is just trying to learn. I mean seriously man calm down just bit. Your 17 years old 5’8" weigh 148lbs with over 2 years of training (that’s fucking skinny and it doesn’t matter if you do it on purpose or not) and your not exactly a freak nasty monster in the strength department and before you took the photo of you “flexing” down off your page you obviously could see you were not exactly all that and bag of chips when it came to physique training either. Lighten up on the guy.

And before you get mad and get all internet tough on me I know I’m not a freak either and appartenly I am built like a drawf lol so begin the bashing but please make it original this time. any one with half a brain and some common sense will most likely agree with me on this.

Try to get a video of your overhead presses. It can be hard to get your form right when you’re starting out.

Sounds like you have a barbell, so you could do floor presses. Put the bar on a sturdy bench or chair or some car jacks or whatever you can find that’s safe. You could probably even clean the weight sitting up now.

Be nice and helpful to beginners, jaycuts.

[quote]Reed wrote:

[quote]Jaycuts wrote:

[quote]LiftAndLetLive wrote:

[quote]Jaycuts wrote:
Yes, basis as in basic? Lol gtfo if you base youre chest and shoulders on dips, overhead presses i could relate but sounds to me if you do dips on the tredmil you have no equipment or you’re just over-stating the fact that you’re a begginer. You’re asking how much to de-load? how much YOU think is comfortable enough to slightly push. [/quote]

I don’t really understand what you’re talking about.
Let me try again to explain stuff to you.
For my shoulders, I do OVERHEAD PRESSES.
For my chest, I do DIPS.
Since I can’t do bench presses (no bench,spotter) I chose to do dips over push ups.
I DON’T have a dip bar.
I use the bars on threadmil since its wide and sturdy.
I over-state the fact I’m a beginner because I AM one, and I’m trying to humble myself here.
I created this thread to GET help and FIND solutions but unfortunately for me, some people here answer my thread rudely and ignore the fact I’m here for HELP.

[/quote]
For my chest, I do DIPS./ Congrats for clarifying, again.
I DON’T have a dip bar/ use youre bench set dumbass
I use the bars on threadmil since its wide and sturdy./ poor ROM
I over-state the fact I’m a beginner because I AM one, and I’m trying to humble myself here/i can easily see this.
I don’t really understand what you’re talking about/ not using bigs words you’re just an idiot who should have payed attention in school.

I created this thread to GET help and FIND solutions but unfortunately for me, some people here answer my thread rudely and ignore the fact I’m here for HELP./ should have mentioned you have a vagina.
Let me try again to explain stuff to you/ you’re explaining you’re poor clarification to someone smarter then you. EH WRONG

[/quote]

You know your coming off as bit of a douche bag there my friend which isn’t really anything new considering you usually do but, there is no real reason for you to give this Guy such a hard time. He is just trying to learn. I mean seriously man calm down just bit. Your 17 years old 5’8" weigh 148lbs with over 2 years of training (that’s fucking skinny and it doesn’t matter if you do it on purpose or not) and your not exactly a freak nasty monster in the strength department and before you took the photo of you “flexing” down off your page you obviously could see you were not exactly all that and bag of chips when it came to physique training either. Lighten up on the guy.

And before you get mad and get all internet tough on me I know I’m not a freak either and appartenly I am built like a drawf lol so begin the bashing but please make it original this time. any one with half a brain and some common sense will most likely agree with me on this.
[/quote]

LOL im 5’11 160lbs…i never update my shit cause it’s really not that important. And i know im a douche, most of the people on here are it’s pretty funny. You dont have to be big strong etc to give out information. It’s pussys like you who get soft hearted for kids like this.

[quote]Reed wrote:

[quote]Jaycuts wrote:

[quote]LiftAndLetLive wrote:

[quote]Jaycuts wrote:
Yes, basis as in basic? Lol gtfo if you base youre chest and shoulders on dips, overhead presses i could relate but sounds to me if you do dips on the tredmil you have no equipment or you’re just over-stating the fact that you’re a begginer. You’re asking how much to de-load? how much YOU think is comfortable enough to slightly push. [/quote]

I don’t really understand what you’re talking about.
Let me try again to explain stuff to you.
For my shoulders, I do OVERHEAD PRESSES.
For my chest, I do DIPS.
Since I can’t do bench presses (no bench,spotter) I chose to do dips over push ups.
I DON’T have a dip bar.
I use the bars on threadmil since its wide and sturdy.
I over-state the fact I’m a beginner because I AM one, and I’m trying to humble myself here.
I created this thread to GET help and FIND solutions but unfortunately for me, some people here answer my thread rudely and ignore the fact I’m here for HELP.

[/quote]
For my chest, I do DIPS./ Congrats for clarifying, again.
I DON’T have a dip bar/ use youre bench set dumbass
I use the bars on threadmil since its wide and sturdy./ poor ROM
I over-state the fact I’m a beginner because I AM one, and I’m trying to humble myself here/i can easily see this.
I don’t really understand what you’re talking about/ not using bigs words you’re just an idiot who should have payed attention in school.

I created this thread to GET help and FIND solutions but unfortunately for me, some people here answer my thread rudely and ignore the fact I’m here for HELP./ should have mentioned you have a vagina.
Let me try again to explain stuff to you/ you’re explaining you’re poor clarification to someone smarter then you. EH WRONG

[/quote]

You know your coming off as bit of a douche bag there my friend which isn’t really anything new considering you usually do but, there is no real reason for you to give this Guy such a hard time. He is just trying to learn. I mean seriously man calm down just bit. Your 17 years old 5’8" weigh 148lbs with over 2 years of training (that’s fucking skinny and it doesn’t matter if you do it on purpose or not) and your not exactly a freak nasty monster in the strength department and before you took the photo of you “flexing” down off your page you obviously could see you were not exactly all that and bag of chips when it came to physique training either. Lighten up on the guy.

And before you get mad and get all internet tough on me I know I’m not a freak either and appartenly I am built like a drawf lol so begin the bashing but please make it original this time. any one with half a brain and some common sense will most likely agree with me on this.
[/quote]

And im not going to bash on you, it’s cool youre training to be a strongman. But you’re dead lift blows ass HAHAHA

“Dude do you even little seriously? Judging by this pic I think 15” is just a bit of a stretch it seriously looks like you have never lifted a day in your life. This is a pic you posted not even a week ago in the begginers section asking if you should stop bulking… did you even start bulking?"

LOLL!! talk about me being a douche.^^ nice statement hypocrite.

[quote]Jaycuts wrote:

“Dude do you even little seriously? Judging by this pic I think 15” is just a bit of a stretch it seriously looks like you have never lifted a day in your life. This is a pic you posted not even a week ago in the begginers section asking if you should stop bulking… did you even start bulking?"

LOLL!! talk about me being a douche.^^ nice statement hypocrite.[/quote]

Its slightly different when the guy your being a douche bag to is being a douche bag. Lol well lets see your deadlift. Oh and good job not bashing on me.

I hardly ever do dips , something about them , they seem to immediately make me feel less mobile or athletic.
Really dont like dips very much.

Any kind of overhead pressing though, usually love it, feels like it gives me good posture. I press overhead alot. I only bench once a week. most weeks.

The only reason i really do any benching is because i want to have the nice looking pecs .
Some women are into that, i would think.

You look at alot of olympic lifters and thier physiques in general look very good, except for thier PECS.