The Pastabilities Are Endless Spaghetti and Meatballs

This^. If you dont have consistent and fast bar speed on the DE lift then I would lower the weight. Like hog said, its about the speed/technique, not the weight.

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You guys are absolutely right, it’s a mental hurdle having to dial it back, it seems simple, and it is… but it’s not? I can’t really explain it, but I’m sure you understand.

I’m probably going to dive back down to 55% and do a slow climb back up.

As far as the volume sets, absolutely, I’m not really sure why I didn’t, regardless of the video, I typically try to finish all my reps, even if I have to sacrifice sets.

Also thanks, Boat! Deficit Deadlift is an absolute dessert after… probably 6 weeks of paused deadlifts (including my previous cycle). But they are still a beast to overcome.

OHP DAY 2
(lazy day disclaimer, with questions at the end)

  • Conditioning battle rope
  • Push Press Giant Set
    -Pull Ups 5 x 8
    -Push Press 3 reps, 95/135/155/185/195x1
    -RKC Planks. Seconds 10/10/20/20/25
    -5/10/5 Plate Pinch. Seconds 10/10/20/20/25
  • Push Press Volume
    -145lbs, 8/6/4/4 yikes
  • Bench EMOM
    -185lbs 10 x 3
  • Assistance
    -band pull aparts, incline close push ups.

SO. I despise shoulders. They’re my weakest point by far, I’ve never gotten comfortable with any sort of OHP. I had some serious trouble with my left shoulder for years, however that seems to have subsided within the last few months, I guess from the forced use.

What are some cues? I mean, I’m flying blind here. I can’t seem to sync my breathing, it’s impossible to stabilize when the weight is on your collar bone. I feel confident in the setup. Even with the 195, when I unracked it, I felt strong, however about half way up I lose ALL force, and it gets really ugly. After 1 rep on any weight I lose a lot of stability for the following reps. (This circles back to the breathing I suppose)

Basically I’m lost. So… can I get some advice?

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Here is how I attack the OHP. Feet shoulder width or slightly wider. Milk an orange with your butt cheeks. Super tight core breathing and brace. Push and shrug the shoulders.
I get a sticking point at the same place. Back when I did 531 I worked my down sets with pauses at the sticking point.

I’ve never push presses. So I’m not familiar with the exercise other than you get a leg drive out of the bottom.

I chose the zpress because it is all core tightness and press strength. Next variation I’ll use the pin press and press from that sticking point you are talking about.

Some guys say doing behind the neck presses are good for the OHP but I hurt a shoulder doing them very early in my lifting so I don’t want to do them. If you do, keep the hands out wide and don’t force the range of motion keeping the weights light.

The sticking point is a lockout issue and triceps strength. Triceps are the weakest link in pressing motions. I would suggest doing some tricep accessory work to blast the triceps.

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Lower body tightness definitely wouldn’t hurt, I’ll make it a point to focus in on that next time.

Essentially you’re right, it’s just got a bounce to it, seems to be more built towards getting explosive power out of it, which I severely need.

I’m thinking I’m going to try zpresses on my third wave. However with previous back and shoulder injuries or sound like a special kind of hell. I’m really thinking I’m simply lacking in shoulder strength.

As for triceps you very well could be right, but it’s interesting, I bench pretty close grip (circling back to the shoulder injury) probably… just outside of parallel.and I’ve done it that way for at least a year, I figured my triceps would have played a lot of catch up.

Also forget behind the neck for me, that’s the position specifically that sets my shoulder on fire. So I think I’ll just keep a good safe distance with that.

I should note too that I’m not just wrecking my shoulders, I do/have spend a lot of time trying to rehab them, this is really me trying to get some weight back on them for the first time in a long time.

Lateral raises as an accessory. Keep the thumbs slightly down. Think pouring the Dumbbell out at the top.

Back flys
Vertical rows

Isometric press against a pin at the sticking point.

Hmmm. My shoulder seemed to be from Impingement (I never had insurance at the time, so I couldn’t get a professional diagnosis) but after months of trial and error that’s what I came upon.

With that knowledge, I’ve tried to avoid thumbs in/down in all exercises where it’s an option. Would the raises not be counter productive? Also the same for vertical rows.

I mean, I truly don’t know, I’m asking.

I guess I should nut up and just try it haha, if my back taught me anything, avoiding work only makes it worse.

What your goal with OHP? To get badass heavy weight above your head? big shoulders? Strong strict press? Depending on your goal I think you could adjust how you train shoulders.

I’m far from a good presser but I made really good progress on my push press in a short time by putting a lot more emphasis on the leg drive (didnt realize how much help they can give on this lift for ages). Once the bar is set on my shoulders and I dip my knees I then focus on using as many muscles in my legs as possible to drive up, keeping upper body as upright as possible so that all the leg force you generate transfers to moving the bar straight upwards. Then once your legs are fully extended just give it all you have with the pressing muscles. If I miss a push press its just before lockout when I lose bar speed to soon, on strict press my sticking point is around eye level.

Truthfully… I don’t know? I mean, right now I’m focusing on strength. But I don’t have an end goal whatsoever. I typically find something I can’t stand, and focus on it aggressively, that being my shoulders right now.

Ideally I’m trying to get my shoulders visibly and functionally balanced. Focusing on the strength spectrum currently. Short term goal right now is a bodyweight strict press (225) I think I could live with that.

Band pull aparts and face pulls…

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Currently on the band pull apart train. I try to do them at least once a day, I think that’s what has taken the edge off.

Thanks for the replies guys, I’m going to give it some deep thought, but until then, I’ve got some serious squat love tomorrow after last week!

Gotcha, I’m the same way with over head, pick shorter term goals to hit.
I find push press gains dont translate to strict press improvement for me. If you have them DB press (seated) and a variety of tri work could help.

I get 32,5 kg out of my leg drive, so I guess that is very important.
Focus on a shoulder width stand and when you descend for your dip and drive push your knees outwards instead of forward. Don’t drop too low and Imagine that you want to throw the barbell through the roof.
As soon as you pass your head you push yourself under the bar. Don’t try to ‘press’ too much. It should feel more like a ‘throw and catch’.
Bracing and also the front rack position play a huge role. Is the bar in contact with your shoulder or hovering above? You need to generate power from the legs and hips and directly transfer it into the barbell. Don’t worry too much about what your arms are doing.
Lastly: upper back tightness! The upper back is your base and needs to be super tight!

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3 things I like to do for OHP are:

Get my elbows in front of the bar before unracking

Slightly turn my arms in

Keep chest high (not from leaning back, more like puffing it out)

Also took me a while to get comfortable with keeping the bar close to my body. Accidently hit myself in the chin once and chipped a tooth so don’t keep it that close…

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I definitely feel your pain on OHP - I’ve never come close to a bodyweight press, even with push press. I don’t train push press too often, so I don’t think I’ve ever gotten the leg drive and transition thing down pat - the push only gets me 15-20 pounds over my strict press (at the most).

One thing I noticed - after watching something of Brian’s talking about proper bracing, I tried that on deadlift and felt way more solid than normal. I’ll just have to make a note somewhere I will see it, and try that on OHP.

As for shoulder rehab, I prefer doing this move with KBs but I suppose DBs would work. Everyone says to do internal and external rotations with a cable, but I can’t say that has ever really done much for my shoulder stabilization. Saw this in an article here a while back(can’t find the article now): lie on your back with a KB (or DB) in one hand, back flat on the ground, arm extended straight up, ‘pack’ the shoulder. Keeping the extended arm straight and in proper alignment over the shoulder, roll onto your opposite side (slow and controlled), then return to your back. Do a set on one side, then switch and repeat. I then added the following: after doing the above exercise for a few sets on each side, I then would do a few sets of a similar movement, only sitting up - sort of a half Turkish get up, stopping when you are sitting on your glutes, the KB/DB still in proper alignment over the shoulder. That little sequence has done more for my shoulders than cable internal/external rotations ever did (at least in my opinion - I can definitely tell a difference from them much quicker, like after a couple sessions).

I actually need to start doing those again, I slept weird on my right shoulder and it’s been cranky for a couple days now.

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SQUAT DAY W2 D1

I completed thus Friday, but got incredibly side tracked, so here’s the update.

  • Conditioning Box Jumps/Tire Flips alternating 10m
  • Paused Squat Giant Set
    -Hip Trusts 6x10
    -Paused Squat (2s Pause) 135x3, 185x3, 225x1, 255x1, 275x1, 295x1
    -Leg Raises 10/10/10/15/15/15
    -Burpees 6x8
  • Paused Squat 235lbs 6reps/5reps/5reps
  • Deadlift EMOM
    -205lbs, 10x3
  • Assistance
    -bodyweight lunges

Just a couple of notes.

  • I had no idea what I would paused squat, so I worked up slow, hence the 6 giant sets.
  • holy shit, 6 giant sets. I would have laughed at the idea 4 weeks ago.
  • Core was fried, between the core work, and holding the squat at the bottom, had to use a belt for the volume sets.
  • Core work in general seems to be the hardest part for me in this cycle. I can’t control my breathing very well after the primary lift, and I caught myself a few times cutting myself short, because I wasn’t sure I’d keep the conditioning consistent. I’ve gotten past that which is progress, but it’s something worth noting.
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I’ll have to keep those in mind dude, will probably dedicate my off days and maybe assistance work on upper body to trying these this week.

I’m incredibly unstable with weight over my head. I’m guessing just a combination of my shoulder, height, and general unfamiliarity with the weight. That’s why I’m doing them though. Won’t get better without the work

Well done! Sounds like the program is working for you…hmmm. He may have written a great program in this thing.

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Absolutely! My biggest weakness so far is just the exhaustion. About half way through the volume sets, I have 2 switches: survival, or autopilot. The former being fantastic for really seeing progress, the latter being… well. Just finishing it to finish it, but it’s getting better.

Now I just have to regroup because my “diet” went to straight shit over this weekend. I mean, just terrible.

I’ve been eating cereal the last three days and have a huge case of bloat and sugar deprivation headaches. So I get your pain here.