It seems like every time an imbalance is talked about between pushing/pulling, it is always the pull that is considered lacking. Could someone actually be a dominant puller and lack push/press strength (and the muscles that create the movements)?
I have layed of pressing movement for a looong time now. No push ups, bench, OH pressing but plenty of pull ups, rows and rear delt flyes.
I did so in attempt to help fix my “neanderthal” posture but now that i think of it, it is not like that imbalance came from doing tons of bench work; i was always a weak in that plane of movement.
Now, i seem pretty competent in any thing that involves pulling (and i have crazy long arms) but my posture still sucks but now my chest (particulary upper) has no muscle that i can/feel (most noticeably between where the outer edge of the pec and the inner border of the deltoid sort of meet; i can actually feel my humeral head like it is right below the surface.
So i did thoracic extensions and pulled some more, rowed some more and on and so forth Thoracic extensions do feel great but i began to feel like they wer made less effective by constantly strengthing the muscles in my that region (which seems the opposite of what would happen).
I went to a bodyworker. a Rolfer, and he commented on the tension and of my upper back and rear delts. What gives? I was under the belief that strengthening these loose and weak muscles- along with stretching the pecs/ant. delts-was how to go about fixing ones hunched back posture. So now i can do a bunch of full range pull ups and have (what i believe) a pretty strong back (relatively speaking, of course) but my posture is still quite poor and the front of my shoulders continue to hurt on nearly any movement. Like, the front of my shoulders hurt when doing pull ups or rows/face pulls.
But anytime i do a few sets of push ups with friends i cannot help but feel like that not only do my shoulders hurt LESS after this pushing movement, but that the posture in my upper back is actually better afterwards. This feels similar with OH pressing movement as well (but not when holding my arms overhead or in front of me for an extended time; i finf that my shoulders actually fatigue rather quickly. They always have). What is going on here? Any thoughts on what is happening or where i may have gone wrong?
[quote]cskolnick wrote:
It seems like every time an imbalance is talked about between pushing/pulling, it is always the pull that is considered lacking. Could someone actually be a dominant puller and lack push/press strength (and the muscles that create the movements)?
I have layed of pressing movement for a looong time now. No push ups, bench, OH pressing but plenty of pull ups, rows and rear delt flyes.
I did so in attempt to help fix my “neanderthal” posture but now that i think of it, it is not like that imbalance came from doing tons of bench work; i was always a weak in that plane of movement.
Now, i seem pretty competent in any thing that involves pulling (and i have crazy long arms) but my posture still sucks but now my chest (particulary upper) has no muscle that i can/feel (most noticeably between where the outer edge of the pec and the inner border of the deltoid sort of meet; i can actually feel my humeral head like it is right below the surface.
So i did thoracic extensions and pulled some more, rowed some more and on and so forth Thoracic extensions do feel great but i began to feel like they wer made less effective by constantly strengthing the muscles in my that region (which seems the opposite of what would happen).
I went to a bodyworker. a Rolfer, and he commented on the tension and of my upper back and rear delts. What gives? I was under the belief that strengthening these loose and weak muscles- along with stretching the pecs/ant. delts-was how to go about fixing ones hunched back posture. So now i can do a bunch of full range pull ups and have (what i believe) a pretty strong back (relatively speaking, of course) but my posture is still quite poor and the front of my shoulders continue to hurt on nearly any movement. Like, the front of my shoulders hurt when doing pull ups or rows/face pulls.
But anytime i do a few sets of push ups with friends i cannot help but feel like that not only do my shoulders hurt LESS after this pushing movement, but that the posture in my upper back is actually better afterwards. This feels similar with OH pressing movement as well (but not when holding my arms overhead or in front of me for an extended time; i finf that my shoulders actually fatigue rather quickly. They always have). What is going on here? Any thoughts on what is happening or where i may have gone wrong?[/quote]
I think that balance is the key. Do both. If psh ups make you feel great then go to town on it. Also think about seeing a good, recommended chiropractor.
I think you went overboard. To balance out you don’t completely stop pushing. That just creates a new unbalance. You should have focus on pulling more than pushing until things balance out.
As for fixing your posture, nobody on this forum will be able to help you any better than Eric Cressey and Mike Robertson “Neanderthal No More” article.
[quote]Politico wrote:
I’ll pull dominant. At 5’10 I can dl over 400 but can’t bench 300.[/quote]
LOL sorry but your DL should be WELL the hell over your bench even further then you state that in NO way says your pull dominant I mean look at the difference in muscles used.
Now if you were doing a strict chest supported BB row with 400 and benching 300 then you could claim a bit of pull dominance
[quote]jsbrook wrote:
It’s never a good idea to completely stop training bodyparts because of imbalances.[/quote]
I think this is a very wise idea. I kind of learned this the hard way while fixing my posture. And yes you can have an imbalance where pulling dominates pushing.
I know you hear about the typical imbalance of hip flexors too tight so glutes don’t fire. But your hip flexors can be lax instead of overactive. It is the same principle with any other part of the body.
I understand how it is complicated to fix imbalances (especially the upper body), I’m always confused, but I am learning. Good luck.
[quote]Phill wrote:
Politico wrote:
I’ll pull dominant. At 5’10 I can dl over 400 but can’t bench 300.
LOL sorry but your DL should be WELL the hell over your bench even further then you state that in NO way says your pull dominant I mean look at the difference in muscles used.
Now if you were doing a strict chest supported BB row with 400 and benching 300 then you could claim a bit of pull dominance