Yet more ABBH questions

Bigger Stronger Leaner Competitive Bodybuilding
1

  1. Does anyone know why Waterbury doesn’t include direct delt work in the program? He doesn’t explain why in the article.

  2. Is there another movement I can use instead of dips? Dips are unkind to my shoulders and I have tendonitis in one shoulder to boot. I’ll do them if there’s no substitute however.

  3. I also have knee and hip problems and squatting is difficult for me right now. What can I use as a substitute for squats? (Yeah, yeah, I know there’s no substitute for squats.) Should I stick with leg presses? Is there another movement or combination of movements that would be better than leg presses? Or should I just do light squatting?

Yes, I am getting treatment for my various afflictions so I hope to be back on the right track ASAP.

Thanks for your help, peeps.

2

  1. Delts get hammered with everything else. No need for direct work.

  2. Decline Parallel-grip DB Presses? How do those feel on ya? Or just close grip benches?

  3. Every try box squatting?

3

  1. What ryno said.

  2. Best substitute for dips (for those of us with shoulder problems) are decline close-grip bench presses.

  3. If squats and their variations are a problem, I’d suggest deadlifts. Otherwise, try dumbbell step ups or heavy lunges.

4

Waterbury answers your first question here:

5

your shoulders get trained plenty with all of the other compound movements. if you are having shoulder issues, why would you want to train them directly anyway?

you could also try barbell hack squats for the legs.

6

Damn, everyone else beat me to this. :frowning:

Besides, “what ryno said”, ever try “one legged presses”? One leg at a time on the leg press. What have you been doing, leg exercise-wise, in the meantime?

Hmmm…barbell hack squats? Have you tried those?

7

Do not do dips!

8

Most posters on this forum make my life a whole lot easier. All of the responses were good.
Yes, decline semi-supinated hand position (palms facing each other) with dbs are the best substitute for dips, and ease on the shoulders.
As for your knee/hip problems. Those should definitely be addressed. I’ve encountered very few trainees who can’t/shouldn’t do squats once any underlying issues were resolved.
If you can’t get any help with your knee/hip issues, contact me and I’ll help figure out your issue. Even better, fly to Tucson and I’ll treat you myself.

9

Thanks for the help everybody. I will do as ryno, Nate and Chad suggested and do the decline presses.

Thanks for the warning ZEB.

Nate, not to worry, deads are already on the menu. They’re actually my favorite lift.

ryno, I will educate myself concerning box squats. The only thing I know about them is they’re good for learning proper squatting technique.

P-DOG, I’m not actually too concerned with the fact there is no direct delt work in the program. I already have a nice set of delts going on so they’re the least of my concerns.

Thanks for the link davo2. I will check it out.

I guess I’ll experiment with quad exercises to see which movement hurts my knee the least.

Patricia, prior to last week I didn’t lift for a month. Gasp I’ve been doing cardio Ick! Ptooey! and concentrating on my rehab. I gave myself a break-in week last week before I start ABBH tomorrow. It felt good to deadlift again even though I had to go light.

Geez, Chad, it looks as if we don’t need you around here. :wink:

Thanks for the offer, but I’m already getting a lot of help from Mike Robertson. He designed a posture rehab program for me. My less than perfect posture is the cause of the recurring tendonitis in my shoulders. I’m also doing regular rotator cuff work.

Next week, I’ll be starting ART. We’re going to start by working on my posture and then see if we can do something for my knee after that.

I underwent intensive physio prior to the holidays and that did help my knee a lot. When I started physio I was at the point my knee hurt so much I could barely do any leg movements at all.

If you have any more suggestions I’m all ears.