Since reading CW’s tip Lockouts for Massive Triceps, I was thrilled with that information and have since incorporated them into my workouts. The problem is that when I do these, I feel massive tension on, it seems, my neck and collarbone area. I feel it more there than in my triceps. I heard other people say that lockouts screw with their shoulders.
I like the idea of throwing up a lot weight and don’t want to drop this exercise, but will it hurt me in the future? As of now, I feel fine, but I haven’t been doing them long enough to really know if they are helpful/harmful.
In my opinion, if an exercise doesn’t feel right and you can’t make an adjustment that helps, then don’t do it. Sorry that I can’t give any other advice, but if something feels wrong, it probably is.
More likely than not, your form is faulty. You should squeeze your glutes/abs and drive your feet into the floor. Also, you should press your head back into the bench to increase neural drive.
As for the issue of lockouts hurting your shoulders - it’s B.S. Lockouts should have very little impact on your shoulders if you’re lowering the bar the recommended 6-8 inches and if your hand spacing is close. Keep your elbows tucked to your sides; lower the bar as if you were going to touch your upper abs; minimize the eccentric phase (don’t lower the bar too slowly).
Most of all, lower the load. It sounds like you might be comprising your form in order to lift a load that is too heavy for you.
And although Chad alluded to this in the original tip, it’s extremely important to stress that the bar rest on the pins in-between reps–on the order of three or four seconds. Completely eliminates the stretch shortening cycle, in addition to allowing you to focus on the triceps (thus eliminating involvement of the delts).
Yes, the little black pooch that types so well is correct. I didn’t reiterate the importance of unloading at the bottom of the movement. This serves two purposes:
It builds starting strength
It briefly unloads the joints, thus providing some quick relief