When performing heavy standing overhead barbell presses I always become very lightheaded after the second rep. Does anyone have suggestions on how to keep this from happening?
Stop doing them standing.
case solved.
x2 /thread
Wearing a belt might help.
Either what Professor X said, or just keep doing them until you eventually adjust, and the bar no longer feels heavy resting on your shoulders.
I used to feel light headed too, however, the problem went away once I started concentrating on breathing on every rep
Goodness…there is a reason most of the big guys you see sit the fuck down when they do overhead presses.
Let me guess…it is more “functional” to stand up and do them.
I, too once suffered this, well, more difficulty breathing, but after regularly training it, I haven’t noticed the problem. Have you started overhead pressing fairly recently or come off from a layoff? Anyhoo, I’m basically just echoing what people have said.
[quote]Professor X wrote:
Goodness…there is a reason most of the big guys you see sit the fuck down when they do overhead presses.
Let me guess…it is more “functional” to stand up and do them.
[/quote]
Well, the intended “function” of a shoulder exercise would obviously be to work the shoulders, so in that sense the seated press would be more functional. But I still think it can be beneficial to do standing military press in certain cases, especially for beginners, as it is one of those “stronger overall” exercises which can have some carryover to other movements. Maybe he is doing push-presses as part of the I Bodybuilder program.
As you mention though, most really big guys you see in the gym sit down, which may have something to do with them having a huge ass weight over their heads. I’m kinda guessing the OP isn’t at that stage yet.
prof X: I dont know if you remember me, but I mailed you a few weeks back and you put my post in the Alpha T Cell…telling you thing just to remind you of my noobie status.
I too do them standing…and yes…cause I read everywhere thats its more functional.
So would this be a good way of doing seated presses?
Actually is this not more of an Incline bench press than a shoulder press?
What about seated behind the neck?
[quote]Professor X wrote:
Goodness…there is a reason most of the big guys you see sit the fuck down when they do overhead presses.
Let me guess…it is more “functional” to stand up and do them.
[/quote]
Maybe he goes to a gym that doesnt have a place to do seated barbell military press? All my gym has is a squat rack so I have to do them standing.
I might ask CT since he has more experience then most with OH while standing. Most bodybuilders do them seated so may have no idea what you are talking about.
I have never had that problem but I also have my breathing down.
It is irrelevant whether standing OH are “functional” and seated presses are not. A standing press with no leg kick or extreme lay back, for lack of better term, is much more impressive then a seated press with the same weight. Kinda like the guy who can do 10 strict pullups vs. the guy who uses the whole stack in pulldowns.
The reason “big” guys do them seated is because it’s easier. It’s much easier to unrack a heavy weight then it is to clean it overhead before pressing it. They don’t feel like it because all they care about is pressing said weight x times and cleaning it requires extra energy they don’t care to put into it, not to mention learning the technique.
There was an entire thread on this in which the standing guys were bashed but it just comes down to laziness. And if “big” guys don’t think it adds any benefit they aren’t going to bother doing the cleans.
Sure I may not be “big” or using heavy weight by Prof X standards. The last time I did standing military presses I used a measly 205…but don’t tell me it’s too heavy for bigger guys. Watch the olympics and you’ll see 150lb korean guys doing it. By the way, I personally don’t give a crap which way you do them I’m just tired of people acting like you’re stupid if you do.
P.S. Sorry OP I didn’t contribute any useful advice.
[quote]JMAX wrote:
The reason “big” guys do them seated is because it’s easier. It’s much easier to unrack a heavy weight then it is to clean it overhead before pressing it. They don’t feel like it because all they care about is pressing said weight x times and cleaning it requires extra energy they don’t care to put into it, not to mention learning the technique.
There was an entire thread on this in which the standing guys were bashed but it just comes down to laziness. And if “big” guys don’t think it adds any benefit they aren’t going to bother doing the cleans.
Sure I may not be “big” or using heavy weight by Prof X standards. The last time I did standing military presses I used a measly 205…but don’t tell me it’s too heavy for bigger guys. Watch the olympics and you’ll see 150lb korean guys doing it. By the way, I personally don’t give a crap which way you do them I’m just tired of people acting like you’re stupid if you do.
P.S. Sorry OP I didn’t contribute any useful advice. [/quote]
LOL.
Thus why most of you never actually get big. You can’t figure out how to focus on a goal. My goal is to get really strong and really big shoulders. It is NOT to simply clean a fucking weight for the sake of doing it UNLESS that helps me get really big and really strong shoulders.
It does not…especially since most of you claiming how awesome it is to train that way ARE FUCKING SMALLER AND WEAKER THAN THE GUYS WHO KNOW FOR SURE WHAT THEY WANT.
I sit down because trying to press more than 315lbs overhead is setting yourself up for injury if you try to fucking clean it first.
What was that? Most of you never actually get to the point of pressing that much overhead while standing with good form?
Hmmmmmmmm.
[quote]bonerjams98 wrote:
[quote]Professor X wrote:
Goodness…there is a reason most of the big guys you see sit the fuck down when they do overhead presses.
Let me guess…it is more “functional” to stand up and do them.
[/quote]
Maybe he goes to a gym that doesnt have a place to do seated barbell military press? All my gym has is a squat rack so I have to do them standing. [/quote]
Then why not change gyms?
I mean, unless you are geographically too distant to find another one, chalk this up as yet another thing you figure out if you want this bad enough.
[quote]A_S wrote:
prof X: I dont know if you remember me, but I mailed you a few weeks back and you put my post in the Alpha T Cell…telling you thing just to remind you of my noobie status.
I too do them standing…and yes…cause I read everywhere thats its more functional.
So would this be a good way of doing seated presses?
Actually is this not more of an Incline bench press than a shoulder press?
What about seated behind the neck?
[/quote]
No, it is still a shoulder press.
Most people will tell you that BTN shoulder presses are KING for building size. They are. They are also fairly risky as MANY of the big guys I have known (and many competitors) end up with severe shoulder issues as a result of this movement after doing them over several years.
I had a big guy tell me this when I first started. Because of that, I heavily relied on the smith machine when I did these and NEVER allowed the bar to come much past my ears when lowering it due to the risk of injury. As a result, I have really big shoulders and any shoulder issues I have had to date have been fairly mild and temporary.
I like dumbbell presses as well as many machines…so the point is, you have many options and always using a free barbell for this may not always provide you with optimal results.
This is bodybuilding. The goal is to make your muscles stronger and bigger. The word “functional” has taken tons of you farther away from the goals of a bodybuilder it seems…and you guys don’t seem to be blowing up faster as a result.
I recommend lynching the word.
I’ve got rope.
It’s probably how you’re breathing when doing the exercise. I’ve gotten light headed before cause I’ve been so concentrated on keeping tight and squeezing out that last rep that I’ve forgotten to breath, as silly as it sounds.
most people who try to train fuctionally would be better of training like a bodybuilder i think. bodybuilders are more functional than some dude cleaning 95 for his complexes
[quote]Professor X wrote:
[quote]bonerjams98 wrote:
[quote]Professor X wrote:
Goodness…there is a reason most of the big guys you see sit the fuck down when they do overhead presses.
Let me guess…it is more “functional” to stand up and do them.
[/quote]
Maybe he goes to a gym that doesnt have a place to do seated barbell military press? All my gym has is a squat rack so I have to do them standing. [/quote]
Then why not change gyms?
I mean, unless you are geographically too distant to find another one, chalk this up as yet another thing you figure out if you want this bad enough.[/quote]
I’m going to ahead and say that distance isn’t even an excuse if he wants it bad enough.
I travel 40 minutes to my 2nd gym because I can’t work my back out at ‘the Y’. About an hour in inclement weather (which hasn’t kept me home yet). I do that 3 times a week + 3x’s at the ‘close’ one.
If I can do it, anyone should be able to do it, too, dammit.
umm…a lot of people, including me, do standing military presses from a rack. If you dont have one, build one out of 2x4’s like a saw horse or just clean it to your chest since thats the only other option.
some food for thought:
The guy may not be as big as some, but the weight of that lift should speak for itself.
OP, breathe…I used to get light headed after doing a bunch of heavy compound lifts like deads and squats until I learned how to breathe right. I never got light headed after military presses though.
for inspiration:
