Why do you feel they couldn’t be programmed like BB work?
That’s a good option as well and something Jim mentioned in an article too. I should look into that
Mainly because Jim Wendler explicitly advised against doing so.
Also because the dumbbells available to me are in 2 kgs jumps and it wouldn’t work with the 2.5% changes
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Definitely true. You’d never try and use dumbbells for your main 531 sets, but I can’t see a problem with using them for assistance, assuming you can pick an appropriate weight.
I was just offering an alternative to BB press since it caused pain. Didn’t know Wendler said that’s a no no. I do my DB work after my BB work, but if I couldn’t OHP with a BB I’d definitely do DB if it didn’t hurt, but that’s just me.
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I’ve ran it like that before, with Arnold presses for assistance (because I like them). Saved my elbows, but can’t guarantee they produced many results, I was in a pretty serious calorie deficit at the time so I wasn’t getting much bigger or stronger no matter what I did.
As a flame-free aside: how can people find Arnold presses useful?
Me too, 100% I just wouldn’t use a 531 progression model to do it.
Arnold liked them apparently so they do something
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Honestly? It tells me when I’ve finished the movement because the weight hits my chest/collar bone. That’s pretty much the only smart answer I can come up with I’m afraid. It’s purely personal preference.
100%
By all means, if they work for you.
I just never understood the reasoning behind adding a portion of the movement that is virtually useless as you aren’t actively fighting the dumbbell’s weight, but with the added side effect of further fatiguing the muscles that are supposed to press the weight.
Yeah, my question was only half rhetorical.
I am introspective enough that, since I find them too glaringly useless and counterproductive of an exercise but there are so many people doing it, I have questioned my view and actually asked myself if there’s something I might be missing about the exercise.
I’m not smart enough to know the answer to that. And I’m also not in any way clear that they work better than “normal” presses. I just did them because I like them and they did what I want, as long as I was careful to keep some tension in the shoulder.
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Also, have I mentioned before your English is absolutely flawless? I genuinely forget it isn’t your first language.
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That’s absolutely appreciated man. It’s something that I’m very proud of about myself. I still have to travel abroad and put it into practice in an “everyday situation,” but I’m confident I’ll do well.
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I think @dagill2 offered sensible advice, especially absent specialty bars. My opinion is that you’re too young to just write off a movement at this point. It’s worth figuring out WHY it hurts and how to make it stop. Pressing something over your head is a basic human movement, so it’d be good to know what the issue is.
Your form doesn’t need to look like anyone else’s. If you find something that works for you, and it looks stupid, it doesn’t matter. This includes doing super taboo things like not locking out your elbows, or bending at the back, or using a wide grip, etc.
And if your goal is to run Deep Water, you definitely need to get it sorted, so it’s worth exploring.
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Deadlift
112 kg x 5
130 kg x 5
145 kg x 5
112 kg x 10
112 kg x 10
112 kg x 10
112 kg x 10
112 kg x 10
Rear delts 5 sets
Back is super, super sore today (this is yesterday’s session). Hams and glutes too. From my traps all the way back to the low back, everything hurts. I don’t understand people that say deadlifts don’t train the back.
Bench
65 kg x 5
75 kg x 5
84 kg x 5
65 kg x 10
65 kg x 10
65 kg x 10
65 kg x 10
65 kg x 10
Alternating with db curls 5 x 10-15
Triceps Rope pushdown 3 sets
So one thing that I observed over time is that my mind muscle connection with the left side of my body sucks. More specifically, my left arm never feels as if I’m working it. Neither biceps nor triceps.
When I’m doing a set, I always feel the right arm working and contracting but the left arm only goes through the motion no matter how much I try to concentrate on it. Even with unilateral movements I still have troubles feeling it. I still get a pretty strong pump afterwards, I just don’t feel the muscle working during a set.
Has any of you ever had this issue as well? How did you solve it? Can it even be fixed?
My whole left side is like it belongs to a different person. Bicep, delt, trap, quad, even hamstrings are bigger on my left side. I’m right side dominant as well. Only thing I can think is because I use my dominant side more, all the smaller muscles and tendons or what ever work more efficiently together. My theory is my left side is less efficient at recruiting other things to “help” it thus making it easier to pin point the muscles being targeted.
It’s funny you say this, because, for me at least, I never feel deadlifts in my back. If I have a monster deadlift session, I’ll feel it in my hamstrings and a little bit of my low back, but never mid/upper back.
I think it all depends on body type, personally. Having a shorter torso and strong back relative to my legs means that it’s easy for my back to handle the deadlift weights, but I feel it in my legs.
I will agree though, I still think they strengthen your back. The fact that you have to set and keep stable your whole back means the movement is still stimulating the muscles.
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