Overhead Press Question

ChrisM8971

After a lot of procrastination I finally got around to joining a gym and have just completed week 6 of Strong lifts.

I have been following the spreadsheet and progressing nicely on all of the lifts except the overhead press. In fact I started to struggle to complete 5x5 at the start of week for and have now just completed 32.5 Kg whereas the program would have me at 40 Kg.

So I guess my questions come down to:

Is it normal to struggle on one particular lift?
Does form make a lot of difference with overhead press performance?
Is there any additional exercises I can do to help improve this muscle group on the alternate days?

Sorry if this is a silly question, its just something that I am finding frustrating

SideSteel

Yes it's normal to struggle and OHP tends to be the earliest to stall out followed by bench followed by either squat or deadlift. Obviously this depends on the individual.

Technique does matter.

Whether or not to add additional training volume really depends on what is causing the stall. For example you could just need more rest between sets (try this first), you could need technique improvements (shoot a vid and post it), it could be calorie intake related, could be programming, etc, etc.

ChrisM8971

Hi Side Steel

Thanks for the prompt response and its nice to know that its not unusual.

I will rest a little longer between sets (I do become impatient) and maybe eat something 30 mins or so before going to the gym. If that doesn't help I will find someone to take a video of me.

Keep you posted

JoshLikesBeer

Failure is a normal part of the 5x5 program. No one can maintain linear increases in the amount of weight they're lifting indefinitely. I have been doing 5x5 for a while and OHP was the first one I got stuck on. It took me 2 tries to get past 125lb and 3 tries to get past 130lb, but I'll be on 135lb this Friday.

Make sure you are warming up properly and getting enough rest between sets. 90 seconds if 5 reps was easy, 3 minutes if 5 reps was hard, and 5 minutes if you didn't get all five reps. Don't do additional shoulder exercises on your alternate days. You need to rest.

ChrisM8971

Ok was definitely not resting anywhere near enough between reps, thanks for the info

n3ver3nder

Make sure your grip isn't too wide and you need to be absolutely solid. Core braced, glutes tight, back tight. The only thing moving should be your arms and your hips when you clear the head.

ChrisM8971

It was a squats, bench and row day today and leaving more time between sets definitely helped (90 secs suddenly seems so long!)

Down side is it took me longer than usual, so long in fact that I got turfed out of the gym before completing the rows because they were closing.

Will have to go earlier next time

DopeItUp

Get used to more and more rest. I have been known to take 20 minutes before a maximal squat set.

Watch this too:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sqKhLR1zRaU

Crowhorse

I just watched that video not too long ago! I liked it. I was wondering if I had my grip width right, and I was happy that I did and hadn't been wasting effort. I'm glad that stuff like this is out there, but unfortunately there is a lot of garbage out there that you have to sift through, too.

baptiste565

Make sure your whole body is tight and explode up

ChrisM8971

Thanks for posting the video, can already see about three things I am doing wrong! Its overhead press day tomorrow so will try putting this into practice

JeffseekingV

test

ChrisM8971

Ok thanks everyone for your help, moved up from 32.5 Kg (71.5 lbs) to 35 Kg (77 lbs) and although it was a struggle at the end I got through all 5 sets of 5.

Worked on grip and arm positioning along with a 3 min wait between each set

Long way to go but a great to be moving again

ChrisM8971

Wonder if I need to stop loading for a while and concentrate on technique for a bit. Not so much struggling with deadlifts weight wise but I manage to keep my back straight when lifting but even though I know I am doing it, I keep catching myself using my back to lower it again.

CarlKRobbo

If you need to work on technique, then yes, It would definitely be worth working on that. Better technique will = bigger gains\progress, in the long run

heybales

Sometimes just more warmup reps with dead on form can help overpower tendency to resort to some past poor form.

ChrisM8971

Have decided I need to get someone to film me doing the workouts. Did workout B today and concentrated on technique (note to self don't check your leg alignment while at the bottom of squatting your heaviest weight to date, nearly didn't end well).

Squats went well as did the dead lift

The issue was the overhead press once again but strangely this is the lift that I identified as hurting the small of my back.

Did get to speak to one of the instructors who suggest that this was often the case, especially when its a lift you haven't done a lot of before.

His suggestion was to do them seated with the heavier weights or to de-load the bar and move to less sets of higher reps while concentrating on technique until the back strengthen's and becomes more used to the lift.

Is this something others would recommend or have done in the past?

DopeItUp

Hm, not bad advice I guess. Can't hurt to try. Make sure you are squeezing the glutes to help stabilize yourself while doing standing OHP. You might just have a weak back or maybe hyperextending too much?