Ok, so I can progress with some of the lifts, but struggle with others... help?

Vetticus_3

Hi,

I was hoping to get some advice. I'm new to the SL 5X5. I started at the end of October this year.
My stats (as this morning) are:
Squat: 60kg
Deadlift: 60kg
Row: 35kg
Overhead press: 25kg
Bench press: 25kg

I really struggle with the OH and B press. It's not the form that goes, I literally cannot lift a heavier weight... up.
Take the bench press, I can pick up the bar from the rack, and slowly (relatively) let it touch the rib cage, and then... my arms and back say nope. *Roll of shame* I've even done the stick one leg out to help lift it up... I got it half way up, and then *roll of shame*.

Or the OH... I can get the weight off the rack, it rests at the chest, and... nope. *re rack*
I can push press it - and then take the weight down super slow... but I'm not supposed to do that.

I always thought that these 2 would progress slower than everything else... but it's getting a bit ridiculous.
But, I can see my shoulders have changed shape... and there has been some progress with these lifts ( mean, from not being able to lift the empty bar to lifting something)... but the stalling, and the arms just giving up, and the weight on the barbell is so small... it's like *this* big. really tiny.

I need cookies after to help with the hurts in my heart .

So, dear experts, I seek your advice.
How is it possible to progress on the OH and B press?
Would using dumbbells help at all?
I don't have weights that are smaller than 1.25kg (at a gym) - so that option is out.
Is there anything else I can do to help with these movements?

Thanks,
V

Ariadnula

I think you're pretty normal - I gather that progressing on both of these is hard for women. We just have rather weak arms, it seems! To begin with, at least.

I bought fractional plates online and take them to the gym. They're 0.25 kg each, so I can add half a kilo - about a pound - at a time. And even with that, I'm not getting far on the bench or OHP. So - hopefully someone will come along with some actual, useful suggestions but in the meantime it might help to know you're not alone!

CarlydogsMom

Two thoughts. 1) This is where perhaps some accessory exercises come into play; and 2) see if you can find a spotter/helper/trainer (esp. on bench) to help you through eccentric lifts of those same lifts.

1. Accessory exercises--difficult to make recommendations until we know where you're weakness(es) is/are. On bench, perhaps you might need to work on biceps, triceps, delts, or ??? to help those specific smaller muscles progress. It may pay to have a trainer watch your moves on both overhead and bench to see if there are additional accessory exercises that might help the weakest part of the muscle-sets worked on both those lifts. Overhead, you might need to focus on some specific shoulder moves. A proper trainer may be able to help you uncover where exactly your weaknesses are.
2. Eccentric lifts. My trainer is working with me now on eccentric moves. In other words, on bench for example, he helps me bring the bar up, and I then lower it very slowly by myself. As slowly as you can. He then helps me bring it back to the top. Repeat. Example, I'm doing decline bench press now (shoulder impingement making it painful for flat bench). Regularly, I can bench 75 pounds on the decline bench. He's helping me work up to 100 pounds on the eccentric lift. I probably couldn't lift that 100 pounds up, but if it's lifted up for me, and I slowly bring it down, I can do that. Then, the following bench day, whenever that may be, we'll try sets of regular benches at 80 pounds....and so on.

It's things like that will help you move up (that as well as advice above, i.e. fractional plates).

DawnEmbers

Pretty much those are common for being slower to increase. Even guys complain about struggling to increase on OHP. I don't have fractional plates yet either, though would like to get something because even on something other than stronglifts, it's hard to increase the upper body lifts in general for me, even on accessories. For now, I just accept that factor and keep plugging along with the occasional de-load and working my way back up.

Dumbbells and switching up for similar lifts can help, or that has been the advice I've seen and heard (youtube) but you may stall there too. I do db incline bench as part of my program and I'm barely getting above using the 30's and it took me weeks of just using the 30 where some felt good and others I struggled to get all my reps.

All of that, summarized is, yep those tend to be hard to increase on for many of us.

canadianlbs

don't think i can help much with bench. i'm hit-and-miss with it atm, depending on how my shoulder mobility is.

for ohp, i know that hard stop at the bottom as well. my current ceiling is anything over 60lb . . . but three or four months ago i felt like i was crushing it if i could get 45 to go up for 5x5. so progress does happen, though most of mine came when i got more meaningful form information from my trainer.

i have this to offer: even if i can't press the next weight level up, i like to do 'static' holds with it anyway. if i can hold it but pushing up into it gets me nowhere, then i stand there and push into it, not super-aggressively but enough that i can hold that tension for 15 or 20 seconds or so. then i just rack it again, and rest just like you would after any set of anything else.

i read somewhere that it's really easy to overtrain with static holds, so i do this only as an accessory thing. it usually fits in pretty nicely with my squat warmup sets

now i'm thinking of it, lat work in between or just before ohp really seemed to make a big difference for me. idk about your lats but mine are always slow to turn 'on'. so i've had some nice results if the gym is empty enough for me to super-set my bench/ohp sets with either cable pulldowns or rows. i guess i could also do pullups or chins, but tbh i just don't really feel like it.

christch

One thing you could try instead of increasing in weight increase the number of reps. For example if you find 30 too difficult drop weight to 25 or 27.5 and increase reps to 8, 10 or 12. It still gives you a progressive overload and increases your strength until you can lift 30.
Hang in there, as the others have said it can take a bit longer for us to increase the weight. Dumbbells are another really good option or even using a lighter barbell or just working with empty bar for a while.

ar9179

Yes, increasing reps is a good strategy. I struggle with upper body lifts, too, and watch form videos regularly to try to help. Eh, they are lifts that I just keep working at.

This video helped me with my bench a LOT. Struggled at 70 lb for quite a while and progressed to 100 nicely after using her tips. Unfortunately, I have tendonitis in my elbow and de-loaded to help it heal.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=34XRmd3a8_0

scrittrice

ar9179 wrote: »

Yes, increasing reps is a good strategy. I struggle with upper body lifts, too, and watch form videos regularly to try to help. Eh, they are lifts that I just keep working at.

This video helped me with my bench a LOT. Struggled at 70 lb for quite a while and progressed to 100 nicely after using her tips. Unfortunately, I have tendonitis in my elbow and de-loaded to help it heal.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=34XRmd3a8_0

This video is great. It helped me so much the last time someone posted it. I also do the increasing reps thing sometimes when I can't go up in weight. Mostly, though, the progress is just slow.

Vetticus_3

That video helped so much.
Today was bench press day, and... finally got 27.5kgs (and didn't fail a single time).

Thank you all so much.

Jennifer_Lynn_1982

That video is so awesome!