Overhead press without hurting back?

herringboxes

Thanks Retro, would definitely like to avoid herniated disc et al.

Claire, I had experimented and arrived at my somewhat wider and knees out stance, after the standard narrow and straight ahead stance felt utterly wrong to me. When I adjusted, it went from “something is very wrong” to “oh, ok, I can do this.”

Peazoo, I tried the squat with a dumbbell held in front. That definitely made a difference on my balance. With the counterweight, I was free to shift back on my heels. Though what I can hold in front is a lot less than what I can set on my shoulders, I think I will stay here for a while. Yes, it’s no waste for me, I’ve neglected lower body, oh, my whole life. Even unweighted squats are no waste for me.

Also, thanks for the reminder to engage core, had forgotten to really work on that.

Retroguy2000

DB in front is a goblet squat, and it's excellent for the legs. That's if you have enough weight for 10-15 reps being close to failure. Make sure to not round your shoulders forwards.

What's the max weight for your db?

herringboxes

I could get 40 pounds on there, more than enough for me.

Squats have been going better, actually kind of suddenly. I’ve been mixing up goblets, back squats, and just plain bodyweight squats as- to the mat. I still hate them but it’s like they have started coming into focus, best way I can describe it.

So I think the bottom line is that as a beginner, doing these compound moves required different muscles to come together, and some were further behind than others. And it’s taken time to get things aligned.

My overhead press no longer feels in any danger of back pain, and I progressed to a PB over what I had done 12 years ago.

My next challenge is figuring out a bench. I’ve tried the floor but it’s feeling like a waste of time. I have a solid bench meant for outdoor seating that I want to drag out. It has folding legs but is solid, and I’m not exactly benching 250 and I myself am only 124. It won’t be nearly as easy to get the bar into position than if I were just unracking it from a proper weight bench, but should still be easier that doing it from bed or floor (well I hope so anyway).

At some point I’ll have to figure how how to increase my back squat because I’m limited by how much I can lift over my head to put the weight on my back. Yeah, I can do dumbbells, I just really like the barbell, sigh.

Retroguy2000

@herringboxes

Are you in the US? I assume this is a US only deal, Woot (Amazon) has a big discount on a couple of Flybird benches since Prime Day. I'd be a little wary of them at my size, nearly 100 pounds above you. I think they have good reviews for their value, and the current price of $60-$72 which may only be valid for another day or two is crazy cheap. Check the reviews on the main Amazon page.

They both do multiple angles. I think the more expensive one does decline too. Or if you want to spend more, REP Fitness makes good ones at various price ranges around $300-$500.

https://sport.woot.com/offers/flybird-adjustable-bench?ref=w_cnt_wp_0_1

You mentioned the difficulty of adding weight for back squat. I don't have a rack either. I do the barbell hack squat, also known as hack deadlift. You have the barbell on the floor behind you and pick it up, and from there I do reps without it touching the floor. It works the quads hard, and I can load it progressively higher without needing to invest in a rack or need the space for that.

nossmf

I bought a used weight bench off of Craigslist for $10, IIRC. Doesn't adjust angle, but did the job when I was using a home gym setup. (I currently prefer my actual gym, for the additional equipment and the hot tub.)

herringboxes

Thanks for the ideas, both. Sorry, didn’t explain, am hiding all this crap under my bed so just going with a make-do solution.

Interesting about the squat idea. Will keep it in mind.