OHP conditioning

muroo

Hallo!
Still new :-) And jumping on the OHP griping train.
Been sifting through some older topics on it in attempts not to ask the same exact questions but I don't feel fulfilled so bear with me please! Also it's easy to get misinformation elsewhere on the internet so I'm not sure what the best thing is.

Until I get some fractional plates or giant washers I guess I'm stuck teetering between 50 and 55 lbs. I've been trying to add in lighter sets both after the 5x5 (especially if I failed some sets) and on bench press days. But how much is too much? I'm guessing at some point it's counterproductive and I'm working the OHP too much, but maybe I am not anywhere close to that.

My gym has a decent set of preweighted barbells so it's really easy for me to drop down to say, 35 or 25 lbs.

I'm also particularly disappointed because I thought my previous routines before starting stronglifts doing shoulder presses from a chair (or er, pole, as it may be...anyone interested in pole fitness, feel free to ask =P) would've prepared me better. :-) Not that those were easy either. Or that I ever did 5 sets of anything before this program. (*edit - oh by from a chair I mean a modified handstand pushup sort of. Like knees on your chair, hands on the ground with hips over hands and shoulders.)

Side note: anyone else finish a set not being sure they counted to 5 or not? And then feel really stupid that they can't definitively count to 5? I blame my music.

ChoiceNotChance

Yeah, I was doing bench presses yesterday and couldn't remember which set I was on- so I did another, its was probably # 6 though. Don't feel bad about your OHP- I'm stuck @ 35#. I've tried just the OLY bar and I can barely push it up 3 times. I just continue to use the 15# bar and add plates as I go.

LadyDeadlift

1) Yep - it's frustrating not to keep having exciting gains on the OHP as for other exercises.

2) We have some super strong ladies on this forum. Take a note of where their OHP is... It's (relatively) modest for what they're moving on the other big lifts.

3) There's a couple great articles on Nerd Fitness about what it means to "level up" (I'm always happy to plug NF) Try thinking differently about the OHP - if your body can't move more weight for the same number of reps - try moving the same weight for more reps. Your grand total lbs moved is still bigger so hey = gainz!

4) My favorite OHP workout is something like 45x10 and then adding 5 lbs for 5 reps each until I sense I'm hitting my max. Then I keep adding weight and go for 2 or 3 reps until I can't move the bar any further. Then I circle back and finish up with 45x10 (if I can do all 10)

I have come to peace with the OHP. It makes my whole shoulder girdle feel tuned up. It helps my Bench. And I like how my arms look when I do it. But: I'm still stuck at something like 65# if I'm going for 5x5 - and if I'm feeling puny I may still have to push a couple of reps to finish it up.

TL/DR - yep, they're frustrating! keept at it!

ErinRibbens

You'd probably be able to sense if you were overdoing the OHP, say you weren't making lifts you had previously completed. Personally I find it hard to burn out on that exercise, I tend to fail on it and yet 2 days later not be sore at all.

what has helped me progress finally is after doing the barbell, doing one arm dumbbell press with a slightly lighter weight (but dumbbells are a bit more challenging and also good for balance), I would do a weight I could do for 10 reps and do 3 sets. But the 10 reps were tough so it was still a challenging weight. You could use the barbells if you prefer, that's just what I found helped me. Also getting form spot on really helps! It is tough. Watch the Mark Rippetoe videos on youtube if you haven't yet.

SezxyStef

If you are fine at 50 but failing at 55 try upping reps at 50lbs...do 5x6, then 5x7, then 5x8 then try 55lbs...5x5

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1263563-ohp-video-rippetoe-patform-2

This post has a great video for help with OHP as well...

on a side note I answered a post yesterday where a guy was having issues as well...he benches a decent amount but his OHP was less than mine so it's not just woman who have issues with this lift.

And remember if you OHP is 65%-75% of your bench you are good.

krokador

Don't give up, OHP is a tough one but it's possible to move along! And doing pike presses (pike push-ups, that thing you described?) might be a good accessory for those, too!

I have to say, I was skeptical and of the mind that if you wanted to work on OHP you had to do strict presses, but mine has been going up by leaps and bounds (by that I mean like 5lbs in a month xD) since I've started doing some heavier, more explosive overhead moves. Push presses, push jerks, split jerks, even. If you've been stalled for a while and increasing reps at a lower weight still doesn't do it, consider trying push presses. You'll be able to move more weight, so you'll progress for a while. Then when you stall go back to strict OHP and check out your new gains

Another thing that really helps is mobilizing the shoulders (soft tissue work) and then stabilizing (shoulder "accessory" like band pulls, face pulls, external rotations). You wouldn't know it if you've never done a test/re-test, but being more flexible and stable adds some poundage to the amount you can move. I think it's partly because you're not struggling against yourself to push the weight up haha.

As for not overdoing it, keeping overhead shoulder work around twice a week should not cause you any issues. Just note that it may affect your bench press a bit if you add too much volume.

muroo

Yay thanks for the encouragement! I'm not really profoundly frustrated yet since I have just started. I was meaning to stick with 50lbs after the first time doing it and feeling shaky about it but I was too stubborn. I also am trying to stick with the app too much. I know they'll be hard and the progress will be slow...no worries I'll keep at it! Was just wondering everyone's approach to improving it.

If you are fine at 50 but failing at 55 try upping reps at 50lbs...do 5x6, then 5x7, then 5x8 then try 55lbs...5x5

And remember if you OHP is 65%-75% of your bench you are good.

I think I like this idea the best over my unstructured random addition of lighter sets. Maybe I'll start even lower than 50 first to make sure I have it down and reboot this attempt at building my OHP. I'll see where my bench press ends up!

Don't give up, OHP is a tough one but it's possible to move along! And doing pike presses (pike push-ups, that thing you described?) might be a good accessory for those, too!

Pike presses! The exercise has a better name! Though I guess the leg/foot positioning is different from what I'm used to. Cool I will work on those too.
I have actually been sore from the OHP for days though. I've been working on them 3-4 days a week so maybe I'll cut down.

I like this group forum a lot. I have guy friends who have been down on starting to lift again since their gym self-esteem is low and I've been trying to tell them not all forums on strength training are gonna be like some bodybuilder ones when people answer questions by humblebragging their max weights. Bro.