Let's have a conversation
GeneveSparkles
Posts: 283 Member
About how motherf$%^ing hard overhead presses are!!!
So today was my 4th workout (I'm doing SS instead of SL but essentially it's the same thing except 3 sets of working sets instead of 5) and my working sets were supposed to be with 55lbs, but what i ended up doing was:
warms ups
5 reps 55 lbs
3 reps 55 lbs
4 reps50 lbs
I know my form was looking bad after my my third rep on my first set. I kept wanting to do military presses, it was so hard not to use my legs for help.
I just hope I can actually end up progressing. Anyone else have difficulties with this exercise? Or do you ever remember feeling like progressing was an impossibility? I'm progressing nicely with my other lifts, but I just am so discouraged with these presses!
So today was my 4th workout (I'm doing SS instead of SL but essentially it's the same thing except 3 sets of working sets instead of 5) and my working sets were supposed to be with 55lbs, but what i ended up doing was:
warms ups
5 reps 55 lbs
3 reps 55 lbs
4 reps50 lbs
I know my form was looking bad after my my third rep on my first set. I kept wanting to do military presses, it was so hard not to use my legs for help.
I just hope I can actually end up progressing. Anyone else have difficulties with this exercise? Or do you ever remember feeling like progressing was an impossibility? I'm progressing nicely with my other lifts, but I just am so discouraged with these presses!
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Replies
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Aye! I actually went back down from 50 to 45, so I could give my shoulder a rest from pain, and to correct my form. Feel weak! Seems my form is falling apart from head to toe!
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they are super super hard. There are some things you can try doing, to make it easier.
One is to play around with your grip width a little bit, figure out what works best for you. The other is to take a breath and really inflate your lungs (your chest should puff out) before you push up - it makes a HUGE difference. The third is to take adequate rest between sets. Use a timer.
But yeah - they are tough.0 -
Really tough. Really effing tough.
On another thread, I posted a link to gubernatrix's strength standards for women. For the overhead (which she just calls the press) she says your 1RM for the press is 33% of your bodyweight for "good", 50% for "very good" and 75% for "excellent". http://gubernatrix.co.uk/2008/12/strength-standards-for-women/
Since most of us are beginners/novices, if we're below the 33%, it's not that bad.
For me, I used the EXRX 1RM calculator to find that my 1RM is ~68 lbs. Since I currently weight 172 lbs, that's 39% of my bodyweight, which puts me in the "good" category. http://www.exrx.net/Calculators/OneRepMax.html
If you're lifting 55 lbs for 5 reps (which you did once), your 1rm is ~62 lbs. I can't even guess your bodyweight, but take that 62 lbs and divide by your bodyweight and multiply by 100 to get your percentage. I bet you'll be surprised.0 -
I'm doing NROL4W and only Stage 1 - I never seem to do any better with these suckas! OMG! But I see the difference already in my shoulders. So despite struggling - and I ALWAYS struggle, they are getting the job done!0
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i agree, OHPs are super insanely hard. i started a few weeks ago with just the 45lb bar, but my form was for crap. i dropped down to warmups with 15lb dumbells, and have been practicing form with 17.5s, but it's hard to keep form with dumbells. there also seems to be a lot of discrepancy between whether elbows stay out in front, or if it's ok for them to splay to the sides, and how much wrists should bend and grip width. i've been eyeing the smith machine for these, but haven't tried it yet.0
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I'm so happy to know I'm not the only one!!
I think I'm going to go back through the press chapter in the SS book. I didn't realize they would be so hard so I didn't soak up the info as well as I probabaly should have.
I feel bad *kitten* when I do deadlifts and I feel like weak sauce when I do presses ha!! I think I also need to invest in the small 1.25 lbs weights, I saw someone posted a link to the ones the bought on Amazon, I'll prob buy a set and hopefully they will help!
@Tameko thanks for the advice! I've seen a lot of your replies in this group and you give great info!
@Ishtar, I did the formula and it worked out to 40%, you're right that is surprising. Much better than I thought!!0 -
I was just syaing that this lift hates my guts....it is tough! I had my first failure the other day at 70 so I freel your pain. Just keep at it.....I also find that if I take the bar down too far past my chin, it's harder to get back up.0
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Yup yup.
I've been doing SL5x5 for just a month and a half, and have just now gotten to 60 pounds on the overhead press. I've been there for two workouts, and the last one went like this:
5 reps
3 reps
4 reps (! yay)
3 reps
1 rep.
Diaf, overhead presses.0 -
I've been doing Stronglifts (or a modified version) since Feb. I'm at a whopping 70lbs. I went up to 10 reps for a while and had to go all the way down to 50lbs to do them (the puny 2.5lbs on each side that just looks ridiculous).0
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I've been doing Stronglifts (or a modified version) since Feb. I'm at a whopping 70lbs. I went up to 10 reps for a while and had to go all the way down to 50lbs to do them (the puny 2.5lbs on each side that just looks ridiculous).
Hahah I'm so with you on how the 2.5 lbs look; that's too funny! I actually just used the 45lbs barbell for the first time for my presses yesterday. I'd been using a 30lbs bar with weights before so the small weights didn't look so bad LOL.0 -
I've been doing Stronglifts (or a modified version) since Feb. I'm at a whopping 70lbs. I went up to 10 reps for a while and had to go all the way down to 50lbs to do them (the puny 2.5lbs on each side that just looks ridiculous).
I actually joked that I was considering using the big olympic 10 lb rubber weights when I do OHP so it looks like I am really lifting a lot, ha!0 -
YES, these are the hardest!! I stalled on my session of 55lbs. Tameko2, thank you for the tips. Thank God I'm not alone on this one.0
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I've been doing Stronglifts (or a modified version) since Feb. I'm at a whopping 70lbs. I went up to 10 reps for a while and had to go all the way down to 50lbs to do them (the puny 2.5lbs on each side that just looks ridiculous).
I have a set in my current workout that is JUST the 1.25 lb weights on either side.0 -
Agree - THEY ARE HARD. don't give up, just keep at it and you will be surprised at how fast your body adapts and gets stronger. I've stalled out a couple of times on this lift, it has taken me 2 months to reach 70 pounds. If you haven't already, look into fractional plates. Perhaps going up 5 pounds a time is too much. That has been the case for me, so I ordered a set.0
