Struggling with overhead press - help?
Josie_lifting_cats
Posts: 949 Member
I'm running strong lifts right now, and am seeing progress on everything but OP. I started with bar, and failed for a second time at 60lb. today. I've been running this for probably 6-7 weeks now, and I usually fail twice, then progress. Does anyone have any recommendation of things I can do on "off days" that will help my OP along? I get so frustrated failing and then randomly hitting it and then failing again. If I fail later this week, I'll deload. Thanks!
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The first thing that comes to mind is to suggest fractional plates. You can find them for reasonable prices online (I got mine for like 35$ + shipping. A set of 1/4, 1/2, 3/4 and 1lbs). I've been going up in 2.5lbs increment for a while and it's a lot easier than jumping up 5lbs at once!
Other than that, triceps accessories might help (close grip bench, skull crushers, cable pushdowns, dips come to mind) will help. Addressing shoulder mobility issues if any. Making sure your form is tight - feet hip width apart, glutes squeezed, hands barely wider than shoulder width, little to no back arch - will help as well. And if all else fails, some DB seated presses will help bring back any lagging side up to par so you can press more weight. Or doing push presses for a few weeks to break through the mental barrier could help as well (slight dip in the knees, bit of a hip thrust to help the weight up past your forehead which is where the sticking point usually is). Just be careful to keep your head out of the way if you do these
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I agree with Krok re: the fractional plates. I got a pair of 1.25 lbs. plates for under $20 (including shipping) from Rogue Fitness.
Something I've been toying with is adding reps when I can't add weight. Haven't tried it yet, but lots of folks seem to think that helps. So instead of doing 5x5, they'll do 5x6 or 5x8 at a weight they can handle.
C.0 -
Something I've been toying with is adding reps when I can't add weight. Haven't tried it yet, but lots of folks seem to think that helps. So instead of doing 5x5, they'll do 5x6 or 5x8 at a weight they can handle.
C.
yeah. i will say the most progress i ever made with ohp - from 45lb all the way up to 60 within a couple of weeks - all happened when i was adding reps. i actually added a set AND a rep, so by the time i moved up i'd been doing 8x8 at the previous weight.
there's just so many little things i don't know about ohp form, and can't seem to find answers about.
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I was tooling around on the interwebz yesterday to see what it had to say about rows and I found this. It addressed something else I had been considering. Now that I am on my own and will only have a spotter if some kind hearted soul takes pity on me, I have been thinking that increasing sets/reps if ut feels really heavy until I am a little more confident that the next weight won't drive me into the ground. I found this article where this is discussed. I found it interesting -not so much for the initial posters complaint about connecting lays, but for the other info in the reply.
http://fitness.stackexchange.com/questions/18372/pendlay-row-it-doesnt-connect-the-lats
From the article:
"As to programming this, I would make the following changes:
Start with a weight you can do 3x8 strict reps with the above technique.
Every time you do the row, increase the reps on each set by one. (3x9, 3x10, etc.)
After you do 3x12, increase 5lbs and start over with 3x8 "0 -
Interesting.... I think it was the Nia Shanks (or maybe NROLW?) that suggested higher rep counts, so maybe that is where I will start. Last week I started repeating the same weight two days in a row, which seems to work somewhat.
My husband asked a trainer who was present on Monday, and he assured me that women tend to really struggle with OP and bench - but while I fail occasionally on bench, I fail pretty consistently on OP. I get frustrated with myself super easily, and I hate to have the mental block going and potentially affecting my other lifts when OP is my big obstacle.
I think I'll try increasing reps/sets. Thanks for the help everyone!0 -
Bookmarking and taking notes. Stuck at 55 OHP and will change up the reps and frequency.0
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