Shoulder Question for Crazymike

Mr. dB

Angry Old Curmudgeon
#6- Shoulder press 115x3

Crazymike:

I didn't want to hijack your cycle progress thread, so I've spun off a new one.

My question -- can you hoist those 115s up from the floor to your shoulders by yourself, or do you need a helper? If so, then I am deeply impressed. If you can't, then what are the heaviest DBs that you CAN get up by yourself?

The reason I ask is because I can't boost anything heavier than 70 lb. dumbells from my knees to my shoulders by myself, but I can do those in sets of 12. I have no idea how much I could do on DB shoulder presses for low reps (certainly not as much as your 115x3...:(:(:().

I've been working shoulders on chest day, but starting this week they're getting a day of their own. Maybe if I'm not spent from benching, I'll be able to handle some bigger DBs. Won't find out 'til Thursday...

--dnb
 
Yes I can put those up myself. They hard as shit to do, but I get the up there. I workout alone, and my GF is the only one usually there by me. So alot of time I have her spotting me, which is obviously not much!!

The change to having shoulders on their own day will be benificial I think.
Also use your leg to bring the weight up to the shoulder. More leg you use, the less the shoulders have to work to get the weight to the starting point.
 
crazymike said:

Also use your leg to bring the weight up to the shoulder. More leg you use, the less the shoulders have to work to get the weight to the starting point.

I've never managed to master that little kick up. I see other people doing it, but I just can't get any momentum from it.

--dnb
 
Practice getting the weight up with lighter weights. I sure the heck would want to experiment with 115lb DB's Mr. dB.
 
Easto said:
Practice getting the weight up with lighter weights. I sure the heck would want to experiment with 115lb DB's Mr. dB.

Well, yeah, of course. I'm sure that 115s are beyond my 1RM for shoulder presses anyway. CM is a lot stronger than me -- I could keep up with his listed arm workouts, but the numbers he's listed for other body parts are well beyond my present ability.

I was just impressed, and a little dismayed, that he can get those 115s up to his shoulders by himself. I've seen a lot of BIG guys in the gym who need help hoisting up 80s or 90s. I can't get anything bigger than 70 lbs up there, but when I do, I can do 10-12 reps. After a couple of sets, though, I can't even clean the 70s to my shoulders. Anything 55 lbs or less, I can pop up there like they're nothing, and can clean 'em both at the same time.

I suspect that this is more a matter of overall strength than just technique. What groups of muscles are used to clean dumbells up from your knees to your shoulders in order to do seated DB presses? And what could be done to strengthen them? I wonder if doing BB cleans would help?

--dnb
 
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Mr. dB said:
Won't find out 'til Thursday...


Update: Won't find out 'til next week. Wednesday morning I woke up feeling like crap. I barely choked down my breakfast, and stumbled out to the gym for back day. I managed four sets of BB bent over rows, and four sets of cable pull-downs before I just had to bail out and run home with my tail between my legs.

As the day progressed, I began experiencing more flu-like symptoms -- body aches, fever, dizzyness, needing to crap every hour. I couldn't eat lunch, barely had any dinner, and also blew off the protein shakes and other snacks.

This morning I feel just as bad, and all I've eaten is one banana. Going to the gym for shoulders is right out of the question. I'll probably have to blow of Friday arm day too.

This fucking sucks, getting sick in the middle of a cycle. I don't know what the hell it is, at first I was afraid it was salmonella 'cause I take too many risks with raw eggs, but there's been no nausea or diarrhea. I don't have any resperitory symptoms, so I guess it's not the flu. If this doesn't start getting better I may actually have to go to the doctor, damnit.

--dnb
 
Dredging up this old thread --

After I got over my virus, I took it relatively easy with the workouts for a couple of weeks, not trying for any new PBs or anything, just assessing my condition and seeing how much I had lost from being so sick.

After a couple of weeks, I was able to comfortably lift in the same weight range as pre-virus, with maybe just a little less endurance, but it was time to start trying harder again. So I stepped up to the 75lb. DBs for shoulder presses, had the devil of a time getting them up, but once they were up I was working them in the 10-rep range.

I've started experimenting with a new, for me, method of getting the DBs up to my shoulders. I cannot master the leg kick thing, I dunno if it's the height of the upright benches at my gym, or my leg length vs. torso length ratio (I have short legs and a long torso), or what, but I can't even get it started that way. So I tried dangling the DBs down at my side, swinging them back and forth a couple of times for momentum, then cleaning them straight up to my shoulders. Wham! It worked! Well, it worked on the right side. On the left, I can't use that technique with anything heaver than 70 lbs., 'cause I'm extremely right-handed and my brain just can't seem to tell my left arm how to control the momentum. Yet. So I use a hybrid method -- swing the right one up, then just muscle the left one in place. It's not pretty, but it still takes less out of me than muscling them both up.

Today I stepped up to the 80 lb. dumbells, and did 45x10, 60x10, 80x8, 80x7, 75x10, 75x8. I could probably have done the last two sets with the 80s too, but didn't wanna risk hurting myself just getting them up to my shoulders. You should see the color of my face when I'm trying to get those things up from my knees to my shoulders, it's not a color that occurs in nature.

--dnb
 
Does your gym have a seated bench where the back part is small. We have 2 types of benches that you can use for shoulder presses. The one that you can adjust the angle(the same one you wouls use for incline press), then the other one is a stationary bench that does not have an angle adjustment only height adjustment. The back part is small only goes up to my upper back.
If you have this type of bench use it. It will be a lot easier to get the heavier weights up. I lower the seat down to the lowest part. Let me see if I can find a picture of it.
 
Here is the back of it. You can see that the back only comes up to the upper back. This is my brother by the way.
 
crazymike said:
Does your gym have a seated bench where the back part is small. We have 2 types of benches that you can use for shoulder presses. The one that you can adjust the angle(the same one you wouls use for incline press), then the other one is a stationary bench that does not have an angle adjustment only height adjustment. The back part is small only goes up to my upper back.
If you have this type of bench use it. It will be a lot easier to get the heavier weights up. I lower the seat down to the lowest part. Let me see if I can find a picture of it.

Our upright benches are non-adjustable. But the back isn't any higher than the one in your picture. I can do triceps French presses (single DB in both hands behind my head) on them without bumping anything. I'm up to 100 on that one, hoisting that up into place is starting to get not very pretty too.

Our incline benches won't get upright enough for shoulder presses, I tried it once and it felt more like a very shallow incline chest press.

I guess my only recourse is to just get stronger... :)

--dnb
 
i can throw up the 80's by myself and get them around 8-9 reps usually. Use your knees to kick them up to the position. Try to curl it when you use your knees. It makes it a lot easier to get them up that way.
 
wrestler said:
i can throw up the 80's by myself and get them around 8-9 reps usually. Use your knees to kick them up to the position. Try to curl it when you use your knees. It makes it a lot easier to get them up that way.

That's what we've been discussing. I can't get the knee thing to work.

I was able to get the 80s up today by just brute force, cleaning them from my knees to my shoulders. The HOT fitness babe on the bench next to me doing 15 lb. flies asked me if I was okay, I guess my face must've turned some awful color. :)

--dnb
 
Damn. lol. Practice with each of your warm up sets say you use like 50's for you first. try to get them up without using your upper body except to balance them using just legs. Pratice it bro and it will come second nature. I have no problem gettin up the 80's and i weigh only 160. Keep practicin bro.
 
wrestler said:
Damn. lol. Practice with each of your warm up sets say you use like 50's for you first. try to get them up without using your upper body except to balance them using just legs. Pratice it bro and it will come second nature. I have no problem gettin up the 80's and i weigh only 160. Keep practicin bro.

I'll work on it. I usually do two warmups, 45x10 and 60x10, I never thought about using those as practice in hoisting up the weights, 'cause those weights don't take any effort to hoist anyway. Heck, the 45s I can lift simultaneously.

I'd like to be doing shoulder presses in a lower rep range, say 5-6x, which would probably mean at least 90 lbs. for me, if only I could get 'em up.

--dnb
 
Yeah those are 85's that my brother was lifting. At the time he was about 7 pounds heavier than me, but I am stronger!! Now I weigh a lot more than he does, and I am stronger too!

LOL @ the girl who asked if you were alright!!HAHA
Like Wrestler said practice with the lighter weights and you will get used to the motion. It will become easier and easier!
 
the kick up will evtually become second nature to you, and all youll have to focus on is pushin up some heavy ass dumbells...
 
This is an interesting topic and all but I got to say again:

DAMN MIKE!! Your forearms are SICK!!! I aspire to have forearms like that.

Mine are now a hair over 15 inch's. Keep working on that back buddy and start winning competitions!! Keep the progress steady and I definitely think you could go pro by the time you are 30 if not sooner!
 
clubfootedmidget said:
This is an interesting topic and all but I got to say again:

DAMN MIKE!! Your forearms are SICK!!! I aspire to have forearms like that.

Mine are now a hair over 15 inch's. Keep working on that back buddy and start winning competitions!! Keep the progress steady and I definitely think you could go pro by the time you are 30 if not sooner!

LOL:D
You know what is weird. You are bigger than I am, stronger than I am and I have about an inch bigger in the forearms!WTF?? What gives?

I would gladly give my forearms for a better back or better seperation in my legs!!

I guess we all have our weaknesses and strong points!
 
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