Subject: Re: weights #1641 From: Bill Kerr Date: Thu, 1 Jan 1998 20:30:12 -0800 >Subject: Proper Way to do the Military Press? Consensus appears to be that it's better to do it in front of the neck. This will suggest a posture that is just slightly less than erect, since you'll tend to lean back a bit to miss your nose. Spacing of the hands is generally given as roughly shoulder width apart, but most folks tend to perform the move with their hands a little further apart than that (I know I do) and hand spacing is one of the things you can vary to slightly modify the exact dynamics of the movement to "hit different parts" of the muscles. But I'd suggest making dumbbell presses the core of your delt workout anyway; use military presses as an alternative. Tyler Shaw wrote in article <34bc24b3.17420833@news.inlink.com>... > I need help with pullups I can do about 3 pullups palms facing me and > maybe one pullup palms facing opposite of me. > > I've been training on this pullup trainer at the gym for the last 2 > weeks I can do 8-10 reps with the machine holding about 70 lbs of my > weight palms facing opposite of me. What are some good exercises > besides this that would help with pullups. My goal is by the end of > this summer I will be able to do 6-10 pullups palms facing opposite of > me without the help of the pullup trainer would this be possible? BTW > I weigh about 140 if that helps. > Since I am trying to master the evil pullup myself and having Sandeep heave my pathetic corpse upwards to the chin bar while screaming advice and abuse, I understand your plight and I can offer these words. The movement on the aided chin machine/lat pulldown is not equivalent to what the plain old hanging from a bar movement would be. That being said, you have two options to train to be able to haul that carcass of yours up there. 1) Make it your goal on the aided chin/lat pulldown to blast upwards in strength, if you're not strong enough for option #2. Go at it with focus and determination. Blast the living hell out of your back and biceps in whatever way works best for you. Do pullups with a variety of grips in varying widths. Also incorporate rows: cable, dumbbell, barbell. Then, once you feel strong enough move to the next option: 2) Find a nice low-hanging chin bar and do only negatives. Put a step under it so you can easily scramble up, then slowly and excruciatingly lower yourself down with no assistance. Repeat. Once these get easier, try a single positive, maybe with someone pushing your legs up. If I can get one of these damn things, anyone can. As a beginner you will find your improvement fairly rapid, so harness it! Krista -- krust@netrover.com Funk Palace http://www.netrover.com/~cdixon/Funk.html "Mother, I am a lunatic with lethal combat skills." -- Xena Tyler Shaw wrote: > > I need help with pullups I can do about 3 pullups palms facing me and > maybe one pullup palms facing opposite of me. > > I've been training on this pullup trainer at the gym for the last 2 > weeks I can do 8-10 reps with the machine holding about 70 lbs of my > weight palms facing opposite of me. What are some good exercises > besides this that would help with pullups. My goal is by the end of > this summer I will be able to do 6-10 pullups palms facing opposite of > me without the help of the pullup trainer would this be possible? BTW > I weigh about 140 if that helps. Yeah, I think the main thing involved with pull-ups is sheer concentration and motivation. When I am about to do pull-ups (8-10), I usually take a few minutes rest from my last exercise, compose myself, then approach the bar and think about nothing else except blasting through those reps. The key is to explode (and I mean explode!!) on the way up and then slowly lower yourself down (whereby you are again thinking of the explosion back to the top). Again, do not let anything get in the way of your concentration and focus (just let your body take over) and you will accomplish your goals. Good luck man! Roy Eversham wrote in article <6es21u$cj2$1@uranium.btinternet.com>... > What is the best way to really stretch my back, both before and after a > workout? Here's a couple of my favourites. 1. Grab something that doesn't move, like one of the vertical bars of a weight station. Pull on it. 2. Get on your knees and elbows. While keeping your right elbow stationary, slide your left hand forward so that your left arm is straight. Rotate your right hip slighly upward. Hold and repeat with other side. Then extend both arms together and press your chest to the floor while you look straight ahead (or as much ahead as you can). Krista Subject: Re: Behind the Neck Military? From: Loren Chiu Date: Thu, 7 May 1998 22:21:13 -0700 Fred Faber wrote: > > In regards to shoulder exercises that require the lifter to bring the bar > behind his neck and in order to lift it I have a question. It is: Is > this a safe movement and if not why not? Moreover, I would like to > know any other information about this exercise or more effecient sholder > exercises that anyone may know. Thank you. The Behind the neck press is not a great exercise to use. First, it has no function in any sport or activity. Second, it places stress on the articular capsule of the glenohumeral joint. When the ligaments in this joint (or any joint) are stretched, they don't return to their normal prestretched state, therefore you lose stability in the joint. Third, it places excessive strain on the acromioclavicular joint, leading to possible damage of the distal end of the clavicle. The common belief with the behind the neck press is that it works the posterior deltoid more, however, this is not true. In fact, when you look at the actual movements involved, you'll find that the posterior deltoid plays little to any role in the exercise. Rather, the medial and anterior heads are the primary muscles involved (along with triceps). Also, the furthur back the bar is placed (ie. moving from the military press to the behind the neck press), the more the anterior deltoid becomes involved. Military presses (bar in front of head), and dumbell presses are better exercises to use (standing or seated), and the various lateral raises can also be incorporated. Loren Chiu Subject: Re: Building your Back From: "Raynham, Mike" Date: Tue, 2 Jun 1998 06:45:31 -0700 In accordance with the other posts extolling the virtues of pull-ups, I must agree. One technique I've found particularly good, courtesy of Arnold Schwarzenneger's Bodybuilding Encyclopedia, is to do 50 pull-ups. Don't worry about how many sets it takes to do this, or the number of reps in each set. Just do as many sets as it takes until you have done a total of 50 reps. When I first did this, I could manage around 8 reps on my first set, this gradually reduced all the way to 1 rep near the end. However, after a few weeks, I was able to manage around 23 reps on my first set, dwindling down to about 8 reps toward the end. Give it a go - it worked wonders for me, it may do for you. When you can do 50 reps in one set, you can add a bit of weight!!! Mike Raynham Subject: Re: Neck/Ankle exercises? From: Geoffrey Lam Date: Tue, 15 Sep 1998 20:34:43 -0700 JFesta7613@aol.com wrote: >What are good neck and ankle exercises to get a thick neck and develop the i find that shrugs will work your neck as much as they need to be worked. the neck muscles - the major ones being the omohyoid, sternohyoid, and sternocleidomastoid - really don't receive much attention during the course of an average day. all they do is hold up the weight of the head, and about a third of the day (8 hours out of 24) is spent sleeping anyway! when i first started doing shrugs - just four sets, two straight barbell shrug sets for 8-10 reps and two incline barbell shrug sets for another 8-10 reps - my neck muscles just exploded. i gained a full three inches in just under five months. any direct stimulation of the delts and traps will indirectly stimulate the neck muscles, so there's no need to do specialized exercises for them. i do find, however, that as your shrug poundages increase, you need to take more time to stretch the neck in between sets - and by "more time," i mean at least 30-60 seconds of good stretching. otherwise, you're likely to tweak a nerve or put a crimp in your neck. Geoffrey No Excuses - http://www.geocities.com/HotSprings/Spa/1779/NoExcuses.html Mike Pierce wrote: > > I keep getting this pain in my lower back every time I try millitary > presses. Any suggestions to get rid of this pain so I can continue on > with my shoulder workout. Your best bet is to strengthen your lower back, with deadlifts, squats, hyper extensions etc. In the meantime, there are a couple of variations to help avoid back pain: 1. Seated shoulder presses with dumbells, with a seat back that is almost vertical 2. If your gym has a standing preacher curl pad, you can lean back against this while you do military presses -- .--_/\ ___ Mark Deayton / \ | mdeayton@bigpond.com \_.--._/ | http://www.geocities.com/Paris/LeftBank/1322/ @ <--- ICQ# 314598 When you press do you arch excessively in your lower back? Are you leaning your torso back and pushing your pelvis/abdominals forward? This is sometimes the case because the body is trying to turn it into a modified incline press and let the pecs help out with the movement, or you are trying to avoid hitting your nose with the bar. If you are doing this, try dropping the amount of weight that you are using and getting your form down. Keep the abs tight, keep the glutes tight and keep the spine neutral i.e. no excessive arch in the lower back. Good luck. ps Mike Pierce wrote: > I keep getting this pain in my lower back every time I try millitary > presses. Any suggestions to get rid of this pain so I can continue on > with my shoulder workout. try to keep your back directly against the backpad. also, strengthen your lower back. Maybe do some straight legged deadlifts, or regular deadlifts, or good mornings. On Sat, 07 Nov 1998 23:47:11 GMT, Mike Pierce wrote: >I keep getting this pain in my lower back every time I try millitary >presses. Any suggestions to get rid of this pain so I can continue on >with my shoulder workout. -------------------------------------------------- Larry Cadile "And there's just two things you can do about it: nothing and like it" HHH