The Dreaded Shoulder Press

When I began lifting in college, ego lifting was the name of the game. I recall the first time I attempted the shoulder press, loading up a 45 on each side after a warmup with solely a barbell. Suddenly, it felt like I was Atlas, bearing the weight of the world. This did NOT go as I planned. Rather, it seemed I was in for a rude awakening. I was much stronger with compound lifts such as bench press, deadlifts, and squats, so why wasn’t I hitting triple digits with the shoulder press?

Good morning, folks. I welcome you to another issue of MeowMed’s Musings. Today we will be delving back into an major area of my self-improvement—weightlifting. For many, hitting the gym is the gateway to self-improvement, so be assured that there will be many more fitness-related articles to come!

Anyways, after a few more attempts with little-to-no progress over 1 month, I pretty much ditched the shoulder press for my other go-to compound lifts (I could never get much over ~80 lbs, whether using barbells or dumbbells). Sure, I made progress in other areas of my strength/physique, but the shoulder press remained to be my Achilles’ heel for YEARS. It was only recently that I improved my OHP strength by 30 lbs in the past month. Here were a few changes that I made:

1. Make the lift the first exercise you perform. This works for other lifts as well—you are performing the exercise when you are most ‘fresh’. As opposed to doing OHP after bench, incline bench, or pushups that could tire out the delts.

2. Consume creatine monohydrate. One of the few supplements scientifically proven to improve strength and hypertrophy by inducing water uptake into the muscle. It takes several weeks to notice the difference, though.

3. Perform the exercise correctly and without ego. There are many tutorials online, and I know that my breathing and bracing were a bit off. Start off with a light weight and when progressing, only add 5-10 lbs. Make sure you have the right cues for the proper lift (all of this will also prevent injury).

4. Lower rep ranges. I always wondered why strength athletes sport a noticeably different physique compared to bodybuilders. This is because they are primarily performing nervous system training for moving heavy loads as opposed to hypertrophy training for muscular growth. For the last several weeks, I have been performing 3-5 sets of 3-5 reps, and it has been much easier to increase the weight. However, I have not noticed a significant increase in muscle mass as of yet (this would be more likely achieved with 5-20 reps).

All in all, I am satisfied that I’m finally experiencing gains in my vertical pressing strength…hopefully I can keep it up. Have you made progress in a fitness-related goal within your life as of late? I am also curious to hear from other lifters that have had a similar experience with this or other exercises. If so, feel free to share by replying to this email!

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