Hail to the Dinosaurs!
We received a ton of emails from the Dino
Nation in response to yesterday's email
about shoulder health.
I'm going to share a few because they include
some more great tips for keeping your shoulders
healthy and strong.
1. Overhead Presses and DB Benches Work!
"Great advice! I had stiff shoulders for over a
year. Three months ago, I injured my right pec
bending 5/8" rebar and stopped doing bench
presses due to the injury. During that time,
I kept doing overhead presses, and my
shoulders feel MUCH better.
I also emphasized back strength, and have
begun doing dumbbell bench press instead
of barbell bench press, which seems to be
much easier on my shoulders and my
injury. I am already back to the 100's
for 8 reps.
Dustin Jones"
Dustin -- Sorry to hear about the injury, but
it sounds like it taught you some important
things -- and that you're coming back stronger
than ever! Thanks for sharing your findings.
2. When Lowering the Bar Is the Problem
"I agree wholeheartedly with all of your tips
re: shoulder health. In addition, in my case,
I can press overhead without pain as long
as I stay in the proper groove.
However, I cannot find a way to lower the
bar from overhead without pain to my right
shoulder (which gets worse if I try to fight
through it) -- so I have solved the issue by
dropping every press from overhead.
Brian DeLong
Brian -- That's not so unusual for older Dinos.
Thank goodness for bumper plates!
In my own case, I do singles, and lower my
overhead lifts to the shoulders, bending my
legs at the knees a bit to help catch the weight.
From there, I lower the bar to my upper
thighs -- and then to the platform, as if I
were lowering the bar after a deadlift. It's a
three step process. Easier on the bar and on
the platform. And also easy on my body.
If that's not clear, shoot me an email and
I'll try to explain it in more detail.
3. A Tip for Narrow Grip Benches
"I feel you should add that full range narrow
grip benches are no different than a deep dip.
I coach narrow grip benches for everyone but
limit the range to a three board. I'm not a huge
board guy, but they serve a great purpose here.
Chris Clark"
Chris -- That's a good tip for anyone with a
training partner who can help with the board.
In most cases, it's the last bit of ROM that can
cause problems in any exercise. Thanks for
the idea.
4. Try Bodyweight Training
Tons of readers emailed to note that they got
great results from the push-up and hand-stand
push-up variations in Dinosaur Bodyweight
Training -- and that they helped balance their
upper body development with the pull-up
variations in the book. They're right -- those
can really help.
5. Dumbbells, Dumbbells, Dumbbells!
We also had MANY Dinos report that their
shoulders improved when they switched from
barbell presses to dumbbell presses. That's
always been one of the benefits of dumbbell
work, and it's one of the reasons so many
of the old-timers (such as John Grimek) used
dumbbell presses almost exclusively as they
grew older.
So there you go -- more tips for protecting,
preserving and strengthening your shoulders!
As always, thanks for reading and have a
great day. If you train today, make it a good
one!
Yours in strength,
Brooks Kubik
P.S. Go here to grab Dinosaur Bodyweight Training
and Dinosaur Dumbbell Training:
http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaur_bodyweight.html
http://www.brookskubik.com/dinosaur_dumbbelltraining.html
P.S. 2. My other books and courses are right
here at Dino Headquarters:
http://www.brookskubik.com/products.html
P.S. 3. Thought for the Day: "Train hard, but
train smart. You're in it for the long haul."
-- Brooks Kubik
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