What's going on Nation? Today
we're going to talk about how to train the shoulders or more
specifically how not to train them and this is actually something you see
very often in the gym. Now whether seated or standing
using dumbbells or a barbell
everyone has their elbows flared out to the max
and it's usually the same people who flare their elbows out that also
proclaim that's stopping at 90 degrees keeps tension on the shoulders
but in reality
the people who are stopping at 90 degrees they do so
because their form is wrong and when they go below 90 degrees
their shoulders start to hurt and they should, the form is wrong.
So no more excuses guys, we're gonna drop the ego
we're gonna lower the weight and we're gonna discuss how you can make more gains with
proper form but before we get started,
smash that like button and download the muscular strength app.
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So, how did it come to this guys? How did we find ourselves shoulder pressing so wrong?
Well, this is because when you're new to training, you'll actually feel stronger pressing with flared elbows.
Now the correct way the press is with your elbows turned in toward your torso
but when you do this
you have to flex your core much hotter because the center of
gravity has now moved forward a bit and if you're new to
lifting your triceps are
generally much weaker and don't have a lot of experience working
in tangent with your shoulders to perform an overhead press but why is
pressing this way superior? Well, it's for a couple reasons guys. Number one
pressing with your elbows in front of your body places your shoulder joints in a mechanically advantageous
position to press more weight as we just discussed, more tricep engagement
but when you press with your elbows flared out this places your
shoulders in an extremely externally rotated position.
Which will cause friction in the shoulder joint and lead to pain or an injury over time
that's why it's also not advised to press or pull behind the neck and we can make a separate video about
exercises that involve pressing or pulling behind the neck
So if you want that let me know down in that comment section below
and number two pressing with your elbows in front of your body
engages your triceps to the max helping you lift heavier weights just like with the benchpress
we always talk about tucking the elbows in toward torso to
disengage the shoulders and activate your triceps more. That way you can bench more weight.
Remember that the triceps main function is elbow extension
and the wider you go the less range of motion you have when pressing overhead
Which is usually why ego lifters press this way less range of motion means you can move more weight
but if your goal is muscle gain, then your focus should be volume and
maximizing the stretch and flex of every single
repetition and you'll be able to get a much deeper stretch on the shoulders
with zero pain if your elbows are tucked in
towards your torso this is because we're attacking the delts without over straining the shoulder joint.
Now keep in mind that these tips also apply to the barbell press so if you have hit a plateau
try adjusting your form so that your elbow stay under your wrists as you press overhead
to engage the triceps as much as possible and to really feel that deep stretch in your
shoulders at the bottom of the movement.
Also if your gym happens to have a safety bar available
maybe try using that because it basically allows you to use a barbell but press overhead like a dumbbell
because of the neutral grips on the bar and if you want one for your home gym
I'll put a link to this one down in the pinned comment section below
Be sure to hit that like and subscribe button and as always more good stuff coming soon. See you guys