My shoulders suck...

[BG5150]

Well, maybe not suck, but they are very different from all my other body parts. They fail not quickly, but immediately.

To clarify. On say, bench, for say, 6 reps, I get the first three just fine as you please. The fourth is a little slower. The fifth I can feel it topping out. The sixth, I get about halfway up, it kinda stops for a moment, and finally the movement is finished. That's when I really doubt I'll get another one, and rarely do.

But with the shoulders, I go pretty good--the first three, pretty good. The fourth, like bench, is a little tougher. But then, wham!, failure. Maybe a quarter of the way up, and then nothing. Done. Seemingly out of nowhere.

it's been like that since I was a kid.

Any thoughts?

[fixationdarknes]

Well the same thing happens to me on the CG Bench Press. So you're not alone. Maybe your shoulders just don't have very much endurance? Just a guess.

Also, are you lifting with a good meal in you and are you drinking water? Maybe you need more hydration.

[Unholy]

Try doing lower weight for 8 reps, then SLIGHTLY more till failure, when you get the second numebr for 8 increase. Some bodyparts are just stubburn

[BG5150]

1st: the eating & drinking aren't a problem.

2nd: it doesn't seem to matter what the warmups are. I just go along and wham! done. Unlike the the other exercises where I can feel the failure coming, with the shoulders it just happens.

[fixationdarknes]

Is it hurting your progress? Do you still make gains?

[BG5150]

A little, but I feel it could be a lot more.

[fixationdarknes]

Man I wish I knew the answer. Haha. Maybe someone more educated can give you an answer.

[TOBART]

I have a similar problem with my shoulders. Doing db shoulder presses lately using 45lbs db's I get 10 reps on my first set, 8 on my second set then..... ZERO reps on my third set, I can get them maybe halfway up. These are the only exercise I do directly for shoulders.

[Vapour Trails]

How low are you going with the movement. Sometimes if I use a too large of a ROM I can "bottom out" and fail prematurely, whereas if I use 75% of the ROM I can get several more reps in.

[TOBART]

I'm going from as low as I can possibly get them to not quite locking out... basically a full ROM

[BG5150]

Well, on all the lifts I do 100% ROM, but I don't see how 75% ROM will help...the failure usually ahppens during the first 25% of the lift.

[mrelwooddowd]

I think everyone gets the immediate failure when using dumbells. I know I do, and it can be scary to see 70lbs in each hand coming down without warning!

[BG5150]

Always had it w/ the barbell, too. Only w/ the shoulders.

[mrelwooddowd]

maybe they're just really weak in comparison to your other lifts?

like, your chest can handle more bench than the delts will allow?

i dunno...

[BG5150]

None of my lifts have failure like that. Not chest, not back, not legs, not arms, not traps, not abs. It's uncanny.

[Zygote]

This is only a guess but the primary movers in the exercise are the lats, chest and deltoids. Lats and chest being significantly stronger then the delts with lats being the biggest muscle in your entire body.

On the rep before your fail miserably you move the weight through the range when the delts are isolated and fatigue them however, your deltoids fatigue out but your chest and lats are in a position to take over the load now but as soon as you move the weight back into the deltoid isolated position bam, chest and lats are no longer adding synergy to the lift and a large portion of the load is now placed back on the exhausted delts.

You can try explosiveness maybe to get past that sticking point and use nice slow 4 second negatives on the way down.

Zygote

[Canadian Crippler]

The ROM on a overhead press is far greather to the ROM on a flat press. Thus your triceps will be taking more of the load in the lower portions of the lift, causing you to fail prematurely.

[DannyboyXJ]

The ROM on a overhead press is far greather to the ROM on a flat press. Thus your triceps will be taking more of the load in the lower portions of the lift, causing you to fail prematurely.

Ditto. I'd work on tricep strength. When I do overhead press, my shoulders fail before my tris.

--Dan.

[D Breyer]

try encorperating some rotator cuff work... worked for me

[Ryder]

I think everyone gets the immediate failure when using dumbells. I know I do, and it can be scary to see 70lbs in each hand coming down without warning!

Same thing just happened to me today. It hurt......

[Unholy]

Atleast you guys get to use 70lb dumbbells