Frequency Of Benching And Military Pressing

[Mun]

Alright, so basically i was at the gym the other day and for the third straight week im at the same weight for military pressing (pretty choked about this), during those 3 weeks i separated my chest and shoulder days 2-3 days apart clearly its not enough (hardgainer here), my question is, is it ok to workout my shoulders basically once every 9-10 days or what should i do? cuz working out my tris, chest, and shoulders all in the same week just isn't working, my shoulders aren't progressing but my bench is slightly up but what would you guys recommend. I want to focus more on my chest and shoulders and get those lifts waaay up, i know theres some real monster benchers on this forum, any advice for a novice lifter? Thanks guys

[climber511]

Alright, so basically i was at the gym the other day and for the third straight week im at the same weight for military pressing (pretty choked about this), during those 3 weeks i separated my chest and shoulder days 2-3 days apart clearly its not enough (hardgainer here), my question is, is it ok to workout my shoulders basically once every 9-10 days or what should i do? cuz working out my tris, chest, and shoulders all in the same week just isn't working, my shoulders aren't progressing but my bench is slightly up but what would you guys recommend. I want to focus more on my chest and shoulders and get those lifts waaay up, i know theres some real monster benchers on this forum, any advice for a novice lifter? Thanks guys

Patience young grasshopper. A lift is not stuck because it hasn't gone up in 3 weeks, even in a newbie. Just keep keeping on - doing a good overall body routine and eating well. Strength does not always grow in a smooth linear fashion but sometimes in "jumps" as a weakness that seems totally unrelated comes up and things start happening quick - until it all happens over again hehe. A Book to read is "72 Consummate Arts of the Shaolin Temple" - in it you will finds simple exercises with time frames towards mastery - things like - continue this for 30 years - great results will be achieved.

Begin to build volume etc slowly and look at this as a journey for a lifetime, not a 12 week program to a bigger bench press. Not what you're looking for I'm sure but reality perhaps.

[Bigdeze]

Start a training log and post your workouts. It's hard for people to give advice without seeing what you're doing.

[The Natural]

The best strict overhead pressers, back in the day, pressed every day. I would work up to 70 percent of your overhead max, every day, for a single, on top of whatever you are doing as your "big day".

Benching seems different. The pecs, in my experience, do not adapt well to daily training. I've tried daily bench training and I always seem to have some nagging pec problem. Also, benching stresses the front delts a lot, but does not put much stress on the medial and rear delts. Overhead pressing, in contrast, distributes stress over each muscle of the shoulder. This makes it more suitable for daily training; overhead pressing distributes the stress nicely over the shoulder muscles, traps, and triceps.

Edited June 19, 2010 by The Natural

[Mun]

Good stuff all three of you, very useful, thanks a lot. Climber i ordered that 72 Consummate Arts of the Shaolin Temple book, looked pretty interesting. And Natural ill start hitting up military press daily in the fashion which you prescribed, see how it goes, thanks again guys.

[User99]

The best strict overhead pressers, back in the day, pressed every day. I would work up to 70 percent of your overhead max, every day, for a single, on top of whatever you are doing as your "big day".

Benching seems different. The pecs, in my experience, do not adapt well to daily training. I've tried daily bench training and I always seem to have some nagging pec problem. Also, benching stresses the front delts a lot, but does not put much stress on the medial and rear delts. Overhead pressing, in contrast, distributes stress over each muscle of the shoulder. This makes it more suitable for daily training; overhead pressing distributes the stress nicely over the shoulder muscles, traps, and triceps.

Wow. This is something I have never heard before, nor thought much of. But I guess, taking a general look at most small muscles (which I would consider the delts to be), they get better work from daily - or at least more regular - training. I appreciate your insight, Natural! I'm not quite up to snuff on military press either. Shoulder problems have plagued me, but working lighter w/ more frequency seems like a good idea.