I am trying to be mindful of weak points on the body and build them up. I had a sobering gym session the other week with a broad whom has blown me a few times (bad timing if it's her rag or me getting whisky dick for round 2).
We work out now and then each month as she likes to do compound movements and she has a medical background as a trained nurse so I enjoy her feedback about the body and muscle groups as I am very mindful to prevent injuries. She likes working out with me as I push her hard but I don't bring any ego or try to show off.
It was a leg day and she wanted to do hip thrusts before she went off to go do her lady booty shit like cable work and other stuff I have no interest in. I have done hip-thursts a few times but I don't make it a focus as I find it a hassle to set up for.
Very sobering as this slim white girl with a booty is crushing 275 and I was struggling to get up 135. This did not seem correct as I have done much more in the past, but with strict form, it revealed weak points, especially with my glutes and to an extent my hamstrings. I started to wonder if this weak point is impact other lifts, such as my deadlift and my squat. I became very self-aware of this and did I deep dive into hip-thrusts and started to put into my routines.
It turns out that the glutes as a foundation piece, if weak will impact your other points big time. So now, twice a week now for about a month. I also have a workaround with form as I realized my body composition makes it awkward for me to do hip thrusts and standard benches (I have a short torso). So, a workaround is I use a decline bench (I somehow thought this was cheating) which is still fine as long as you can achieve the 90 degree lockout it does not matter what you use.
So in a few weeks, I have raced up with power and I now sit at 365 and hope to get to 400 before the end of summer.
The hip thrust has become more mainstream now as I see people doing it more in the gym. When I first started doing it people would give this look like I was strange. It has become mandatory for women who want to grow the booty and you'll see more women doing it versus men. For us men in adding strength and stability to your glutes region will help out with lifts and life in general as that is the key point of stability, many say even more than the core itself.
Quote: (03-27-2019 10:38 AM)Zagor Wrote:
Come on, don't bash the press, its one of the most badass exercises out there. It's arguably not the most optimal exercise for any head of the delts, but it sure does work every one of them, with heavy weigth. I press heavy and often and rarely do anything else for my delts are they are one of my best developed body parts. Plus it works your upper chest and triceps, which initiate the movement along with the front delt, side delt goes for the ride and you finish with yout rear delts and traps, bracing your core throughout the movement. That's a lot of muscle worked with one exercise.
You get lots of the benefits when the form gets cleaned up. Locked in, with the core braced, with a fluid big press you will get crazy work with the front shoulders, upper chest, and triceps. Also, the press helps my flat bench press more than the actual flat bench press.