5x5 Hold Up

[OfimNedu]

I'm come to a sticking point in my 5x5 program. I'm 3 weeks in and I'm not sure what to do for chest anymore. Due to shoulder problems I can't bench anymore. I can only use dumbbells comfortably. Problem is the dumbbells only go up to 120lbs. in my gym which I can do comfortably for 5 sets of 5 reps with good, slow form. Should I pre-fatigue, switch to another exercise, or increase the reps/sets. I can't press anything with a barbell. I use dumbbells for flat, incline, and overhead press.

 

[Lord_Suston]

then try doiing Incline first and then flat bench second.

 

[OfimNedu]

I can do that. It doesn't help solve the problem really. I can do the 120s 5x5 on incline too. Or did you mean do incline in a normal rep range and then do flat 5x5?

 

[Zander1983]

If you're stuck at a certain weight for 5x5, bring it down to 5x3 and keep progressing until you hit a flat spot again. Then maybe take a week/few days off, scale back your poundages and start with the 5x5s again.

 

[OfimNedu]

If you're stuck at a certain weight for 5x5, bring it down to 5x3 and keep progressing until you hit a flat spot again. Then maybe take a week/few days off, scale back your poundages and start with the 5x5s again.

Did you read my initial post? I'm stuck at a certain weight bc the dumbbells in my gym only go up to 120s.

 

[mediocre lifter]

exercise ball

Some guys I know had that problem and they used an exercise ball as the bench. since it is so unstable it cut their reps in half intitially. Might be worth a try

 

[hellboy]

Mebbe do 5x8's or 5x10's? Could that work?

I hope that someday I can complain about 120lb dumbells being too light. Damn 120's. They just don't do anything for me anymore. Heh. ;-)

 

[Backlash]

If you can't do any bb exercises, maybe you should focus on rehabbing your shoulder for awhile, depending on what exactly is wrong with your shoulder. That would benefit you the most in the long run, though it is tough to give up lifting heavy.

 

[ffknight84]

If you can't do any bb exercises, maybe you should focus on rehabbing your shoulder for awhile, depending on what exactly is wrong with your shoulder. That would benefit you the most in the long run, though it is tough to give up lifting heavy.

excellent advice IMO

 

[athlete0185]

you can rehab your shoulder till your blue in the face but with injuries like a seperation its the tendons that seperate in the ac joint. my shoulder is stronger than ever but i cant touch a barbell to do flat bench. there are just some things you can't do, and i dont think any amount of rehab will fix that. besides being costly, why would you take that much time out of the gym for rehab when certain exercises can be substituted.

 

[louden_swain]

Many may disagree with this. .but if you cannot perform barbell presses or heavy dumbbell presses. . you might want to add some hammer strength work to your routine.

 

[ffknight84]

you can rehab your shoulder till your blue in the face but with injuries like a seperation its the tendons that seperate in the ac joint. my shoulder is stronger than ever but i cant touch a barbell to do flat bench. there are just some things you can't do, and i dont think any amount of rehab will fix that. besides being costly, why would you take that much time out of the gym for rehab when certain exercises can be substituted.

i dont remember him saying what is wrong with his shoulder? until then we can not properly give him advice.

 

[athlete0185]

i dont remember him saying what is wrong with his shoulder? until then we can not properly give him advice.

i know he didnt say specifically what i meant was you cant just jump to conclusions and say rehab it and youll be able to go back to using the barbell. with any shoulder injury the rehab may not have a substancial effect.

 

[Zander1983]

Did you read my initial post? I'm stuck at a certain weight bc the dumbbells in my gym only go up to 120s.

The first two sentences, lol. Sorry bro

 

[Backlash]

i know he didnt say specifically what i meant was you cant just jump to conclusions and say rehab it and youll be able to go back to using the barbell. with any shoulder injury the rehab may not have a substancial effect.

Right, that's why I said "depending on what exactly is wrong with your shoulder."

And rehab doesn't have to be expensive, unless you go to a PT. You can learn what to do on the net and then just do it yourself.

 

[Zander1983]

Something to consider... If you can bench comfortably with DBs but not a bar, then maybe its a technique issue. Are you benching bodybuilding style?

 

[ffknight84]

if he's doing 5x5, more than likely he is a body builder, and that would probably be the reason for pain. I doubt he would switch to a PL style. Maybe he can get a set of bands to throw on the DBs.

 

[Zander1983]

Easy assumption to make and likely to be correct given the shoulder problems, but I've just started 5x5 and bench PL style, as do plenty of others

 

[ffknight84]

Easy assumption to make and likely to be correct given the shoulder problems, but I've just started 5x5 and bench PL style, as do plenty of others

I havent seen him post in this thread since like the 5th or 6th post. 5x5 is great for power, i gained a lot on it. Hopefully he comes back and read some of this. I would say hes better off lifting PL style on bench, it still hits your chest.

 

[OfimNedu]

Thanks for the replies. As for my shoulder problem no one is exactly sure what is wrong with it. I've seen two specialist, a chiropractor, and a prolotherapist. Basically what I was diagnosed with was a slight subluxation that causes tendonitis in both shoulders. I do a full rehab routine twice every week. I only underwent two sessions of prolotherapy and after all of that and some time off I can now lift and live virtually pain free. Overhead presses and Bench presses with a Barbell agitate it. Dumbbells allow me a freer range of motion and I can twist the dumbbells slightly.

In the short term I think I'm going to add 2 sets of platemates on the dumbbells which will put them at 130s though it's going to be quite hard to sit down with them like that.

As for the physioball instead of a bench. Good idea but the thought scares me to death. Guy I know was doing db presses on a ball with 75lb. dumbbells when the ball burst shattering both his forearms. A freak accident to say the least and something he can probably sue for but I'm scared to put my 215lb. body and 100lb. dumbbells on the shitty balls in my gym.

Anyhow, thanks for the suggestions. Keep 'em coming. I'll check back more often.

 

[jackangel]

Platemates are a good work around in the short term, but if you use them, go up in smaller increments. Maybe 5x5 with 120 is very easy for you, but even so, if you next go to 122.5 per side (5 pound increase total) and then keep increasing that way, you will help prevent stalling out at a certain weight and give yourself more workouts before you need to find another solution.

I know you said that barbell use aggravates your shoulder problems, but just to make sure...does that include incline barbell work? It probably does, but many people who can't do flat barbell bench are able to use incline barbell as a main move, without pain.

 

[OfimNedu]

Yes. Incline Barbell agitates it also. Moreso than flat bench.