stuck on DB overhead presses

[Conductor77]

Ive been stuck on the 75s for overhead DB pressing for months, I want to get to 3 sets of 8 but it just doesnt seem to wanna happen.

My reps seem to always go something like 7 6 6, every dam time!

Yesterday for shoulders i did a couple warm up sets and deceided to go for the 80s to see what I could do my reps went 5,3,1

should i stick with the 80s for awhile and just pound on them and try to get my reps up?

 

[anthrax]

Switch movements

Try lighter weights but faster concentric

 

[KillahBee]

or maybe try some OHP with the barbell (seated and standing). sometimes the carry over really shows up

 

[blut wump]

The body seems to react in two ways to load and stress: it can adapt by changing itself or it can acclimatize and refuse to perform more than it has grown accustomed to. You want the adaptation response to dominate to get the most from your training and so you have to work to avoid the body settling into getting overly used to an exercise.

Bodybuilders often work around this pattern by trying to hit the muscles from multiple angles angles and invoke some mystical paradigm of 'mixing it up'. In Westside they switch their exercises every three weeks or so and are constantly applying variations of volume and intensity.

Since you've been pounding away at the heavy end of your lift for a while, you'll need to switch down to higher volume lower weight as Anthrax suggests or switch over to another exercise as KillahBee suggests. Switching exercise will probably involve a bit of the former, lower weight/higher volume, as you will be unused to the changed exercise for a workout or two and be using less than you could.

Drop the weight and aim for more reps. Bring the weight back up again over three or four weeks while keeping the higher reps and then drop the reps down while keeping the same weight you've then reached and work the weight back up again at the reduced reps. It should get you through the plateau. Take a read on many of madcow's posts for info on dual-factor training and periodization. Here's a recent one:
http://www.elitefitness.com/forum/showpost.php?p=4878713&postcount=506