Pushups only = round shoulders. What can I do?

[plecostomus]

Hi everyone

I have been doing pushups every second day for the last 2 years now and I am happy with the results in terms of building up my chest etc.
My only problem is that I am noticing the classic round sholders thing occuring that happens when u do all chest and nothing else.
I really dont want to start using the gym again, so can someone suggest to me one or two other simple exercises I could do, preferable at home, that could give me a bit more balance and pull my sholders back and my chest out?

Thanks

[Uriel_da_man]

Pull ups.

[Gatyr]

Pull ups are just about all you can really do without investing in some equipment or going to a gym.

[papi93]

Sternum Chins.

[ScrillaKeith]

Reverse push-ups too.

[nitrored]

grab your tv and do squats

[ThickAsABrick]

Join a gym and start rowing + doing some rear delt work.

[papi93]

Originally Posted by ScrillaKeith

Reverse push-ups too.

Matt Furey Reverse Pushups?

[vin1382]

handstand pushups. lateral raises using the dictionary.

[tarun_s]

scapula pushups.

[ScrillaKeith]

Originally Posted by papi93

Matt Furey Reverse Pushups?

Ya or if he has a bar he could do inverted rows and pullups and such. A bar only costs like $20 and comes with two sets of mounts for a high and low installation. Sometimes you gotta improvise.

[papi93]

Originally Posted by ScrillaKeith

Ya or if he has a bar he could do inverted rows and pullups and such. A bar only costs like $20 and comes with two sets of mounts for a high and low installation. Sometimes you gotta improvise.

Reverse pushups build tremendous flexibility in the shoulders and trunk.

[ScrillaKeith]

Originally Posted by papi93

Reverse pushups build tremendous flexibility in the shoulders and trunk.

Ya they do. To the OP, you should also be stretching your chest as well as strengthening your middle back. Lie on a bench, or whatever you have with two light weights in your hands (rocks, bricks, books, whatever you have) and stretch your chest by extending your arms straight out as to put your body in a crucifix position and hold for 30 sec. Then if you want turn around and do it in the prone position, lowering your arms and then squeezing your shoulder blades together for reps. This will help strengthen the middle back.
That way you get the best of both worlds. I'm gonna try and find a pic....

EDIT-

The stretch: http://www.heavyhandle.com/exercises/chest_exercise.jpg
widen your arms until you feel a good stretch in your pecs. Looks like the start of a db flye.

The reverse flyes:
Start: http://www.sissel-online.com/images/...esdb_ball1.jpg
Finish: http://www.sissel-online.com/images/...esdb_ball2.jpg

[plecostomus]

will do
nice one, thanks guys

[braindx]

any type of rows.

ANY vertical pulling motion besides inverted pullups are INTERNAL ROTATORS of the humerus because of the lats and teres major.

[DoubleWide]

Originally Posted by braindx

any type of rows.

ANY vertical pulling motion besides inverted pullups are INTERNAL ROTATORS of the humerus because of the lats and teres major.

The man knows what he's talking about. Get a cheap used weight set or be creative and start doing rows. Lat work is just going to make the problem worse.

[braindx]

Okay, let me elaborate a bit more:

1. Any type of externally rotating exercise. ROWS, oly lifts, and DLs to a lesser extent.
2. Direct external rotator work for your infraspinatus and teres minor.
3. Stretching your pectoralis major/pectoralis minor/subscapularis/anterior deltoids.
4. Making sure your posterior chain is getting a greater volume of work than your anterior side. This means that you will have, for example, 3 posterior exercises for every 2 anterior ones.
5. Cutting down on internally rotating work, and emphasizing externally rotating work. Same as #4 except with the rotator cuff muscles instead of posterior/anterior (especially deltoids).
6. Focusing on keeping good posture with shoulders back ESPECIALLY when at the computer.

Pullups are an internally rotating exercise because the lats and teres minor internally rotates the humerus. Only inverted pullups (upside down pullups) will work the posterior deltoids, back and RC muscles without internally rotating your shoulders. The reason why it is so easy to get an RC imbalance and/or bad posture (besides the computer):

internal rotators: most vertical pulling, all horizontal pushing, all vertical pushing
external rotators: horizontal pulling

Here's a good article series about posture as well (Neanderthal No More):
http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do?id=459379
http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do?id=459206
http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do?id=462481
http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do?id=472224
http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do?id=535872

[ScrillaKeith]

Originally Posted by braindx

Okay, let me elaborate a bit more:

1. Any type of externally rotating exercise. ROWS, oly lifts, and DLs to a lesser extent.
2. Direct external rotator work for your infraspinatus and teres minor.
3. Stretching your pectoralis major/pectoralis minor/subscapularis/anterior deltoids.
4. Making sure your posterior chain is getting a greater volume of work than your anterior side. This means that you will have, for example, 3 posterior exercises for every 2 anterior ones.
5. Cutting down on internally rotating work, and emphasizing externally rotating work. Same as #4 except with the rotator cuff muscles instead of posterior/anterior (especially deltoids).
6. Focusing on keeping good posture with shoulders back ESPECIALLY when at the computer.

Pullups are an internally rotating exercise because the lats and teres minor internally rotates the humerus. Only inverted pullups (upside down pullups) will work the posterior deltoids, back and RC muscles without internally rotating your shoulders. The reason why it is so easy to get an RC imbalance and/or bad posture (besides the computer):

internal rotators: most vertical pulling, all horizontal pushing, all vertical pushing
external rotators: horizontal pulling

Here's a good article series about posture as well (Neanderthal No More):
http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do?id=459379
http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do?id=459206
http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do?id=462481
http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do?id=472224
http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do?id=535872

Good post, must spread reps.

Here, found some pics of inverted rows and pull-ups as promised:
http://www.trinewbies.com/StrengthTr..._training2.asp
http://www.whitecloudstudios.com/gallery/hanging_lg.gif

[braindx]

Originally Posted by ScrillaKeith

Good post, must spread reps.

Here, found some pics of inverted rows and pull-ups as promised:
http://www.trinewbies.com/StrengthTr..._training2.asp
http://www.whitecloudstudios.com/gallery/hanging_lg.gif

Neither of those are inverted pullups... both are inverted rows. To do inverted pullups you would basically hang from a bar and then bring your waist up to the bar and then hold it with a straight body and do pullups. It is very similar to holding a pair of DBs at your side and then "rowing" the weight by contracting your biceps with your elbow going backwards. The weight should move up along your side towards your armpit. This will work pretty much the whole posterior part of the shoulder as well as biceps.

[Sub Zero]

Originally Posted by braindx

Neither of those are inverted pullups... both are inverted rows. To do inverted pullups you would basically hang from a bar and then bring your waist up to the bar and then hold it with a straight body and do pullups. It is very similar to holding a pair of DBs at your side and then "rowing" the weight by contracting your biceps with your elbow going backwards. The weight should move up along your side towards your armpit. This will work pretty much the whole posterior part of the shoulder as well as biceps.

I cant quite picture that,do you have a video or some pictures?

[Viking Warrior]

I want to start by saying that i do cleans,rows and i do work my posterior delts so none of this applies to me,but it seems that this whole muscle imbalance problem is very overated.Lets start with average joe in the gym.He does 20 sets for his chest.A fews sets Lat pulldowns and shrugs are his whole back routine.He trains his legs with leg press,leg extensions and leg curls.He doesnt do deads so he is pretty much neglecting his whole posterior side.
Next example is people in the military.90% of their "weight training" is done with push ups mixed in with some chins and some core work.Another example is boxers.Thousands of punches a week(an internal rotation of the humerous) would be done at training.
I guess what i am getting at is when you consider all this there should be strength imbalances everywhere.There should be an epidemic of shoulder problems.Where are they all at?

[DoubleWide]

Everywhere. There's lot of threads on shoulder problems. Also a lot of them go unnoticed or commented on. I've had mine for awhile. Until I started lifting heavy again and reading this forum I always chalked it up as whatever.
My shoulder would get messed up and I'd chalk it up as sleeping on it wrong, driving too much, being on the computer too much, etc. After it went back to normal, I wouldn't notice a problem for weeks or months. Never went to a doctor or chiro for it. I was never going to walk into a doctor's office, pay the co-pay and deductible and say "Hey doc, my shoulder hurts. I think I slept on it wrong."

[braindx]

Originally Posted by Viking Warrior

I want to start by saying that i do cleans,rows and i do work my posterior delts so none of this applies to me,but it seems that this whole muscle imbalance problem is very overated.Lets start with average joe in the gym.He does 20 sets for his chest.A fews sets Lat pulldowns and shrugs are his whole back routine.He trains his legs with leg press,leg extensions and leg curls.He doesnt do deads so he is pretty much neglecting his whole posterior side.
Next example is people in the military.90% of their "weight training" is done with push ups mixed in with some chins and some core work.Another example is boxers.Thousands of punches a week(an internal rotation of the humerous) would be done at training.
I guess what i am getting at is when you consider all this there should be strength imbalances everywhere.There should be an epidemic of shoulder problems.Where are they all at?

Oly lifts by themselves will fix most problems.

THE problem here is that most people put emphasis on their beach body muscles -- e.g. the front of their body. When you look at the random person's routine you will see that their anterior work is almost usually 2:1 anterior to posterior work or even more imbalanced like that. While this may or may not lead to problems in the future, it is GOOD to correct this before it may become a problem. If they are an avid lifter (>1 year training), you will almost ALWAYS see postural problems start to develop. If that *only* not a reason for concern, I don't know what is.

I post in almost every single shoulder problem thread in the exercise forum here and I assure you that I have seen at least one a day for a long while. I am willing to bet that most people in this section know better -- sections like the teen section would have more posts on imbalances or other problems from what I have seen.

[Ares God Of War]

Originally Posted by Viking Warrior

I want to start by saying that i do cleans,rows and i do work my posterior delts so none of this applies to me,but it seems that this whole muscle imbalance problem is very overated.Lets start with average joe in the gym.He does 20 sets for his chest.A fews sets Lat pulldowns and shrugs are his whole back routine.He trains his legs with leg press,leg extensions and leg curls.He doesnt do deads so he is pretty much neglecting his whole posterior side.
Next example is people in the military.90% of their "weight training" is done with push ups mixed in with some chins and some core work.Another example is boxers.Thousands of punches a week(an internal rotation of the humerous) would be done at training.
I guess what i am getting at is when you consider all this there should be strength imbalances everywhere.There should be an epidemic of shoulder problems.Where are they all at?

Average Joe can expect a very short career in the Iron game,alot of what the military does doesnt make sense and their physical training is no exception and boxers are a terrible example as they have some of the best rear delt,upper and middle back development you are likely to see.

[plecostomus]

braindx, I'm having the same problem as sub zero...

I can't figure what u mean by inverted pullups and I can't find any info on how to do them on the web. Could you direct me to a site/image that shows how to do them?

[braindx]

Originally Posted by plecostomus

braindx, I'm having the same problem as sub zero...

I can't figure what u mean by inverted pullups and I can't find any info on how to do them on the web. Could you direct me to a site/image that shows how to do them?

http://www.excel-gymnastics.com/imag...erted_hang.jpg

Doing pullups in that position. It's basically a pullup flipped upside down. You do it with your head pointed towards the ground instead of your head pointed up. Preferably you have some place where you can do them with where your arms are like you are doing dips on parallel bars. It is much better than doing them on a pullup bar.

[plecostomus]

ah ok now i've got it.

what would be the next best thing besides this particular exersize?
u mentioned rows, what sort of row would you suggest?

[braindx]

Bent over rows and their variations are the best (like Pendlay). Other rows are secondary like seated cable rows, machine rows, etc.

Inverted pullups are by no means the best exercise. To get the best results you should probably do these with a few types of rows as well as RC exercises and stretching.

[plecostomus]

ok no worries

thanks

[BostonBlue]

pendlay rows ftw

pick that heavy **** off the floor