Role of the Posterior Deltoid in Powerlifting

[DieHollywoodDie]

The medial deltoid should be somewhat developed to prevent injury...is there a function of the posterior deltoid in particular for powerlifting? I find myself failing on rows because my posterior delt fails...is this a sign of bad form on rowing or just weakness, and if so, is this a weakness that I need to address to advance in lifting? Oddly when I bench and try to squeeze my shoulder blades together and arch, I find my posterior delt to touch the bench far before my traps and rhomboids, which throws off my ability to dig into the bench, and makes me think this muscle isn't underdeveloped...help!

[cjdelaney]

you're crazy man.

[Entkommen115]

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...hp?t=119516781

Hate to bring this up again but...

No medial deltoid

[DieHollywoodDie]

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...hp?t=119516781

Hate to bring this up again but...

No medial deltoid

whatever. you get the point...although i saw some machine at my gym for lateral raises and it said "medial deltoid" on the machine :| in any case, got a response fo' me?

[Entkommen115]

whatever. you get the point...although i saw some machine at my gym for lateral raises and it said "medial deltoid" on the machine :| in any case, got a response fo' me?

Lulz


Anyways why would you think you have a weakness in your posterior deltoids when they are the ones that touch the bench first? From the sounds of it you either (1. have small traps or (2. don't have that much of an arch.

I have always been told that the you dig your traps into the bench more than anything.

[DieHollywoodDie]

Lulz


Anyways why would you think you have a weakness in your posterior deltoids when they are the ones that touch the bench first? From the sounds of it you either (1. have small traps or (2. don't have that much of an arch.

I have always been told that the you dig your traps into the bench more than anything.

okay...i'm going to just address it as a muscular endurance thing with the small muscles, that will be solved through the big lifts and with facepulls etc. in my extra workouts. i arch pretty hard and have been commended on it but i definitely have small traps (never can go heavy or high volume enough on shrugs due to grip)...in a lot of competition footage however i've seen people raising their butt off of the bench or barely touching it to the bench as a means of leg drive. is this appropriate? i know your ass has to be on the bench for it to count.

[Blindead]

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...hp?t=119516781

Hate to bring this up again but...

No medial deltoid

i was gonna say this lol. and yeah, it's useful for squatting and benching as well as just keeping your shoulder girdle healthy. and yeah, you look like you might have small traps.

[dannyautrey]

okay...i'm going to just address it as a muscular endurance thing with the small muscles, that will be solved through the big lifts and with facepulls etc. in my extra workouts. i arch pretty hard and have been commended on it but i definitely have small traps (never can go heavy or high volume enough on shrugs due to grip)...in a lot of competition footage however i've seen people raising their butt off of the bench or barely touching it to the bench as a means of leg drive. is this appropriate? i know your ass has to be on the bench for it to count.

ideally, you dont want any weight on your butt.. it needs to be touching, but you need to have all the weight on your traps and you should be driving through your heels.. move your feet around until this can be accomplished with your butt barely touching the bench

[Blenderate]

If any of the smaller muscles of the shoulder or upper back are under developed, the body will inhibit force production from the prime mover muscles to prevent injury.

[Retardo-pex]

okay...i'm going to just address it as a muscular endurance thing with the small muscles, that will be solved through the big lifts and with facepulls etc. in my extra workouts. i arch pretty hard and have been commended on it but i definitely have small traps (never can go heavy or high volume enough on shrugs due to grip)...in a lot of competition footage however i've seen people raising their butt off of the bench or barely touching it to the bench as a means of leg drive. is this appropriate? i know your ass has to be on the bench for it to count.

I know you didn't really ask but the best thing I ever did for my traps was olympic lifts, even if all you do is a few sets of hang cleans a week you'd be surprised how disproportionate you can get them.

[babyslayer]

i think a balanced shoulder is a healthy shoulder, and youd be hard pressed to reach your full shoulder strength potential without healthy shoulders.


i have been working on my shoulder press for a few months now, but completley neglecting back and rear delts and traps (body only has so much recovery ability for a given time fraim etc) but for a short time i did train rear delts and back a little, and noticed a boost in my shoulder strength. Just recently i started training rear delts and back again and noticed another boost in shoulder strength.

So from now on il be training rear delts/back hard a few times a week. And i think it will improve my overhead presses.



i believe having unbalanced shoulders can lead to injury, and in my experience if theres a chance of injury your body will tend to hold you back a little to keep you from getting hurt.

[StayfQ]

i think a balanced shoulder is a healthy shoulder, and youd be hard pressed to reach your full shoulder strength potential without healthy shoulders.


i have been working on my shoulder press for a few months now, but completley neglecting back and rear delts and traps (body only has so much recovery ability for a given time fraim etc) but for a short time i did train rear delts and back a little, and noticed a boost in my shoulder strength. Just recently i started training rear delts and back again and noticed another boost in shoulder strength.

So from now on il be training rear delts/back hard a few times a week. And i think it will improve my overhead presses.



i believe having unbalanced shoulders can lead to injury, and in my experience if theres a chance of injury your body will tend to hold you back a little to keep you from getting hurt.

This isn't an antagonizing response, but is it possible that by switching the emphasis from shoulder pressing to mixed pressing/rear delts that you dropped the intensity on the pressing (you said you can't work it all hard all the time) thereby giving yourself some time to super compensate?

Ie. the volume and/or intensity on the shoulder presses dropped, allowing you to recover fully from all the work you had been doing and then progress when you upped the volume again.

[babyslayer]

If any of the smaller muscles of the shoulder or upper back are under developed, the body will inhibit force production from the prime mover muscles to prevent injury.

this

[babyslayer]

This isn't an antagonizing response, but is it possible that by switching the emphasis from shoulder pressing to mixed pressing/rear delts that you dropped the intensity on the pressing (you said you can't work it all hard all the time) thereby giving yourself some time to super compensate?

Ie. the volume and/or intensity on the shoulder presses dropped, allowing you to recover fully from all the work you had been doing and then progress when you upped the volume again.

at the time i was training shoulder press every 4th day, when i trained rear delts and back id do it the day after shoulders, so id only get 2 full days off, so at best, youd think i would have overworked the shoulder joint even more by training rear delts the day after.


recently i went from training (shoulders/chest/triceps, all 1 workout) every 4th day, to a 3 day split, (chest/shoulders/triceps seperate days). and now im training with more volume/heavier than ever before, with only 1-2 days between workouts. So again, youd think id have even more problems recovering.


so the answer is no, i have only been doing more weight, and more volume, and more frequently, as time went on.

[BEhave]

Babyslayer is right. My overhead press was at a standstill. Like not moving for the longest time. Started training the medial delts for the first time pretty much ever 2 weeks ago, and me overhead press has gone up 10lbs already.

[DieHollywoodDie]

at the time i was training shoulder press every 4th day, when i trained rear delts and back id do it the day after shoulders, so id only get 2 full days off, so at best, youd think i would have overworked the shoulder joint even more by training rear delts the day after.


recently i went from training (shoulders/chest/triceps, all 1 workout) every 4th day, to a 3 day split, (chest/shoulders/triceps seperate days). and now im training with more volume/heavier than ever before, with only 1-2 days between workouts. So again, youd think id have even more problems recovering.


so the answer is no, i have only been doing more weight, and more volume, and more frequently, as time went on.

what the hell does your program look like....soundslikelots of volume...

[Iceman1800]

i think a balanced shoulder is a healthy shoulder, and youd be hard pressed to reach your full shoulder strength potential without healthy shoulders.


i


i believe having unbalanced shoulders can lead to injury, and in my experience if theres a chance of injury your body will tend to hold you back a little to keep you from getting hurt.

excellent post