This would have to be the best exercise for developing all three parts of your shoulders namely the anterior delts, the medial delts and the posterior delts.
Take note; A prerequisite for any lifting where your arms rise above the shoulders is rotator cuff exercises so unless you have already been working on these then put some effort in to your rotator cuff before getting too far with shoulder presses. And always remember to do a full set of basic stretches before any kind of lifting and that includes the legs.
Practice first with a 20kg Olympic bar, a lighter pre-loaded bar, or an aerobic bar. Extra plates can be added as you progress. Alternatively use a Smith Machine although, unfortunately, the Smith machine will not allow the bar to be directly over your head which is absolutely necessary to get the best result. If the bar does not travel up and over your head the rear delts will not contract as they should for this exercise. The medial delts will not get the full benefit either. Try using a rack to support the bar at chest level as this saves energy for the prime muscle group instead of using energy to get the bar up to your chest.
Beginning with a standing shoulder press pick up the bar standing with your feet shoulder-width apart. Suck in air, tighten your core, and using your core, forearms and biceps, reverse curl the bar up to your chest. Relax and check your posture to ensure your back is straight and your head is in line with your back.
Begin the lift by simultaneously sucking in air and tightening the core. Then, keeping the core tight, and with a smooth motion press the bar up blowing out air to help keep the core tight throughout the lift. If your lungs remain full of air you will not be able to keep the core fully contracted throughout the lift. Always suck in air and tighten the core just before the lift and blow it out on the concentric movement.
The main muscles used to lift the bar are the delts and triceps. The line the bar will take is from your chest in a line straight up, then tilt your head slightly back to allow the bar to continue straight up and back finishing in a position directly over the centre of your head with your head in line with your back. This will ensure the load will centre over the medial delts with some of the load on the posterior and anterior delts. Your focus throughout the lift will be on the posterior and medial delts. The anterior delts will take more load at the start of the lift but also some throughout the lift. Be sure to follow this line to give an even balance of load over the three delts. About half way up the triceps will take 50% of the load. Hold at the top for 2 seconds.
If the bar is too far forward the anterior delts will take too much of the load and the posterior delts taking little or nothing.
Do 3-4 sets of these and then do 3-4 sets with the bar behind your head following the same method. Begin this by lifting the bar over and behind your head. When the press begins and the bar goes up tilt your head slightly forward and then back in line with your back. Remember, as the lift is completed the bar will be centred over your head.
Performed correctly this routine will develop a very strong and even balance of powerful muscle over the shoulders.
It probably wouldn’t be possible to fit out a gym with a range of equipment to satisfy the needs of every single person at any one time however it may be possible to get close to it.
It’s an area where a combination of available equipment and a highly experienced trainer would prove useful. The trainer can, to a degree, compensate for the lack of equipment but it still might not be quite what’s suited to your individual requirements in order to get the best result
Going in to a gym for the first time there always appears to be enough equipment but it’s not until you’ve done a couple of workouts that you realise there’s stuff missing or certainly not enough of something during peak hours. The peak hours are always a good test of a so called well equipped gym and truly experienced staff in combination.
The most used equipment would have to be the machines despite the fact the free weights, used with the proper technique, can give an equal, and sometimes, better result. Squat racks get a fair bit of use simply because it’s the best all round exercise for legs. The new rubber plates, mainly used for squats, that are now commonly used and are interesting as they are big plates but it’s deceiving because in actual fact they are very light. Some members like to use them because they give the visual impression they are lifting big but in reality it’s just a big hunk of rubber.
So between the cast iron and the rubber it’s whatever turns your crank. Still, if you need morale more than muscle then maybe the rubber is the way to go.
Multi-Use Cross Over Stands also play a big part in the gym. An up market machine can exercise pecs, delts, triceps, biceps, lats, back, and traps. However not all of the muscle contraction during full range of motion with these machine is as successful as building muscle with free weights but they do have the advantage of a quick ready to go system with the use of various quick to fit attachments. Free weights on their own, with knowledge and training, will allow you to exercise any muscle group and you can expect a good result.
Probably the best way to get all the gear you need would be to belong to more than one gym. You not only get access to a lot more gear, but also the advantage been able to get a greater variation of muscle movements due to the difference in the design set up of machines.
BLOOD PRESSURE PILLS……. WHO THE HELL NEEDS THEM?
Well actually there may be quite a number of people that can benefit from blood pressure pills. And there might be a considerable amount of people that are on blood pressure pills and really don’t need to be. And there might be a lot of people who could avoid the possibility of having high blood pressure at some stage in life. That is to say if they took better care of themselves and avoided stuff like salt and sugar, drank more water and less coffee, and less or no alcohol, and started an appropriate exercise regime. And kept it up.
Inflammation can also push up blood pressure so be aware coughs, colds, injuries, any kind of ongoing illness may play a part in raised blood pressure. Mental or physical stress also is going to raise the blood pressure up from your normal level. When the stress stops the blood pressure will drop back to whatever happens to be your normal level.
Medical practitioners have finally realised that going to their clinic to have blood pressure levels taken will in itself raise blood pressure which they now take into account and with the use of a bit of guess work, estimate a likely reading. So it’s going to depend on whether you are in a state of anxiety, and at what level, as to just how accurate the reading is.
If you are inclined towards high blood pressure your best bet would be to buy a blood pressure monitor and keep an eye on it yourself. By doing that any fluctuations may be able to be adjusted by keeping an eye on sugar, salt, stress, overeating, not enough water, and lack of proper exercise.
But remember it’s not just a pill you are taking. It’s a very strong drug and you don’t know what it’s made from. It’s very similar to the drugs out on the street in that once you start taking it you are hooked from a medical standpoint. It even might make you feel a bit better and it will certainly reduce the risk associated with high blood pressure, but it has a list of possible side effects a mile long. If there is an adverse side effect then you’ll be started on another one to see how that goes. But it doesn’t make sense to be in a bad situation that could quite possibly have been avoided.
Whatever the case you’ll probably be told you are on it for life. And one good reason for that is, because no one seems to have any interest in putting any effort into getting you off it.
So make the effort before you are confronted with the possibility of taking a drug with side effects for the rest of your life. Start by getting off the salt and sugar. Cakes are loaded with sugar which is why they are liked so much. If you have a spoonful of sugar with each of the 6 cups of tea or coffee per day that’s 6 spoons of sugar. Avoid drinks with high amounts of sugar. Salt is in a lot of stuff, all processed foods, sauces, tinned Tuna has high amounts of salt, the gravy and mint sauce on your roast is very high in salt.
The choice you have is to reduce your sugar and salt intake, drink more water and less other liquids like alcohol and coffee, get some appropriate exercise, or face the likelihood of high blood pressure and a life time of taking a drug with side effects.