Tom Venuto's BodybuildingSecrets.com - Shoulder Day – Using Press Behind The Neck Safely

Shoulder Day – Using Press Behind The Neck Safely

Tom Venuto, CSCS, CPT

Sunday, September 4th, 2005. Today’s session started off with press behind the neck on the smith machine. This exercise has very much been labeled taboo in recent years as a potential shoulder / rotator cuff wrecker. I won’t recommend this exercise to others, but for myself, I believe that intelligent and occasional use of the press behind the neck can be safe and beneficial, since I have no preexisting shoulder injuries and always observe a few important precautions.

DELTOIDS/TRAPS

A1 Smith Machine Press behind Neck: 2 warm up sets; Set 1: 115 lbs, 125 lbs, 135 lbs X 6, 6, 6 reps (ascending set); Set 2: 135 lbs, 115 lbs, 95 lbs X 6, 7, 12 reps (descending set); Set 3: 115 lbs X 3 full reps, 5 sec hold at ¼, 3 full reps, 5 sec hold at ½, 3 full reps, 5 sec hold at ¾, 3 full reps
A2 Standing Dumbbell Lateral raises: 3 sets X 35 lbs X 12 reps, last set drop to 35 lbs for 10 more reps; No rest between supersetted exercises A1 & A2, 2 min rest between supersets
B1 Dumbbell Shrug: 3 sets X 110 lbs X 12, 12, 12 reps
B2 upright rows: 3 sets X 95 lbs X 12, 12, 10 reps; No rest between supersetted exercises B1 & B2. 2 min rest between supersets
C1 Rear Delt Machine palms down (Icarian): 3 sets X 140 lbs X 12, pause 5 sec, then 8 reps right arm, 8 reps left arm

TRICEPS

A1 Tricep Pushdowns: 2 warm up sets; Set 1: 100 lbs X 15 reps; Set 2: 110 lbs X 12 reps; Set 3: 120 lbs X 9 reps; Set 4: 130 lbs X 7 reps, drop to 80 lbs X 10 more reps
B1 Rope Pushdown: 3 sets X 120 lbs X 12 reps
B2 Reverse Tricep Dips on Cybex assisted dip-chin machine: 1 set X full stack X 12 reps; No rest between supersetted exercises B1 & B2. One min rest between supersets
C1 Pushdown with wide parallel grip lat bar: 1 set X 110 lbs X 15 reps
C2 Reverse Tricep Dips on Cybex assisted dip-chin machine: 1 set X full stack X 12 reps; No rest between supersetted exercises C1 & C2. One min rest between supersets
D1 One arm reverse grip pushdown: 1 set X 50 lbs X 12 reps
D2 Reverse Tricep Dips on Cybex assisted dip-chin machine: 1 set X full stack X 12 reps; No rest between supersetted exercises D1 & D2. One min rest between supersets

ABS

A1 hanging Knee ups (from ab slings): 3 sets X bodyweight X 25 reps
B1 Cable crunches: 3 sets X 50 lbs X 20 reps per side
C1 reverse crunches on incline bench: 3 sets X bodyweight X 25 reps

Workout Commentary

When I use the press behind the neck I always observe several precautions: First, I do not use the exercise regularly; it gets rotated with other exercises. Second, I restrict my range of motion to lowering the bar to about ear level, NOT all the way to the back of the neck. Third, I make sure I am thoroughly warmed up. Foruth, I avoid using maximal weights and do not use this as a power movement.

Using these precautions, I find that this allows me yet one more exercise with which I can get more variety in my training rather than banishing it completely or labeling it a “never use” exercise.

After warm ups, I did three sets, each one with a different technique; ascending set, descending set and isometric holds, respectively. Each set of behind neck presses was supersetted into standing side lateral raises.

After the press-lateral combo, the next combo was dumbbell shrugs supersetted with upright rows. This is one of my favorite pre-exhaust supersets, and it hits both the traps and the delts. I used the narrow grip on the upright row today with full range of motion (all the way up under the chin), and this brought the traps into the movement fully. With a small tweak in form (wider grip, not so high of a pull), you can put the brunt of the load on the delts if you choose.

We finished shoulders with the rear delt machine; three sets using the bilateral to unilateral technique on every set (both arms first, then continue one arm at a time)

The tricep workout was very short but intense: 4 sets of tricep pushdowns pyramiding up in weight and down in reps with each set. Then we did a superset combination of three different types of pushdowns supersetted with the Cybex reverse dip on the assisted dip/chin machine.

We wrapped up the workout with abs; and I started doing hanging knee ups again from the ab slings, along with two of my regular staple exercises – cable crunches and incline reverse crunches.

The abs are starting to come in real nicely, but this is mostly from the diet and cardio and the body fat finally dropping way down. Just a little bit further to go. I’m very lean already, but lean isn’t good enough, I have to be ripped. The look I’m after is the “cellophane wrap” skin look, where the skin is so thin it clings to your abdominal muscles like saran wrap and almost looks translucent.” “Saran wrap skin” – that’s my standard… that’s my benchmark. I could simply look in one place on my entire physique – my abs right around my navel - and when the skin there is “clinging” to the muscles underneath, that’s when I KNOW I’m ready.

Posted 04 September, 2005 in Workouts

Comments

Jessica Britt said:

Always safety first. Thanks for pointing that out about press behind the neck. I didn't know that. I like your idea of making "saran wrap skin" your standard.

Posted on Sep 14, 2005 06:42 PM