Help !!! I can't lift over 10 lbs for shoulders ?

[buffchic69]

OK Gals what do I do ?

I finally threw out my pretty pink 8 lb. dumbells & got me a barbell & dumbell 160 pound weight set.

I really want to add a lot of muscle & bulk my shoulders so I tried going up to 12 lbs. for the 1st. time to do side lateral lifts. I barely could lift it up.

So I scaled down to 10 lbs. & was able to do 12 reps 3 sets. I know 10 lbs. won't give me the shoulder results I want. What do I do ? ? ?

I have a few more questions. Please answer please :

1) I want to develop chest muscles. I did chest presses & flyes with 30 lb. dumbells & was only able to do 3 sets of 8 reps before I struggled to get out the last rep. Is the the way to go to build muscle ? HEAVY WEIGHT, LOW REPS ?

2) Once you stsrt lifting a heavier weight when do you notice a difference in muscle size ?

3) and finally, I can lift more weight doing my front raises than my side lats. but I was wondering can i do my front raises with a barbell too ?


Thanks everyone !!!

 

[superqt4u2nv]

Try this a warm up set with the 8's say 12 reps then 10's for 10 and 12 for 8 then 15 for 4-6 once you can do 8 reps on your heavy set add more weight to it your next workout.
Q1) Very good you should be struggling on your last few reps.
Q2) Give it time building muscle takes time take some pics of you self once a month and continue to do that slowly you will notice a change. It doesn't happen over night but if you are consistant it does happen.
Q3) If your looking for barebell work with your shoulders why not do upright rows.

 

[velvett]

So I scaled down to 10 lbs. & was able to do 12 reps 3 sets. I know 10 lbs. won't give me the shoulder results I want. What do I do ? ? ?!

You have to start somewhere.

When you get really good with the 10, see if you can do a set with 12 (second set). Personally I think range of motion and close to perfect form to be more important than starting heavy.

 

[dirty~d~]

You should be careful not to start out too heavy or you could end up with a nagging injury. You'll notice results eventually, but like the other ladies said it won't happen overnight. Keeping a log and taking pictures will help you track your progress. Stay motivated. Good luck!

 

[Raina]

I agree with everyone else. As long as you're getting fatigued using the weight you're using (even if it's less than you'd like it to be) you're fine. When it starts getting a little easier either up the reps a bit or up the weight. It's always a great feeling to finally step up a few more pounds.

 

[buffchic69]

Thank you girls.

I will try all the suggestions you all offered.

Are barbell upright rows basically the same as front raises ?

Do they both target that same muscle ???

 

[superqt4u2nv]

Thank you girls.

I will try all the suggestions you all offered.

Are barbell upright rows basically the same as front raises ?

Do they both target that same muscle ???

Edit: side lat raise and upright rows target the lateral deltoid.
Front raise and shoulder press target anterior deltoid.

I am not a big fan of raises they tend to put stress on my rotator which I have hurt a few times well working shoulders.

 

[Sassy69]

First, congrats on tossing the pretty color weights. Time to lose the decorations & break out the steel!

I have to agree w/ super in a big way. To be honest, my max on side laterals and front raise has been 15 lbs. Any more than that really aggravates my shoulders. And something that can happen if you try to push yourself heavier than your body is ready to handle or should have to handle will cause your form to go to crap and muscles other than those that you are intending to work will kick in to help. The result of letting this go on for a long time is that your push / pull muscles get out of balance. At that point you are looking at stuff like tendonitis and strain on your body that you will be visiting a soft tissue specialist to get fixed. Particularly around your rotator cuff - if your shoulder hurts or feels strained, back off on it. That is a really hard part of your body to deal w/ once it gets hurt.

For your question about upright rows - first look at what you can lift with front raises and then look at what you can lift with upright rows. My typical weights - for 3 sets of each: front raises = 15 lbs. upright rows = 50-60 lbs.

You can compare the different muscles worked on this link:
http://www.ballyfitness.com/rapid_results/expert_advice/video_clips/video.asp?49

 

[suk1978]

try dedicating a whole workout to shoulders. i've been doing saturday AM sessions for shoulder for 6 weeks and its worked well. i was also injured when going heavy on shoulder press.
cos i was using free weights then, i used a machine on a lighter setting, which didnt aggravate the injury and gradually built up again. and now im better than before.
but definelty dont play the numbers game with shoulders, its not worth it. try stuff like the cable side raises, i really recommend them for getting the separation between the delt and bicep which makes the shoulder stick out more. and the "pouring a cup of tea" tweaking for front and lateral raises. i'll try and find the website i found really useful for shoulder training techniques and post it later.

 

[Kroliczek]

So I scaled down to 10 lbs. & was able to do 12 reps 3 sets. I know 10 lbs. won't give me the shoulder results I want. What do I do ? ? ?

I don't necessarily agree with this. The key is total muscle exertion. You can get amazing results with 10 lbs. Continue just to push yourself...this should be a lifetime goal (strength and body results). Your results will come with time and LOTS of hard work.