What has kept me sticking to this channel and Dr. Mike is his invitation to *TRY* different grip lengths, styles, ROMs, etc etc, and what _works for YOU_ ... as opposed to other people who tell you there's only *ONE* way to do exercises. That style of coaching sets people up to fail sometimes.
Yes, I hate it when someone calls themselves "science-based" and then starts promoting a single way of doing things as "optimal" for absolutely everyone.
Thanks so much man! Yeah, it's super trippy when people say THIS IS THE BEST EXERCISE PERIOD. In most cases I'm like "oh ok, you're out of the loop, got it." - Dr. Mike
The thing I've found about the upright row is that the versions of it that don't work usually feel really really bad. That's probably why people continue to say they're dangerous, when I'm doing a version that doesn't fit my body it really does feel like I'm gonna get shoulder cancer at times. But if you can get that Goldilocks combo of implement, grip width, etc. it works really well. For me I have to use dumbbells
Upright rows are good if you lean forward like how you do on a Lateral raise just do it light with 2-3 second pause on the top for a couple reps and when you can't perform any for extra blood in those delts grab your towel and put in position of an Upright row hold it to the top for 30 seconds all the way to 2 minutes it will leave them fried you'll be crying at the end of your shoulder workout it's a finisher. I suggest doing it at the end of your shoulder workout.
I do upright rows with an ultra narrow grip myself (one handwidth inside the smooth portion of the bar like Mike showed), slightly leaned forward and row up to the bottom of my chin. They light my side delts up far better than overhead press pain-free and I love them.
I came back to this video to say: in all my years of training, I barely did this movement because it always felt awkward to me, even when I gave it a couple of weeks to adjust. But I just tried Dr. Mike's reccomendation to lean forward slightly (I don't know why I never thought of doing this) while doing them, and I feel so much more comfort and delt engagement. Thanks, Dr. Mike!
Gotta love this guy very humorous and humbling watching him . Learning so many way of training methods. Loved his comments on ego lifting, were not here to ego lift at the gym were here to lift and build muscle
Please more on overhead extentions! I is really hard for me to get a good tricep stimulus with any tricep excercise, even though I'm doing most things right (controling the weight, going (close to) faillure with good technique) but never seem to really hit them as hard as other muscle groups.
Short answer: squeeze and stretch. Both are great for further growth. You get the best squeeze with kickbacks or pushdowns, but you need to step away from the pulley-system a step or two for the pushdowns. Squeeze the tris at maximum contraction until you feel them burn! Going into a stretch is vital but really hard with the tris. Overhead extensions are afaik the best tri exercises for that. If you never do them, definitely try them! Some studies have shown them to be superior to many other triceps exercises for that reason.
Skullcrushers with an ez bar and suicide/monkey grip, behind the head full ROM always did it for me. To achieve this, you need to raise your shoulders to a slight angle (relative to you when lying down) so your elbows are somewhere in line with your face. Otherwise tucked in and fixed in the plane sideways to you. Great stretch in the bottom and pretty much always tension on your tricpes through the entire set as the top position isn't "locked out" as when benched because of the angle.
Upright rows for the win! I started incorporating this exercise and after a year and a half the pain in my shoulder went away (to be precise, I didn't stop doing other shoulder work so not sure if we can attribute the lack of pain only to upright rows, but I somehow feel it helped out the most)
I started doing upright rows after watching your videos on it and I’ve to say that I really love doing them and my shoulders are more happy than ever. I used to avoid them because there was and still is a lot of outdated information that surrounds them that say that they’re not so good for shoulders health. I’ve come to the conclusion that they’re completely safe and healthy for the shoulders after watching your videos and from my own experience with them. Most of the negative effects from them are just nocebo. For few individuals they can be not ideal but that applies to any movement. I just want to say thank you to you for making me realize this and not be afraid of any movement as the human body is resilient and adaptable to a lot of different kinds of stress as long as there’s proper load and fatigue management. 💪👍🙏
Sumo deadlifts for glutes would be great 🤓 Mike and Jared have discussed the deficit sumo deadlifts in the past and how they are great for glutes if done right
You retract to minimalize shoulder activation during chest exercises since your body naturally wants to push everything you have further, rounding your shoulders. Notice me saying "minimalize" since shoulder activation is part of chest exercises, however, to use chest more it is much better - also to prevent shoulder injury, to retract your scapula.
So big upright row fan, and big RP/dr Mike fan - I saw the part about the super high ROM and was like lol wtffff. But tried it out (at a very reduced weight to what I usually do, given dr. Mike uses 45 for working sets) and damn. THIS is how upright rows are supposed to feel. Delts have been pumped all night. Definitely worked for me, so thank you!
I really like standing overhead tricep extensions with a barbell, specifically with deep stretch I get on my triceps when I go deep behind the neck. It's probably not for everyone, but it would be cool to see a video and your thoughts on it.
Love to see barbell based substitutions for leg press, hack squat, and pendulum squat! (Doesn’t have to be straight bar, I’d be happy enough to see guidance on using and ssb or some other specialty bar)
there really isn't any good substitutions though. Anything where you use a barbell for legs will tax the lower back heavily too it's just going to happen no matter what. Machines like hack squats, leg press etc take out the lower back and focus way more on the legs. I personally find SSB squats to be amazing and so much better than normal barbell squats due to not having to reach behind, having handles in front and a nice padding. Defo takes some pressure off the lower back and puts more on legs but overall, there is no substitution for them machines you mentioned.
I always do upright rows with cables cause the rope implement allows me to hold it with a neutral grip and pulling that way makes all the difference in my wrists and shoulders. Doing em that way has made me be able to go a lot a harder on upright rows.
Me too, got a busted shoulder and the rope attachment gives me the ability to avoid the dreaded internal rotation, I also do them bent over and brings the rear delts and traps into the equation. I am with Dr Mike though, don't think even trad upright row is any more likely to cause shoulder injury than most exercises, my left shoulder is wrecked from boxing in my youth (missed a jab and tore my rotator cuff) but even then get no discomfort, in fact I would say horizontal pressing (bench press in particular)is way more difficult for me to avoid pain and really need to warm up my shoulders first which I often do with upright rows before bench.
Good advice Dr. Mike! I dropped upright rows from my routine due to shoulder injury concerns, but after watching this vid. I learned I need to try some grip variations. Well done!
I love this exercise !! I like how you can vary the impact to , shoulder ( front , side , rear) and the traps even upper chest , and forearms . I use a 14 inch curl bar and switch to rope ,all on the cable machine. The low weight ( 40 lbs) with 4-5 sets of 20 will make every vein near your shoulders POP out of your body. It is my finish exercise on arm, back and shoulder days. Long live the shoulder bolder . Thanks for your vids!
Yesterday evening, I tried upright rows with a more narrow grip (and reduced weight) and I experienced the first delt pump in my life! Thank you Dr Mike for helping me lose my delt pump virginity!
Hi Mike! I personally have had a struggle with my triceps, especially the long head, I've tried doing overhead which I've heard works them best there but to no avail. It would be much appreciated if you can make a video on targeting the various heads of the triceps. Thank you!! Love the series so far, can't wait to see more!!
I feel like the dumbell pullover is a great old-school exercise that still needs more attention since it is getting more forgotten and is kinda hard to start doing.
I was just about to comment, talking about the pullover. I've rotated it into my program starting this week, and I was a tad afraid of hurting my shoulders with it since I've heard it can happen, so I focused on controlling the weight. I've never felt more mind-muscle connection on any other lift for lats than with these babies, and the weighted stretch is top-tier. DEFINITELY an underrated lift. I wouldn't even call it hard to start doing, just warm up with lighter weights as much as you need to, because at least for me, I could tell immediately when I didn't have proper position or form by how my shoulders felt. Once all the tension is in your lats and there's none in your shoulders while in the stretched position, you got it.
So many trainers these days advise against the Upright Row but I've always LOVED this excercise. I have always used Upright Rows but with that kinda fear lurking in the back of my mind that any second I'm gonna end up injuring myself. I'm so glad that you are saying that it's still a great and safe excercise (as long as form is decent, like any excercise)
@@TheSandkastenverbot nah I go easy, I gotta as I'm 48 now and things don't heal like they used to haha! I take most things fairly slow and ensuring the best possible form at all times. It's all about quality over weight, taking it slow and truly feeling each rep. There's no cheat reps in any excercise nowadays as I've discovered that leads to muscle strains n sprains.
Great series! I'd love to see some discussion about DB shoulder presses, particularly about hand/elbow position. I like these but tend to get shoulder impingement pain later unless I keep my hands and elbows pretty far in front.
Incredible content. Well thought out and informative, straight to the point, easy to understand. Thank you! Something that has also helped me on shoulder days is doing a few sets of just "hangs" as a warm up. Really makes the difference in ROM!
Great video on a much misused and abused excercise. Pull to eye level and a slow descent works perfectly for me. Very little weight is required when this movement is done correctly.
Very interesting. I'm seeing flashbacks of facepulls if you're slightly leaned over and rowing pretty high. It's gotta work your external rotation a ton, no wonder light weight is recommended. I'm gonna have to experiment a bit. 💪
Mike, great tips... ive been doing this type of upright row, mainly for my front delts... taking into consideration of your side delt video that raising arns past the shoulder only promotes further growth... im finally seeing gains in my shoulders m
Never cared much for the barbell upright row, but I'm so glad I tried the cable row upright row variation instead. I'm able to load my lateral delts with 80+ lbs safely and comfortably. It's been a staple of my training for years.
Upright rows are great. I would also add to all this great info is start light and really get the feel of them, especially if you have had any shoulder injuries. I used to think they should be avoided but I was wrong. I just needed to go light and really feel my way into the movement, build that connection to the right muscles.
It would be great to see a video on the Olympic style bosu ball sumo Jefferson squat, I can never seem to build that mind muscle connection with the L2-L3 discs and only feel it in my rectimus dorsimus
THANK YOU SO MUCH SIR!!! THIS SERIES HAVE TRANSFORMED MY LIFTING LIFE. PUMP, MUSCLE DISRUPTION, MMC I AM HITTING EVERYTHING ON POINT!!! DR MIKE U R THE BEST!!!
These look good. Your elbow doesnt really go above shoulder height, which is what i mostly see. Personaly i feel discomfort in my shoulders doing it that way, so i will try these soon
Great video, brother🫵😎. Did the cut weight, reduce reps and increase eccentric lowering time myself recently. Much better with less than half the rep volume. If you’re swinging the weight up you can’t lower it under control. If you are ankle extending your doing the movement for power not muscle development. Nothing wrong with that unless your goal does not match your how your performing the exercise. This goes for any exercise where the muscle is no longer able to lift or lower the weight under its own ability. There is a place for momentum in a lift as long as it is understood when, how much and for a specific goal.
Dumbell tricep extensions - both bench and standing. I cannot feel a pump/connection with DBs, where pull downs are better. I am curious about ROM, orientation/grip, angle of arms/distance between elbows during movement, etc. I can do multiple sets of variations, but do not feel any pump/targeted muscle fire/no soreness the next day. Just exhaustion to failure.
I almost can’t do enough Cable push downs to destroy my triceps but after watching your skull crusher videos I’m practically crippled after 2 MyoRep match sets (4 working sets) 💪💪
Impingement is tendinous inflammation. Load management is the answer. Slow eccentrics and more reps so you can get good stimulus out of lighter weight.
I've found that keeping the arms in the scapular plane (when possible) and balancing training (between posterior, anterior, and lateral shoulder muscles) fixed the impingement issues I experienced at the start of my training. An overemphasis on pushing vs pulling is a common mistake. Also, do dead hangs between sets, as well as scapular pull ups.
Love your content Dr. Mike! Always informative, engaging, and humorous 🎯 Would love to see a video on how to correctly perform a reverse fly to target the posterior delts 🫡
@@codybolo7803 having your upper back lying on a bench (the bench is perpendicular to your body) then kinda doing a skullcrusher behind your head but letting your lats stretch instead of just bending your elbows, so you move at your shoulders instead. You can maybe search it on yt if my explanation wasn't good enough
@@SM-cq1mm lmao just found a 15 second rpe video on this exactly. I tried doing these once for my chest back when i started lifting (because everybody that does this movement says its for chest, or at least thats what people at the gym i started at were doing) and it felt awful in any way possible so i never even thought about it before now
@@codybolo7803 my friend said the same, it's for the chest back when we first started, but I always felt it on my lats, never gave it a go tho, so maybe I should for my lats
I used to love upright rows. But then at some point my shoulder blades started to sound like a bunch of cracking noises on the way up. My shoulder joint doesn't hurt, it's just the shoulder blades grinding. I can feel it and hear it. No reason why. It just started out of nowhere after I hadn't worked out for awhile several years ago.
I feel you bro. Just had the worst pop and grind (no pain) in my right shoulder doing seated ohp for the first time ever. Freaked me the hell out. Im thinking of skipping that in favor of up right rows for mid delts / traps. Used to subscribe to "cant have small delts if you press heavy overhead" but now id rather not have my arm fall off until i have a ceiling high enough to try standing
Don’t need it. I use a seated bent arm lateral raise machine at my gym. All side delt, no shoulder impingement, no tricep fatigue. And yeah, I started doing a 3-second eccentric and the burn is intense and my delts grew big time. It’s my favorite, more than a barbell upright row, dumbbell lateral raise, or cable lateral raise.
Upright rows took me months to get even slightly right when I started working out. I have a bad habit of shrugging up my shoulders during exercises though it has gotten MUCH better since I started working out and I don't do it nearly as much anymore. Heck before working out, and at the start of it, I could be standing at my kitchen sink washing my hands, or sitting in my desk chair watching TV, and find my shoulders shrugged way up. Cripes like I was tensed like a spring or something. Anyway I really have to focus on moving the weight with my shoulders instead of just raising the bar (same with lateral raises). I haven't done upright rows in quite a while but will keep your tips in mind when I do again.
Could you do a video on dumbbell flies? Whether I retract my scapula or leave it as is, straight arm or vent arm, full ROM or partial ROM, I feel it all in my anterior delt. Much appreciated!
I do Olympic Weightlifting and so we do a bunch of upright rows at the gym, seeing as the movement is crucial to the sport. I had no idea it was controversial and the grip we use is pretty closed, hands on the inner smooth sections of the barbell. It reaaally hits your traps like that.
Dr.Mike! Dr.Mike! I am what the scientific literature would describe as a "skinny-ninny noodle arm boi." Could you do a technique video on bicep curls, standing or otherwise? My sinews would thank you greatly!
My issue with this move is that I keep overusing my traps. No matter what technic I use and try to focus on my side delts. I guess I need to train more. Btw doc, you are hilarious. Love watching your content.
I used to do these regularly when I first began lifting but kinda fell off with them. Later down the road, I heard folks say they're bad for your shoulders, internally. Their rationale sounded reasonable (i.e. impingement risk), so I just opted for caution over valor. That said, I haven't done them in a while... maybe I'll revisit them. They always felt productive for me and I don't recall any pain afterwards. My concern nowadays is one of my shoulders often feels like if you slide a rubber band over something and it flips/pops. It doesn't have any specific pain sensation with it, it just weirds me out and has me wonder if my form is rubbing something the wrong way. I usually feel it during side lateral raises.
Many years ago I crushed my shoulder doing this exercise (close grip)... I'm a little surprised upright row is recommended here as we get so many warning about this exercise....
I've been building up my Upright Row recently. I keep in the 12-15 range and pause at the top of every rep to make sure it's a weight I can control and not just toss around
Dr Mike, I've been seeing a lot of anecdotal claims lately of more of a powerbuilding approach causing more muscle gains for guys than when they've undergone purely bodybuilding style training (high reps, burn, pump focus), whereas research you've reported as of late suggests virtually equal muscle growth independent of rep range, so long as subjects train sufficiently close to failure. I would love to hear your thoughts on this. Perhaps a future video topic?
can you do a video on what warmups and/ or exercises professional bodybuilders like yourself do to avoid shoulder injuries since it's a such a common problem among people who lift
I’ve been doing these completely wrong. I’ve been bringing them directly upwards, instead of like Mike they are further out from the body like a front raise.
Any of the shoulder cuff muscles: Supraspinatus, Infraspiantus, Teres Minor, Subscapularis. I think not enough attention is given to these very important support muscles, particularly with how much they can help improve big lifts with increased stability when trained properly.
What has kept me sticking to this channel and Dr. Mike is his invitation to *TRY* different grip lengths, styles, ROMs, etc etc, and what _works for YOU_ ... as opposed to other people who tell you there's only *ONE* way to do exercises. That style of coaching sets people up to fail sometimes.
Yes, I hate it when someone calls themselves "science-based" and then starts promoting a single way of doing things as "optimal" for absolutely everyone.
wow maybe you should blow dr mike to thank him?
SAME
Thanks so much man! Yeah, it's super trippy when people say THIS IS THE BEST EXERCISE PERIOD. In most cases I'm like "oh ok, you're out of the loop, got it." - Dr. Mike
I was going to comment the same thing
I hurt my shoulder last year, and not only did Upright Rows *pain free* , they actively made my shoulders feel *better*
What rep range do you recommend for them, king?
@@mianashhad9802 I like sets of 12-20
Sensei
can you do a follow up video to this video ? i wanna get jacked and stacked side delts
@@BaldOmniMan upright row content would be greatly appreciated, Chad.
Clicked on this video fully expect a BOM top comment about upright rows being based
I’d like to see a chest supported row video, thanks Dr Mike
hiii bald omni man
@@sam-yd1qy The glazing is crazy
@@allaroundtheworld7381ok
@@allaroundtheworld7381 he just said hi 😭
The thing I've found about the upright row is that the versions of it that don't work usually feel really really bad. That's probably why people continue to say they're dangerous, when I'm doing a version that doesn't fit my body it really does feel like I'm gonna get shoulder cancer at times. But if you can get that Goldilocks combo of implement, grip width, etc. it works really well. For me I have to use dumbbells
agreed. I couldn't figure them out with an ez bar or a barbell, but a double rope attachment on a cable machine feels great for my shoulders.
Upright rows are good if you lean forward like how you do on a Lateral raise just do it light with 2-3 second pause on the top for a couple reps and when you can't perform any for extra blood in those delts grab your towel and put in position of an Upright row hold it to the top for 30 seconds all the way to 2 minutes it will leave them fried you'll be crying at the end of your shoulder workout it's a finisher. I suggest doing it at the end of your shoulder workout.
I do upright rows with an ultra narrow grip myself (one handwidth inside the smooth portion of the bar like Mike showed), slightly leaned forward and row up to the bottom of my chin. They light my side delts up far better than overhead press pain-free and I love them.
I came back to this video to say: in all my years of training, I barely did this movement because it always felt awkward to me, even when I gave it a couple of weeks to adjust. But I just tried Dr. Mike's reccomendation to lean forward slightly (I don't know why I never thought of doing this) while doing them, and I feel so much more comfort and delt engagement. Thanks, Dr. Mike!
Gotta love this guy very humorous and humbling watching him . Learning so many way of training methods. Loved his comments on ego lifting, were not here to ego lift at the gym were here to lift and build muscle
Please more on overhead extentions! I is really hard for me to get a good tricep stimulus with any tricep excercise, even though I'm doing most things right (controling the weight, going (close to) faillure with good technique) but never seem to really hit them as hard as other muscle groups.
Short answer: squeeze and stretch. Both are great for further growth.
You get the best squeeze with kickbacks or pushdowns, but you need to step away from the pulley-system a step or two for the pushdowns. Squeeze the tris at maximum contraction until you feel them burn!
Going into a stretch is vital but really hard with the tris. Overhead extensions are afaik the best tri exercises for that. If you never do them, definitely try them! Some studies have shown them to be superior to many other triceps exercises for that reason.
Skullcrushers with an ez bar and suicide/monkey grip, behind the head full ROM always did it for me. To achieve this, you need to raise your shoulders to a slight angle (relative to you when lying down) so your elbows are somewhere in line with your face. Otherwise tucked in and fixed in the plane sideways to you. Great stretch in the bottom and pretty much always tension on your tricpes through the entire set as the top position isn't "locked out" as when benched because of the angle.
Try higher reps first for a few months to build that connection, Cliff Wilson talks more about this
Upright rows for the win! I started incorporating this exercise and after a year and a half the pain in my shoulder went away (to be precise, I didn't stop doing other shoulder work so not sure if we can attribute the lack of pain only to upright rows, but I somehow feel it helped out the most)
Great mechanical dropset: lateral raise > upright row > shoulder press
Thanks!
I started doing upright rows after watching your videos on it and I’ve to say that I really love doing them and my shoulders are more happy than ever. I used to avoid them because there was and still is a lot of outdated information that surrounds them that say that they’re not so good for shoulders health. I’ve come to the conclusion that they’re completely safe and healthy for the shoulders after watching your videos and from my own experience with them. Most of the negative effects from them are just nocebo. For few individuals they can be not ideal but that applies to any movement. I just want to say thank you to you for making me realize this and not be afraid of any movement as the human body is resilient and adaptable to a lot of different kinds of stress as long as there’s proper load and fatigue management. 💪👍🙏
Sumo deadlifts for glutes would be great 🤓 Mike and Jared have discussed the deficit sumo deadlifts in the past and how they are great for glutes if done right
may as well do ukranian deadlifts at that point for an extreme deficit
Pls do sumo
I have loved upright rows for decades but, your variations have taken my workouts to new levels!
Video suggestion: To retract or not to retract the scapulas during chest exercises …or the benefits/drawbacks of each.
You retract to minimalize shoulder activation during chest exercises since your body naturally wants to push everything you have further, rounding your shoulders. Notice me saying "minimalize" since shoulder activation is part of chest exercises, however, to use chest more it is much better - also to prevent shoulder injury, to retract your scapula.
he mentioned the in the chest press video, you should ALWAYS RETRACT
EZ curl bar for me
No because that question doesn't exist for people that know what they're talking about You always retract unless you want injury
So big upright row fan, and big RP/dr Mike fan - I saw the part about the super high ROM and was like lol wtffff. But tried it out (at a very reduced weight to what I usually do, given dr. Mike uses 45 for working sets) and damn. THIS is how upright rows are supposed to feel. Delts have been pumped all night. Definitely worked for me, so thank you!
I really like standing overhead tricep extensions with a barbell, specifically with deep stretch I get on my triceps when I go deep behind the neck. It's probably not for everyone, but it would be cool to see a video and your thoughts on it.
Recorded it, will be posted in the next few months! - Dr. Mike
Love to see barbell based substitutions for leg press, hack squat, and pendulum squat! (Doesn’t have to be straight bar, I’d be happy enough to see guidance on using and ssb or some other specialty bar)
Yeah good idea
there really isn't any good substitutions though. Anything where you use a barbell for legs will tax the lower back heavily too it's just going to happen no matter what. Machines like hack squats, leg press etc take out the lower back and focus way more on the legs. I personally find SSB squats to be amazing and so much better than normal barbell squats due to not having to reach behind, having handles in front and a nice padding. Defo takes some pressure off the lower back and puts more on legs but overall, there is no substitution for them machines you mentioned.
So like.. a squat?
Landmine BB Hack Squat (maybe paused If the weight gets to heavy to Put the bb on your shoulder...or one Leg but this gets quite Tricky)
I always do upright rows with cables cause the rope implement allows me to hold it with a neutral grip and pulling that way makes all the difference in my wrists and shoulders. Doing em that way has made me be able to go a lot a harder on upright rows.
Me too, got a busted shoulder and the rope attachment gives me the ability to avoid the dreaded internal rotation, I also do them bent over and brings the rear delts and traps into the equation. I am with Dr Mike though, don't think even trad upright row is any more likely to cause shoulder injury than most exercises, my left shoulder is wrecked from boxing in my youth (missed a jab and tore my rotator cuff) but even then get no discomfort, in fact I would say horizontal pressing (bench press in particular)is way more difficult for me to avoid pain and really need to warm up my shoulders first which I often do with upright rows before bench.
Thanks for the great content, keep it coming! Would love to see Lat prayer targeting lats obviously and RDL targeting hamstrings covered
Would be great to have a library of how to do the exercises in proper form. Love this channel. You can trust the knowledge is spot on.
I would love to see a calf raise video. The differences between machine, leg press, and standing calf raises, etc.
Good advice Dr. Mike! I dropped upright rows from my routine due to shoulder injury concerns, but after watching this vid. I learned I need to try some grip variations. Well done!
Great exercise that works the traps, delts, biceps, and even the forearms/grip. I like a closer grip and pull the bar to the chin
I love this exercise !! I like how you can vary the impact to , shoulder ( front , side , rear) and the traps even upper chest , and forearms .
I use a 14 inch curl bar and switch to rope ,all on the cable machine. The low weight ( 40 lbs) with 4-5 sets of 20 will make every vein near your shoulders POP out of your body. It is my finish exercise on arm, back and shoulder days. Long live the shoulder bolder .
Thanks for your vids!
Yesterday evening, I tried upright rows with a more narrow grip (and reduced weight) and I experienced the first delt pump in my life! Thank you Dr Mike for helping me lose my delt pump virginity!
This made me realise I have never tried to vary my grip, and I'm currently doing a very narrow grip, gonna try a wider grip soon
He also suggested trying wide grip for shrugs. I started doing them and loving it!
I hope it goes well! - Dr. Mike
Proper form dropped my reps real quick 😅.
Hi Mike! I personally have had a struggle with my triceps, especially the long head, I've tried doing overhead which I've heard works them best there but to no avail. It would be much appreciated if you can make a video on targeting the various heads of the triceps. Thank you!! Love the series so far, can't wait to see more!!
I feel like the dumbell pullover is a great old-school exercise that still needs more attention since it is getting more forgotten and is kinda hard to start doing.
I was just about to comment, talking about the pullover. I've rotated it into my program starting this week, and I was a tad afraid of hurting my shoulders with it since I've heard it can happen, so I focused on controlling the weight. I've never felt more mind-muscle connection on any other lift for lats than with these babies, and the weighted stretch is top-tier. DEFINITELY an underrated lift. I wouldn't even call it hard to start doing, just warm up with lighter weights as much as you need to, because at least for me, I could tell immediately when I didn't have proper position or form by how my shoulders felt. Once all the tension is in your lats and there's none in your shoulders while in the stretched position, you got it.
@@TelvanniWizardMoneyGang I completely agree they are so fucking nice
Thanks for this tips
I might end up throwing upright rows into my next meso.. great video Dr. Mike & RP Team!
So many trainers these days advise against the Upright Row but I've always LOVED this excercise. I have always used Upright Rows but with that kinda fear lurking in the back of my mind that any second I'm gonna end up injuring myself. I'm so glad that you are saying that it's still a great and safe excercise (as long as form is decent, like any excercise)
At least don't use high loads for your shoulders sake!
They watched 1 Athlean X video thats why
@@TheSandkastenverbot nah I go easy, I gotta as I'm 48 now and things don't heal like they used to haha! I take most things fairly slow and ensuring the best possible form at all times. It's all about quality over weight, taking it slow and truly feeling each rep. There's no cheat reps in any excercise nowadays as I've discovered that leads to muscle strains n sprains.
Lower Lats Dr Mike. By far the hardest muscle for me to feel being targeted.
Great series! I'd love to see some discussion about DB shoulder presses, particularly about hand/elbow position. I like these but tend to get shoulder impingement pain later unless I keep my hands and elbows pretty far in front.
Incredible content. Well thought out and informative, straight to the point, easy to understand. Thank you!
Something that has also helped me on shoulder days is doing a few sets of just "hangs" as a warm up. Really makes the difference in ROM!
Great video on a much misused and abused excercise. Pull to eye level and a slow descent works perfectly for me. Very little weight is required when this movement is done correctly.
Very interesting. I'm seeing flashbacks of facepulls if you're slightly leaned over and rowing pretty high. It's gotta work your external rotation a ton, no wonder light weight is recommended. I'm gonna have to experiment a bit. 💪
Mike, great tips... ive been doing this type of upright row, mainly for my front delts... taking into consideration of your side delt video that raising arns past the shoulder only promotes further growth... im finally seeing gains in my shoulders m
I use the cable rope from the bottom for a hybrid facepull/upright row and it's one of the few exercises where I feel my side delts kick in.
Never cared much for the barbell upright row, but I'm so glad I tried the cable row upright row variation instead. I'm able to load my lateral delts with 80+ lbs safely and comfortably. It's been a staple of my training for years.
I’ve been doing your Thor workout last 5 weeks and this exercise has been my least stimulating. Thanks! I am gonna try this
You covered the main points that I was wondering about, I don't have the mobility to raise my elbows as High as some people can.
A video about dips for the pecs would be great!
Upright rows are great. I would also add to all this great info is start light and really get the feel of them, especially if you have had any shoulder injuries. I used to think they should be avoided but I was wrong. I just needed to go light and really feel my way into the movement, build that connection to the right muscles.
Thank you so much Dr. Mike!!! I’ll be trying all of these tips at the gym tonight!
Thnx for this video. I hope you will do another one about the face pull 😊.
It would be great to see a video on the Olympic style bosu ball sumo Jefferson squat, I can never seem to build that mind muscle connection with the L2-L3 discs and only feel it in my rectimus dorsimus
Ultra close grip works for me Just perfect. Damn how it burns and the results are awesome
THANK YOU SO MUCH SIR!!! THIS SERIES HAVE TRANSFORMED MY LIFTING LIFE. PUMP, MUSCLE DISRUPTION, MMC I AM HITTING EVERYTHING ON POINT!!! DR MIKE U R THE BEST!!!
The auto-generated English captions interpreted RP as "Renaissance Fertilization." I'd love to see what _that_ channel is all about.
Great video RP! I'd appreciate a deadlift targeting muscle video please
Stiff leg deadlift and rdls would be great!
These look good. Your elbow doesnt really go above shoulder height, which is what i mostly see. Personaly i feel discomfort in my shoulders doing it that way, so i will try these soon
i really hope you talk about the rear delts in any kind "rowing or flys " cause i really be struggling with them thanks
Wow mike looking fucking JACKED
My request is granted. Thank you to the good Dr. 🙏
Dr Mike I want to see you cover every possible variation of skull crushers.
My favorite thing about Doctor Mike is how he keeps ego out of it and tells people to use light weight when necessary
I would love a “milk is bad for you” myth video, Dr Mike!
Great video, brother🫵😎. Did the cut weight, reduce reps and increase eccentric lowering time myself recently. Much better with less than half the rep volume. If you’re swinging the weight up you can’t lower it under control. If you are ankle extending your doing the movement for power not muscle development. Nothing wrong with that unless your goal does not match your how your performing the exercise. This goes for any exercise where the muscle is no longer able to lift or lower the weight under its own ability. There is a place for momentum in a lift as long as it is understood when, how much and for a specific goal.
Dumbell tricep extensions - both bench and standing. I cannot feel a pump/connection with DBs, where pull downs are better. I am curious about ROM, orientation/grip, angle of arms/distance between elbows during movement, etc. I can do multiple sets of variations, but do not feel any pump/targeted muscle fire/no soreness the next day. Just exhaustion to failure.
I almost can’t do enough Cable push downs to destroy my triceps but after watching your skull crusher videos I’m practically crippled after 2 MyoRep match sets (4 working sets) 💪💪
Shit hurts but that pump though 👀 👀
How do you guard against shoulder impingement when doing high-ROM shoulder exercises? Would love a video on that.
Impingement is tendinous inflammation. Load management is the answer. Slow eccentrics and more reps so you can get good stimulus out of lighter weight.
I've found that keeping the arms in the scapular plane (when possible) and balancing training (between posterior, anterior, and lateral shoulder muscles) fixed the impingement issues I experienced at the start of my training. An overemphasis on pushing vs pulling is a common mistake. Also, do dead hangs between sets, as well as scapular pull ups.
Lats on pullovers and rear delts on facepulls!!!
Thanks Dr Mike this helped my side delt targeting hugely
I noticed when I do the up right rows, on the eccentric, I lockout my elbows and instantly feel a great stretch on the delt.
Love your content Dr. Mike! Always informative, engaging, and humorous 🎯
Would love to see a video on how to correctly perform a reverse fly to target the posterior delts 🫡
can confirm. ego is not for the gym, its for literally everywhere else
not necessarily about a target muscle but was curious about your guys thoughts on DB pullovers
How are you even supposed to do pullovers with dumbbells?
@@codybolo7803 having your upper back lying on a bench (the bench is perpendicular to your body) then kinda doing a skullcrusher behind your head but letting your lats stretch instead of just bending your elbows, so you move at your shoulders instead.
You can maybe search it on yt if my explanation wasn't good enough
@@SM-cq1mm lmao just found a 15 second rpe video on this exactly. I tried doing these once for my chest back when i started lifting (because everybody that does this movement says its for chest, or at least thats what people at the gym i started at were doing) and it felt awful in any way possible so i never even thought about it before now
@@codybolo7803 my friend said the same, it's for the chest back when we first started, but I always felt it on my lats, never gave it a go tho, so maybe I should for my lats
I used to love upright rows. But then at some point my shoulder blades started to sound like a bunch of cracking noises on the way up. My shoulder joint doesn't hurt, it's just the shoulder blades grinding. I can feel it and hear it. No reason why. It just started out of nowhere after I hadn't worked out for awhile several years ago.
I feel you bro. Just had the worst pop and grind (no pain) in my right shoulder doing seated ohp for the first time ever. Freaked me the hell out. Im thinking of skipping that in favor of up right rows for mid delts / traps. Used to subscribe to "cant have small delts if you press heavy overhead" but now id rather not have my arm fall off until i have a ceiling high enough to try standing
This is a huge help. Thank you!
Dumbbell Upright Rows are most comfortable for me. I think it lets my wrists sit in a more comfortable position
Don’t need it. I use a seated bent arm lateral raise machine at my gym. All side delt, no shoulder impingement, no tricep fatigue. And yeah, I started doing a 3-second eccentric and the burn is intense and my delts grew big time. It’s my favorite, more than a barbell upright row, dumbbell lateral raise, or cable lateral raise.
All you need, this guy is a fraud.
i have such a toxic relationship with upright rows thanks dr mike
Curls. Simple, but remarkable variation.
Upright rows took me months to get even slightly right when I started working out. I have a bad habit of shrugging up my shoulders during exercises though it has gotten MUCH better since I started working out and I don't do it nearly as much anymore. Heck before working out, and at the start of it, I could be standing at my kitchen sink washing my hands, or sitting in my desk chair watching TV, and find my shoulders shrugged way up. Cripes like I was tensed like a spring or something.
Anyway I really have to focus on moving the weight with my shoulders instead of just raising the bar (same with lateral raises). I haven't done upright rows in quite a while but will keep your tips in mind when I do again.
Could you do a video on dumbbell flies? Whether I retract my scapula or leave it as is, straight arm or vent arm, full ROM or partial ROM, I feel it all in my anterior delt. Much appreciated!
"Play with different hand positions and see what feels the best" is great advice now that No-Nut-November is over. Thanks Dr. Mike!
I usually do close grip while gripping my personal barbell vertically. This feels the best for me.
MY MAN. - Dr. Mike
These are awesome. I use an EZ Curl bar and do three sets to activate my upper day.
5:36 holy shti that transition had me dying
I do Olympic Weightlifting and so we do a bunch of upright rows at the gym, seeing as the movement is crucial to the sport. I had no idea it was controversial and the grip we use is pretty closed, hands on the inner smooth sections of the barbell. It reaaally hits your traps like that.
Dr.Mike! Dr.Mike! I am what the scientific literature would describe as a "skinny-ninny noodle arm boi." Could you do a technique video on bicep curls, standing or otherwise? My sinews would thank you greatly!
My issue with this move is that I keep overusing my traps. No matter what technic I use and try to focus on my side delts. I guess I need to train more. Btw doc, you are hilarious. Love watching your content.
Never tried upright row until today. Thanks for the amazing pump Dr Mike. Any chance for a Powell Raise video? My fave rear delt exercise
I used to do these regularly when I first began lifting but kinda fell off with them. Later down the road, I heard folks say they're bad for your shoulders, internally. Their rationale sounded reasonable (i.e. impingement risk), so I just opted for caution over valor. That said, I haven't done them in a while... maybe I'll revisit them. They always felt productive for me and I don't recall any pain afterwards.
My concern nowadays is one of my shoulders often feels like if you slide a rubber band over something and it flips/pops. It doesn't have any specific pain sensation with it, it just weirds me out and has me wonder if my form is rubbing something the wrong way. I usually feel it during side lateral raises.
Barbell lunges, any tips you have for staying more stable. Bulgarian split Squats as well
Many years ago I crushed my shoulder doing this exercise (close grip)... I'm a little surprised upright row is recommended here as we get so many warning about this exercise....
Noticed he's not as inverted as the old school way was. Still thought this belonged in iron graveyard.
I've been building up my Upright Row recently. I keep in the 12-15 range and pause at the top of every rep to make sure it's a weight I can control and not just toss around
When your "narrow" grip is still wider than what I've been doing, I think I need to try messing with that first.
Clean high pulls have made my traps huge. Would recommend
Thanks in a million. Great content.
What's up Doc! Can you do a video on the Jefferson deadlift aka Jefferson squat? Also really looking forward to your video on gymnast strength 💪
Dr Mike,
I've been seeing a lot of anecdotal claims lately of more of a powerbuilding approach causing more muscle gains for guys than when they've undergone purely bodybuilding style training (high reps, burn, pump focus), whereas research you've reported as of late suggests virtually equal muscle growth independent of rep range, so long as subjects train sufficiently close to failure. I would love to hear your thoughts on this. Perhaps a future video topic?
Does it make sense to do these with an EZ bar? I’ve done them a few times that way and it alleviated some discomfort for me
can you do a video on what warmups and/ or exercises professional bodybuilders like yourself do to avoid shoulder injuries since it's a such a common problem among people who lift
Here's pretty much all I do to warm up: ruclips.net/video/HDq-68SlPgQ/видео.html - Dr. Mike
I’ve been doing these completely wrong. I’ve been bringing them directly upwards, instead of like Mike they are further out from the body like a front raise.
Any of the shoulder cuff muscles: Supraspinatus, Infraspiantus, Teres Minor, Subscapularis. I think not enough attention is given to these very important support muscles, particularly with how much they can help improve big lifts with increased stability when trained properly.
Would like to see a conventional/Romanian/sumo deadlift explanation vid….differences in each….what each targets more (muscles)….💪🏼