Yeah bro I was in the same spot when I started lifting. Bench press and curls because I didn't have a clue what else to include, my triceps and chest got huge and it made my shoulders really unstable. I messed both of them up pretty bad playing football all throughout high school. Whenever I would tackle someone it would pull my arm out of the socket a little bit. Eventually I got surgery on my left one and my right is still a bit loose. If you ease into it you should be able to even out that imbalance though. Bent Lateral Raise, Behind the Neck Press, Dumbbell Military Press, and Arnold Presses are all really useful. The key is to start out looking like a little girl with the pink dumbbells until you get really comfortable with the form. I've been there and it kinda sucks for the ego but in the end trust me it's worth it. Joint issues really suck though I feel ya.
goddamn. i'm lucky enough that i haven't needed surgery yet, but my old man had to get surgery on both his shoulders i think, so my time might come up one of these days. i hear behind the neck press is bad for your shoulders. and yeah, it's bent lateral raises that i do to work my posterior deltoids...except extra bent...to the point where your upper body is parallel to the ground. that might be what you're talking about though. fuck dumbbells by the way. i can't balance those things when it comes to bench. can't do arnold presses or military presses cause of my shoulders. you might be right though. maybe if i do the "bent lateral raises" enough i can do the other ones again. but i doubt it. my shoulders have been fucked for like 6 years now. yeah, definitely good to use a lower weight and have good form than use high weight and fuck up. the only exercise i really look like a little girl with is curls. i curl with fucking 25s-30s till i get into it. and even then, i've never been able to get any higher than 35s. my biceps are weak as shit. my triceps shoulders and chest are strong as hell though. when i'm lifting, i beat all the big dudes in arm wrestling which is sweet as hell 'cause they weigh like 100 lbs more than me (no exaggeration). you seem like you really know your shit dude. ever do tear downs? i think some people call them suicides. it's where (you can do it with any exercise really) you stack a bunch of 10 lb and 5 lb plates on both sides of the bench bar and do like 8 or so before you have your 2 spotters drop the weight off the ground while you're just holding the bar in the extended position. you just keep going lower and lower weight till you can't even get the bar off your chest. after like a couple weight drops, you can start doing it to the point of exhaustion before dropping weight, but if you start off doing it till exhaustion, you won't get any mor ethan like 2 or 3 per weight or whatever. it's insane!
shoulder presses=military press machine right? yeah, i can't do those. i mean, i can, but it feels like i'm just making my shoulder problem worse.
Yeah drop sets are killer, we used to do them all the time in P.E. It's a good shock technique for changing things up if your routine has gotten stale. Forced reps (little spot from partner or sacrifice form a tad for the last few), negatives (you control it on the way down, partner helps it up), pyramids (slowly work up to your max then work your way back down), pre-exaust (ex. Chin-ups, you might do a bicep workout before hand so your lats have to do all the work) are all great in moderation. Usually they're not all that beneficial unless the trainee is pretty advanced (close to genetic potential). Anywhere from 45 degrees to parallel to the ground will hit your rear delts well with dumbbell laterals.
Any type of movement that involves your triceps assisting a weight above your head can be considered a shoulder press, I like to stay away from machines, free weights will make you functional, big, stable, and strong. With a barbell you can do a Standing Overhead Press (Military Press), and a standing Behind-the-Neck Press (going only as low as the back of your head will eliminate a lot of problems). You can also do both seated but I think it ceases to be a Military Press at that point. I wish the term Military Press was never invented...
hell yeah. i've done all that. tear downs are my favorite though. i always figured the harder you work, the more strength you build. this isn't true? i know doing hundreds of pushups a day then like 8 sets of bench 3 times a week when i was like 19 got my bench from 200 to 240 in 2 months. the same sort of overdoing it routine got my bench from 140 to 235 in 9 months. i dunno though. i'm thinking this sort of "too much" thing is why my shoulders are fucked in the first place. i do know, however, that if you do tear downs after not lifting in a while, you'll be sore for like 2 weeks. lol did not know that. and as far as behind the head, i dunno dude. a doctor told me never to do them (and he wasn't talking about me specifically). i'm pretty sure it's still (or only?) a military press when you're seated. at least that's what i've always called "seated overhead press" or whatever.
Okay you redeemed yourself... Ping pong is also bad ass, especially watching the Ping pong team on my campus.
I'm fairly athletic. I exercise 1-3 times a week on average. My favorite exercise is swimming. But usually, I settle for 20 mins. of stretching, pull ups and sit ups, and 45 mins. of jogging. In fact, I was hoping to jog tomorrow, but I don't think I will be able to. Also, I walk a lot. I'm talking 3-6 hours long walks.
You know, I've seen you mention a 6-hour walk before and I don't know how you don't get bored. I took a 2-hour walk last week and three times that seems like the biggest drag.
I took an hour jog today... it was hot as hell but it was one of the best jogs I've been on in a long time. I love long walks in the sunshine... especially with a good friend.
I like yoga, biking, horseback riding, soccer, hockey, badminton, volleyball, and swimming. Hahaha. As if I do any of those regularly now though. *sigh*
I explore different city blocks and industrial areas. Then, eventually I get in the zone. You know, to use sports terminology. Like a runner's high. When I get around 4 hours, it becomes more of a challenge I give myself. I'm nearly passing out by then, but I have to continue.
Nah! I just trust my fate to the streets, that's all. And- indeed- one night I was walking out late around 3am and got mugged punched repeated times by two dudes. Another time I had a shiny, silver-plated 38 in my stomach. No problem. But I still get scared, of course.