few exercise ideas?
 

ok so i need a few exercises to help me along. 1 specifically front deltoids. 2. grip related. 3. internal stabilizer muscles around neck any ideas?

I am virtually a front delt and grip specialist so I do have a few ideas:

1) Deltoids: If you are still military pressing less than bodyweight I would primarily focus on getting stronger on the seated and standing overhead press. Make sure you do the full range of motion because most of the delt involvement is in the lower portion of the press. Alot of people in my gym cut the ROM short (mouth or chin level) in order to handle more weight.

Bradford presses are good if you really want to step up the volume and train the delts without hitting the triceps. They are well described on the late J.V.Askem's site: http://jva.ontariostrongman.ca/PRESS2.htm

I wouldn't put a lot of effort into plate raises and other isolation work until you are really strong. Take the size gains you get with increasing strength first.

2) Grip. Supporting, crushing and/or pinch? Different exercises are required to train each.

a)Supporting: Thick bar deadlifts are probably best. I use a 2.5" diameter dumbell for one handed deadlifts. My best is 142#, but the real standard to aim for is the weight of the famous British strongman Thomas Inch's challenge dumbell (172#, 2.5" handle). He used to offer a cash prize to anyone that could lift the bell of the ground with one hand; no one was able to during his life time.

The rolling thunder handle is available at Pullum's in the UK. It is a revolving 2.5" handle used in strongman contests. http://www.pullumsports.com/details.html?code=SP008

b)Crushing: Plate loading grip machines or heavyduty grippers. Again Pullum's for Captain of Crush or Heavy Gripshttp://www.pullumsports.com/search.html?keyword=gripper or Robert Baraban http://www.intensefitness.co.uk/RB_grippers.htm

Closing the Captain of Crush #3 gripper earns you a write up in MILO and a free T-shirt. A few women have managed to close the #2 (my PR). Most men who lift can't close the #1 without spoecialized training.

c)Pinching. Plate pinches. Hold to plates together by pinching them between the thumb and fingers of one hand and lift off the floor. If you can manage to do this with two 20kg plates you have a very strong thumb.

Blob lifts are another good exercise. A "blob" is the sawn-off end of an old 100# York hex dumbell weighing ~50#. It takes tremendous finger and thumb strength to lift this off the floor.

Chalk is allowed on all of these grip lifts.

3)Neck. I used to do bridges and use a harness (with weights) when I was a college wrestler, but I don't do anything for my neck now.

Do you still have shoulder problems? If you do, avoid the military presses or any press with a bar, and don't do any "behind the head" presses. Go for seated or standing dumbbell presses.

For grip strength, anything with a "fat bar" works great. Do curls with it, front raises, etc. Also Farmer's Walk- just grab the heaviest dumbbells that you can carry and walk around the gym with them :)

Mel

shoulder is much better now cheers doesn't hurt and i can do behind the head presses without discomfort but my weight is depressingly low! same with bench my bench is now down to about 60kg for 6 reps. can't wait for next semester though really go to town on the upper body

The key is using a bar fat enough that you can't wrap your fingers all the way around it.

Any bar over 2" in diameter works for me.

Slimmingsi,
How about incline presses? They hit your front delts, pecs and triceps, so they should get your bench back on track as well, if you bench "Bodybuilder style" like I do.