I was always good at shoulder pressing even though it wasn't really part of my program while I was competing. Since I have been following 5/3/1 for the last bunch of years I have desperately tried to find a way to train it. Why? Because that's what the program calls for. The problem, overhead pressing has been causing me shoulder and back issues.
It's this kind of thinking or non-thinking that has caused me issues. Just because a program has a particular lift, you don't have to follow it to the letter. It's a guideline. A jumping-off point to your own program.
Think about it, if you hired a coach, you'd probably be pissed if that coach gave you the same program that he or she gave everyone else. So with 5/3/1 or any other program, it has to be adapted to the trainee using it. Don't be mistaken, this is not permission to completely bastardize a program. Just know each word of it is not gospel.
So what did I end up doing, I decided to swap overhead presses for dips. Interestingly, dips which bother most people don't bother me. I found them hugely beneficial for my bench press when I was competing. This way I have a compound exercise I can base my second 5/3/1 upper body day around.
I am glad to report that after making this switch over three months ago my shoulders and back feel great. Does this mean I can never shoulder press again, no. There was a point during my training where I couldn't do pullups and now that are the staple of my lat and upper back work. Sometimes you have to just take what the body gives you.
