shoulder problems benching

[Dyou]

i just came off a serious knee injury and havent been able to lift for 3 months now and suffered muscular atrophy going from 180 to 160. about a month ago i got to the point where i could do some weight lifting so i started light. but now every time i bench i feel like im straining my left shoulder a lot and its got to the point that i had to skip last weeks chest and shoulder workout. i have always felt i had strong form, and i stretch and warm up before every lift. i have been working on my shoulders as much as my chest and i have only slightly went up in weight on bench so i have no idea where the problem lies. anyone else have similar problems?

[waynaferd]

Once I got heavier on bench I would get aches in the shoulders, but using a narrow grip on the BB helped a lot, and keep your elbows close to your body.

DB presses seem to cause no discomfort for me whatsoever, so maybe switch to those for awhile.

[Dyou]

i have tried diff methods of benching but it still bothers me i think im sticking to db presses for a while even tho i dont want to

[Dyou]

never mind, just tried pinching my shoulders at the bottom of the rep and completely eliminated my shoulder pain and gave my chest a hell of a pump thanks for the reply tho

[Flaw]

I doubt you've solved your problem just by pinching your shoulders. It most likely will come back. Try doing dumbell presses or barbell benching off the floor. This reduces your range of motion and strain on the shoulders. Bench press is one of the worst exercises for strain on the shoulders.

[Dyou]

I doubt you've solved your problem just by pinching your shoulders. It most likely will come back. Try doing dumbell presses or barbell benching off the floor. This reduces your range of motion and strain on the shoulders. Bench press is one of the worst exercises for strain on the shoulders.

i never fully go down. and if it doesnt hurt now then i have no problem, just gotta work my shoulder strength more.

Once I got heavier on bench I would get aches in the shoulders, but using a narrow grip on the BB helped a lot, and keep your elbows close to your body.

DB presses seem to cause no discomfort for me whatsoever, so maybe switch to those for awhile.

when i do narrow grip or keep my elbows in im using more of my tris and hardly any of my chest, that seems to be the real problem i just cant isolate my chest to do most of the work and i dont know why.

[fightbackhxc]

best bet would be to post a video of form. Keep those elbows in.

[Dyou]

best bet would be to post a video of form. Keep those elbows in.

do you get a tricep pump when you keep your elbows in benching? for me i get way more pump in my tris than my pecs

[fightbackhxc]

yes it does involve more tricep strength.

[Dyou]

i would like to simply keep it a chest exercise so im not stressing my tris which i work out two days later. odd that i have never noticed this, and then i go 3 months without working out and it becomes a problem

[fightbackhxc]

Id rather tired my tricpes out on a big compound movement rather than isolation movements. Just my thoughts though. Training your bigger muscle groups usually has a trickle down effect into your smaller muscle groups. They will grow as your larger muscle groups grow. Bench suprisingly is suppose to involve many muscle groups such as shoulders, chest, tris, lats etc.

[Dyou]

ya but that means i would have to work my tris on chest day when i like to work tris and bis on the same day, well **** it i guess ill do it that

[fightbackhxc]

Its always good to be switching it up man. You dont have to permanently switch

[brownstown89]

The best way to bench would be to squeeze your shoulder baldes keep a narrow grip tonch your chest and go. Id also go heavy and not do alot of reps. But if you dont care for a high bench press and are worried about ur tri's being used why do u care for barbell bench ?

and if benching the way it was suggested gives your tris a pump you can train then again later in the week. Its not a big deal

[youngandfree]

never mind, just tried pinching my shoulders at the bottom of the rep and completely eliminated my shoulder pain and gave my chest a hell of a pump thanks for the reply tho

Ding ding ding! Poor form almost always causes shoulder problems. Glad you figured that out. Don't worry about getting some tri work on bench day. Count it as bonus. You don't have to go narrow grip to keep your elbows close. They should form about a 45 degree angle from body, not flared way out to 90 degrees.

[Dyou]

Ding ding ding! Poor form almost always causes shoulder problems. Glad you figured that out. Don't worry about getting some tri work on bench day. Count it as bonus. You don't have to go narrow grip to keep your elbows close. They should form about a 45 degree angle from body, not flared way out to 90 degrees.

ya im just wondering how i have always kept them out to almost 90 degrees and its just now bothering me

[brownstown89]

Dyou- it just depends some ppl have rotator cuffs made off rubber, baseball is a great example of this.. IF you remember the pitcher David Wells of the yankees he said he never trained barely practiced and played like 15+ years and he never had injuries.. He was blessed with some good rotator cuffs. Some ppl arent and they need to work around that. My shoulders started acting up after i got above 225. After maxing 250 i hardly ever go more than 3 x 5... You just need to change your workout around to get the most outta it to overcome your shoulders

[grigs]

i had very bad shoulders pain, when heavy benching with BB, swiched to DB- pain gone..