View Full Version : Flat bb. bench press and shoulder pain...?
Whats causing this? form, weight?...I feel that my form is ok..but IM feeling some pain in Left shoulder (front and side)....How do I fix this..someone w/ knowledge ..help ...
shizz702
07-30-08, 6:57 pm
Shoulder injuries from flat barbell bench press is very common. Don't know what caused it for you, could be form, weight might have been too heavy, who knows? What I do know though is if your shoulder is hurting you, you need to lay off of training it for a bit, and ease back into things once you feel you're ready. Don't train through injury.
Naturally Huge
07-30-08, 7:02 pm
I'm almost certain it's biceps tendonitis, which is quite common with those who bench press a lot. I suffered from it for a while until I started doing broomstick shoulder stretches. Here's a link to how it's done: http://www.intensemuscle.com/94887-post1.html
shizz702
07-30-08, 7:07 pm
I'm almost certain it's biceps tendonitis, which is quite common with those who bench press a lot. I suffered from it for a while until I started doing broomstick shoulder stretches. Here's a link to how it's done: http://www.intensemuscle.com/94887-post1.html
Yea that is a good stretching movement, I do them too from time to time.
THANKS FOR REPLYS. iVE been reading where this is common, but I dont know how to fix it.. I thought It could be overtraining but I only train chest once / week..
only thing i would recommend, is take a week off, then start over with light weight, i mean light weight, and go through perfect form, and do rotator cuff workouts before shoulder and chest days. Stretching is important.
For me, i had a shoulder problem, there was this bump on my collarbone where there is like a point on your shoulder..hmm...okay if you do a most muscular, you can feel a little bump where your collarbone meets your shoulder girdle, something like that. anyways, i hurt it, waited three days, hurt it again, took longer off, trained through the pain, then realized it only hurt when it wasnt warmed up and i tried to lift or do awkward lifts, so i would warmup up my rotator cuffs, then get to work, and there really wasnt pain, only when my form was less than perfect, or the weight was too heavy. Any jerky movements with my shoulder hurt, eventually, my shoulder was healed, so you can take a bunch of time off, or do rotator cuff exercises and work your way back up to heavier weight, or see a doctor, my mom is too tough, she wouldnt let me see a doctor, so now i have this bump on my shoulder, its smaller than it was before tho. Holy shit im rambling, well it is two in the morning.
Matt Dickerson
07-31-08, 3:20 am
I am willing to bet that it is a form issue. You are probably bringing the bar down to nipple level or higher and leaving the elbows wide instead of tucking them in a little as you bring the bar down.Touch the bar a little lower on the chest (an inch or so below the nipples) and tuck your elbows in to about a 45 degree angle and this will probably help take the strain off of your delts if you aren't doing so.
I am willing to bet that it is a form issue. You are probably bringing the bar down to nipple level or higher and leaving the elbows wide instead of tucking them in a little as you bring the bar down.Touch the bar a little lower on the chest (an inch or so below the nipples) and tuck your elbows in to about a 45 degree angle and this will probably help take the strain off of your delts if you aren't doing so.
This is exactly what I've come to find was my problem. It's common because most people feel like they should have their elbows out wide in the attempt to stretch the pecs more at the bottom of the movement. Although it seems to hit the pec a little better for me.. I've come to terms with the fact that flat bench is not an isolation movement for the pecs and to focus my time on fly movements for the best isolation.
Wasteland
07-31-08, 9:01 am
Are you married to the flat bench? Have you considered dumbbell presses? If so, the same issue?
What type of pain is it, exactly?
is the pain muscular or joint related?
if it's muscular then it could be a form/weight issue. there may be another exercise you can do in the meanwhile to let the injury heal. At one point i'd strained my pec clavicular, hurt like hell on inclined presses, so i switched to low-pulley crossovers and it didn't hurt. did that till it healed and now i'm back on the incline bench(also iced the area and got some therapy to speed recovery). also, warming up properly will help prevent future injuries.
if it's a joint issue, however, i'd recommend seeing a chiropractor about it. your shoulder is such an important, yet relatively unstable joint, you don't want to take chances with it.
Bless
Maybe its your grip...try narrowing your grip a bit, so it doesnt put so much focus on the delts. just a suggestion...plus a slightly closer grips really hits my pecs more.
Lewy
It could be the fact the connective tissue does not adapt at the same rate as soft muscle tissue and you've become too strong for you tendons/ligaments. Could try some kettlebell work, plyometrics, and GPP for a while also work on strengthen areas of your shoulders that dont often get work like rear delt work, band pull aparts, rotator cuff work all light but intense.
priority
08-03-08, 1:40 pm
once you start being able to lift heavy weights, the exercise becomes dangerous. With a bar you have to move through a set range, whereas with dumbbells there is some le-way. The barbell bench press (flat inparticular) is one of the worst exercises to do. I personally would never ecommend anyone to do because of this reason. It causes your shoulder to be FIXED ina position that is not biomechanically ideal all the way up and down. At the bottom of the rep you are in such a vulnerable position!
An awful lot people get injured solely because of this exercise.
just my opinion but i never perform flat barbell press.
ronald1919
08-03-08, 2:39 pm
It is easy to point the finger at form but most of the time it is not the problem unless you have really astrocious form. R.cuff problems have been bothering me for a while now and I never sacrifice form for more weight. Most BBer suffer from muscle imbalance, this is because most of the upper body move internally rotate the shoulder. You have to do specific work for your external rotator. Also drop the barbell and use DB to work on your stabiliser.
Hola Bola
08-03-08, 3:01 pm
Are you married to the flat bench? Have you considered dumbbell presses? If so, the same issue?
Good post. You can try various stretching techniques, but the easiest way around it is to stop flat bb benching and try some alternatives.
MrMonday
08-03-08, 4:06 pm
I would echo other's suggestions to be more careful about your form. Make sure you aren't flaring out your elbows, rolling the shoulders forward, or using too wide a grip.
I'll also say that I used to experience shoulder pain from bench pressing and I discovered one day that it was directly related to me bouncing the bar off of my chest -- even the slightest bit -- in the bottom of the movement. It simply put too much shearing force on my rotator cuffs, and as soon as I made a conscious effort to pause for a split second with the bar when it touched the chest, my shoulder pain quickly went away.