who gets shoulder pain from barbell bench press

[inked1]

I know this is a common complaint amongst bodybuilders. Just wondering how many people here suffer from it, and what your alternatives are( do you get pain from db press?).

Personally I haven't used a barbell for a while cause it kept fucking out my right shoulder. since I have been using dumbells I have been fine.

Is it just technique that causes these injuries or does the barbell cause a grossly different load on the shoulder than db. How do you powerlifters and those that bench real heavy manage to stay free from shoulder injuries?

 

[weasel0803]

i used to get a sharp pain in my left shoulder as well. However it was my technique that sucked. Try to pull the shoulder blades 2gether and keep your feet on the floor. Your chest must stick out and your front delts should be really pulled backwards towards the bench. Helped a lot with stability and focus on the pecs rather than the front delts.

greetz

 

[hornedfrogs07]

The width of your grip is a big cause of shoulder pain. I used to bench with my middle finger on the rings b/c I could move so much more weight than fingers inside the rings, but I got to the point that I couldn't bench 135 because of shoulder pain.

So yes, technique is a big issue there. Also, like weasel said, proper form is a must.

I've never had shoulder pain from dumbells (just the one time I dropped a 90 about halfway up a rep, lol), but I do find that the barbell seems to leave me feeling more toasted than dumbells.

 

[blackbeard]

try bringin the bar down on the lower chest/upper abs...pinning your shoulder blades on the bench..if your bringin the bar to your upper chest/neck your arms are forming a 90 degree angle and putting a lot of pressure on ur delts..tucking the elbows in will eleviate most of this..

 

[weasel0803]

i second all the above posts. Since I narrowed my grip width slightly and bring the bar just to the point where my upper abs end and my pecs start the pain is gone. Shoulderblades 2 gether and keeping your whole back really tight also helped a lot. No more pain since then.

greetz

 

[DADAWG]

these guys have some good points . pretend someone has a finger between your shoulder blades , now draw your blades down and back like your trying to pinch that finger with your back . if you hold that position throughout benching and dont lose that tuck when you follow through with your bench stroke along with bringing the bar to the lower chest/upper abs and keeping the elbows at a 45 degre angle or less instead of flared straight out you should be able to bench with little or no pain unless something inside the shoulder is seriously tweaked . start low and practice the technique , its very easy to try to go back to your old habits when the bar gets heavy .

 

[inked1]

cool, thanks guys!
I am really keen to hit the bb again. I am sure it was my shitty technique that had caused the problem. I'll try bb again next chest workout and see how it goes

 

[inked1]

well I hit chest today and did bb bench press for the first time in fuck knows how long.
I followed the above advice and had no problems at all.
i did 12 x 60
10 x 80
5 x 100
5x 110
5 x 120
I did 2 reps at 130kg before I called it quits. I felt sweet, but didn't want to push it too hard.
Thats my best bench press ever too, I guess all that dumbell training has helped.Thanks for the technique help guys, it has made a huge difference

 

[In-Human]

This is why I no longer Flat Bench, have not done it in 15 years now bad rotators from this exercise, I only Decline and Incline now, I have to always find my hand placing on the bar for each exercise so I can take the pressure off my old injuries...

 

[hornedfrogs07]

This is why I no longer Flat Bench, have not done it in 15 years now bad rotators from this exercise, I only Decline and Incline now, I have to always find my hand placing on the bar for each exercise so I can take the pressure off my old injuries...

yeah, but that's just because you're old.



Inked, dumbells definitely help the BB press a lot, if only because working dumbells forces each side of the body to work equally, while a barbell can allow you to compensate a little.

 

[SuperSize]

I feel shoulder pain when doing the decline. I stay away from decline since i messed up my rotator, because decline puts alot of stress on your delts. I feel fine when doing flat bb, and incline db.