bench press: flared or tucked elbows?

[Shawdowfox]

ive been doing the bench press for a month and a half now with no training. just reading up on it and watching videos. Ive been trying to get my upper arms and forearms 90degree angle and flare them out like how my arms are in my avatar.

once i hit the heavier weights (more than 100) ive been experiencing pain INSIDE my shoulders most likely rotator cuffs.

should I try to tuck them in like a powerlifter?
and yes i do plenty of shoulder warmups

[thisforumsuks]

lol, of course you should be tucking, not only is it the proper way to press but you will move more weight, and reduce injury.

[heidt410]

Keep your elbows flared if your goal is to train chest. Just make sure its comfortable and natural ROM.

[thisforumsuks]

Originally Posted by heidt410

Keep your elbows flared if your goal is to train chest. Just make sure its comfortable and natural ROM.

what?

this is wrong on so many levels.

[Mr. Aries]

I keep my arms tucked regardless of whatever evidence anyone can bring to suggest otherwise. The bench press involve a whole lot more than just your chest, and if I wanted to isolate it better, I'd just go and do some crossovers.

[blindside]

Originally Posted by Mr. Aries

I keep my arms tucked regardless of whatever evidence anyone can bring to suggest otherwise. The bench press involve a whole lot more than just your chest, and if I wanted to isolate it better, I'd just go and do some crossovers.

Well said, I wouldn't have it any other way.

[heidt410]

Originally Posted by heidt410

Keep your elbows flared if your goal is to train chest. Just make sure its comfortable and natural ROM.

Originally Posted by thisforumsuks

what?

this is wrong on so many levels.

elbows tucked in puts the weight more on the tris, brah.

[thisforumsuks]

he speaks about training heavy, and according to his sig his goals are numbers, which means hes looking to push more weight, which means his elbows should be IN, brah.

[Davtown]

Flaring your elbows out to 90* is terrible on your shoulders.

Keep your shoulder blades tucked back too.

Originally Posted by heidt410

Keep your elbows flared if your goal is to tear your rotator cuffs into pieces

fixed


he is asking about shoulder problems when benching... making your advice terrible.

As long as you're using full ROM and you keep your shoulder blades tucked back, your chest will be getting plenty of work.

[alexclark]

Tucked. No doubt about it.

[thisforumsuks]

Originally Posted by Davtown

Flaring your elbows out to 90* is terrible on your shoulders.

Keep your shoulder blades tucked back too.



fixed


he is asking about shoulder problems when benching... making your advice terrible.

As long as you're using full ROM and you keep your shoulder blades tucked back, your chest will be getting plenty of work.

thank you, apparently reading between the lines is a concept lost on some.

the OP asked about stress on the shoulder and putting up more numbers, meaning that the adive about elbows out is not what hes looking for.

OP, elbos in, scapulae retracted, ass down, feet down, low back arched. bring the bar to mid-low chest and push it up and back over your head.

[djansen]

Tucked with a narrower grip than most "bodybuilding" standards. There was a great article by Bill Starr on how to bench and save your shoulders, I will see if I can find it. Some bbers say to use flared elbows but they say you have to use light weight. For most people elbows tucked is the best way. even with elbows tucked you can still target the chest with alot of focus by pulling shoulderblades back, inflating ribcage, and having a slight arch in your back with your butt still on the bench.

[unity]

having them flared will work your pecs more but also hit your delts/rc a lot harder, as i am sure you have noticed. tucking them will hit the tris more. i personally like to go somewhere inbetween.

btw, if your RC hurts, i recommend cutting out bench press and all direct shoulder work for a couple weeks. losing a couple weeks is a lot better than losing several months, and thats exactly what will happen if you get injured.

[CPX]

From Eric Cressey's incredible Shoulder Saver Series

Shoulder Saver #3: Learn to Bench Press Correctly.

This might very well be the most important one of all. I must admit that when I see a lifter benching with his elbows flared and his back flat, it makes me cringe ? not only because he's ruining his shoulders, but also because he's really limiting his strength potential.

There's an old saying that a lot of great bench pressers have repeated when discussing the importance of the upper back in benching: "You can't shoot a cannon out of a canoe." If you don't have the underlying stability to press big weights, the soft tissues of the shoulder joint are going to suffer the consequences.

Stability is affected by both neuromuscular factors and positional factors; simply repositioning yourself on the bench can markedly increase your strength without any chronic changes to your neuromuscular system's ability to move the weight. Here's what you need to do:

1. Line up on the bench so that your eyes are about 3-4 inches toward your feet from the bar (in other words, the bar is almost directly above the top of your head). From there, retract your shoulder blades hard. Next, push yourself back up until your eyes are directly under the bar; at this position, your scapulae should still be retracted, but also depressed down toward your feet as well. If you do it right, your rib cage should pop right up.

2. Set your feet, and lock them into place. The position of the feet is going to be dependent on a number of factors, but what doesn't change is the fact that they need to be fixed in place.

3. Decide on what degree of arch you want to use. For general health purposes, it doesn't need to be much. Obviously, powerlifters are going to need to push the envelope on this front. The more arch, the more it'll feel like a decline bench press. Declines will always be easier on the shoulder girdle than flat bench pressing.

4. Grasp the bar and USE A HANDOFF from your training partner. Lifting off to yourself is a sure-fire way to lose the tightness you've just established in your upper back. Keep the shoulder blades back and down!

5. As you lower the bar, keep the upper arms at a 45-degree angle to the torso; tuck the elbows instead of letting them flare out. It's well documented that the elbows-flared ("bodybuilder-style") bench markedly increases stress on the glenohumeral joint. Also, keep your wrists under your elbows instead of letting them roll back.

6. Get a belly full of air and make the abdomen and chest rise up to meet the bar as it descends. Think of it as creating a springboard for moving big weights and, just as importantly, keeping those shoulder blades back to save your taters from undue stress.

7. Do not excessively protract the shoulder blades at the top of the rep; you shouldn't lose your tightness prior to descending into the subsequent rep.

If you haven't read the series, it's definitely worth doing

http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do?id=1053531

[hessunit]

Originally Posted by CPX

From Eric Cressey's incredible Shoulder Saver Series



If you haven't read the series, it's definitely worth doing

http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do?id=1053531

This is the best advice on here...that shoulder saver thing.

If you are trying to build your chest and make it stronger, you have to keep your elbows in. I thought (like so many of you on here) for years that I was supposed to keep my elbows out....especially after seeing so many trainers show people that this is the "right" way to do it. Then I F*#ked my shoulder. And now I can't do any pressing movements other than light dumbell presses. Seriously, I can't stress how important it is to keep your elbows at approximately 45deg. Try it. And yes, this includes things like flys...keep your elbows down on these too and you'll be amazed by the contraction you will get.

So, for those of you that don't want as big or strong of a chest and looooovvvee shoulder pain, keep those elbows out. For the rest of you that are smart enough to keep them a little tucked....enjoy your big strong pecs and injury free shoulders!

[BC02]

Originally Posted by Shawdowfox

ive been doing the bench press for a month and a half now with no training. just reading up on it and watching videos. Ive been trying to get my upper arms and forearms 90degree angle and flare them out like how my arms are in my avatar.

once i hit the heavier weights (more than 100) ive been experiencing pain INSIDE my shoulders most likely rotator cuffs.

should I try to tuck them in like a powerlifter?
and yes i do plenty of shoulder warmups

is this a joke? Always tuck your elbows when benching