New to Bench Press - Shoulder Pain

[wanttolose485]

Cliff notes, if you don't want to read the whole thing, but more details below:

- new to bench press with free weights (but been weight lifting for a year, with machine BP)
- shoulder pain - feels like in anterior deltoid, where shoulder meets bicep
- no history of shoulder problems
- may be bad form, but not sure... have done only twice, tried to correct by making grip less wide, and bringing elbows in
- only using/used 70lbs plus bar (20 lbs)

---More detailed:

Before a year ago, I had never done any weight lifting at all in my life. And before last week, I have never done bench press in my life with free weights.

For the last year and change, I've been using a weight machine at home... a Weider with a machine bench press. I know free weights are really more ideal, though, so I recently got a squat rack, because I wanted to start doing more (and more effective) things for my legs... but also because it could be used for a bench press... so, last week, I used it. On the Weider machine, I can only do 4 sets of like 9 at 150 lbs, which I know doesn't translate well to real weight, so I started with free weights at like 70lbs plus the bar (20 lbs)... I was able to do 4 sets of 8 or 9, but by the end, my shoulders ached some... Then the next two days, they hurt... pretty badly. More so the right one, it seemed, but definitely both. The pain was in my anterior deltoid, I think... kind of right where my biceps meet my shoulders. I had trouble lifting my arm above my head, or turning the steering wheel the next couple days. I figured this was a problem with my form... since a) I'd never done it and b) the BP should not cause such pain if done right. So, by 3 days later, the pain was pretty much gone. I looked at some videos online, and I think my grip was too wide and my elbows were out too far... but then I tried again on Monday, with what I thought was corrected form, and I still have pretty bad pain - this time I could feel the extra strain on my shoulders while I was doing it (about 2nd set).

I do not have, nor have I ever had, any shoulder problems that I am aware of, and as I said, I was never involved in any weight lifting prior to this. (Nor anything else that would have ruined my shoulders).

So, I don't really know what this means... I assume it is still something about form... but, I know it could it be something else... I can think of any/all of the following:

1) weak shoulders
2) weak chest
3) both 1 and 2
4) rotator cuff problem
5) still too much weight at 90 lbs (even though that is a woefully weak bench press)

I know shoulder pain is common with bench press, but this is obviously something I need to fix.. and now, I just don't know what I need to do... if I need to avoid the BP, and focus on other exercises... or try it with still lower weight... or still fix my form.

Does anyone have any ideas, or has had a similar experience? I am in the position of needing to really bulk, and I am excited for what I can do from here, but want to start out right... and 90lbs is, um... weak... to say the least. I'm not too proud to fix the problem though, even though it's such a low weight,... I have made good progress, and everyone's gotta start somewhere... Thanks!

[Proposturalized]

I only read the cliffs, but remember to pinch your shoulder blades together before you lift the bar. This will limit the shoulders' involvement in the lift.

[ColdCut]

Try tucking your elbows a little closer to your body. This will relieve some of the strain on your shoulders.

[Whitekoala]

proposturalized and cold cut both gave good advice.

Post a video of your form so we could see it.

[Farley1324]

I didn't read much at all of the OP.

1. Tuck your elbows. The easiest way to do this is to touch the bar further down on your chest. Somewhere around the xyphoid process is generally good.

2. Get video.

[wanttolose485]

I only read the cliffs, but remember to pinch your shoulder blades together before you lift the bar. This will limit the shoulders' involvement in the lift.

Try tucking your elbows a little closer to your body. This will relieve some of the strain on your shoulders.

Thanks all for the reply... I was consciously trying to tuck my shoulders in closer. Not sure if I was doing it right or not, though.

proposturalized and cold cut both gave good advice.
Post a video of your form so we could see it.

I didn't read much at all of the OP.
1. Tuck your elbows. The easiest way to do this is to touch the bar further down on your chest. Somewhere around the xyphoid process is generally good.
2. Get video.

Should I take a vid of doing it without the weight? I don't want to do it with the weight, because my shoudlers already hurt, so I know it will just inflame them to do it wrong again, until at least a few days...

As I have never done it in my life, I am sure my form is far from good... I also have some difficulty in doing the same thing every time, even when I do it.

[Farley1324]

Should I take a vid of doing it without the weight? I don't want to do it with the weight, because my shoudlers already hurt, so I know it will just inflame them to do it wrong again, until at least a few days...

As I have never done it in my life, I am sure my form is far from good... I also have some difficulty in doing the same thing every time, even when I do it.

The problem with using no/very light weight is that form is commonly different than when a challenging weight is used.

Get on Youtube and search for form videos by Mark Rippetoe and by Dave Tate ("So you think you can bench"). Watch them.

Get video when you do the exercise again. Or just get a video going through warmups but not worksets.

[owen54]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUcjO...e_gdata_player

On my iPhone had trouble posting the vid but this is the link

[Cheese3216]

I've never heard of a 70lb barbell.
I just looked it up and can't find a 70lb barbell anywhere.
What makes you think you're using a 70lb barbell?

[wanttolose485]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUcjO...e_gdata_player

On my iPhone had trouble posting the vid but this is the link

Thanks, I will check out that vid!

I've never heard of a 70lb barbell.
I just looked it up and can't find a 70lb barbell anywhere.
What makes you think you're using a 70lb barbell?

No, you misunderstood... it was a 20 lb barbell, with 70lbs added, for a total of 90lbs, with barbell. Sorry if I didn't make that clear.

[noflyingcars]

my wild guess: with the machine you built some muscles that allow you to push 90 lbs in the free weight bench, but your stabilizer/tendons/ligaments did not grow proportionately, so it's like if you have muscles too strong for your shoulders to "keep tight".

Lower the weight and concentrate on the form for the first couple of weeks: you will need to get the form to a T soon or later so you'd better do it now with trivial weight and add weight later on.

The problem with using no/very light weight is that form is commonly different than when a challenging weight is used.

Absolutely right, but if he can't get the form down without weight he will never be able to learn it under challenging weight.

[wanttolose485]

my wild guess: with the machine you built some muscles that allow you to push 90 lbs in the free weight bench, but your stabilizer/tendons/ligaments did not grow proportionately, so it's like if you have muscles too strong for your shoulders to "keep tight".

That would definitely make sense... what weight do you recommend I start at?

[Engineer_Guy]

2. Get video.

This.

Hard to tell you what's wrong if we can't see what you're doing. I'd say the majority of the time people complain of shoulder problems benching is due to form.

[noflyingcars]

That would definitely make sense... what weight do you recommend I start at?

"right" weight in the bench press is when you are controlling it tightly i.e. your arms don't wobble.



But even more importantly, learn proper form as others have said.

[SJZims52]

Make sure the bar is over the middle of your chest. I see alot of guys benching where the bar is closer to the neck which will put alot of strain on your shoulders.

[Farley1324]

Absolutely right, but if he can't get the form down without weight he will never be able to learn it under challenging weight.

In some cases you can't use the same form without weight. When you add a loaded barbell it changes your center of mass and thus the movement.

Ever tried learning to power clean with no weight? Doesn't work.

[DJAuto]

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=529968

[noflyingcars]

In some cases you can't use the same form without weight. When you add a loaded barbell it changes your center of mass and thus the movement.

Ever tried learning to power clean with no weight? Doesn't work.

Yes, for "without weight" I really meant "without a challenging weight".
Training the form with the empty olympic barbell is helpful at all levels IMO, even Tate suggests to do loads of warm up with the empty bar to train the movement.

Olympic lifts are another matter, and they are much harder to learn.

[vollric]

Great to do for a warm-up before chest if you are experiencing shoulder problems/flexibility/etc.

[Farley1324]

Training the form with the empty olympic barbell is helpful at all levels IMO, even Tate suggests to do loads of warm up with the empty bar to train the movement.

Yes, their purpose is warmups. Not to learn the movement.