Beginner please advice - Chest press but shoulders hurt?

[Blakmumba]

Hi all, I am 31 and haven't weight trained for good 6-7 years due to personal problems. I've always have been broad built but do have a belly & a saggy chest. Since been cleared by my docs, I've just started (3 days in) doing cardio and weights at my local gym. I've been using the butterfly machine for my chest but the problem is that my chest muscles DO NOT hurt whatsoever but my shoulders kill (run out off gas) and just give up. I do 3 reps of 15 and have a 20-30secs rest in between. I tried doing the bench press today and the same happened - shoulders killed like mad. I eventually give up due to arms having no strength and my muscles do not burn like I've read on many forums. I've been eating a lot of protein food like chicken breast, cod fillet - all steamed.

So my question is that; does the above sound right with my shoulders hurting and not my chest?. I would be very gratefully if someone could help me or advice me.

Thank you all.

[Scruffy77]

butterfly machine - gotta make sure your elbows are always slightly bent. the movement is like doing a bear hug
bench press - you gotta find the right grip going wider is generally better for chest but theres still a point where it will hit your delts

if you get actual shoulder pains u need to do rotator cuff warmup it only takes like 1 minute to do and your shoulders should never both you again

[kanis999]

I'm no doctor, but that sounds like common shoulder impingement. I had a bad bout of shoulder problems in pressing movements about a year ago. How I fixed it:

- Stop pressing for a few months and get to heavy rowing
- Bench embarrassingly low weights for a few months (AFTER the complete break) while analyzing your form. Be as anal as you can possibly be about form. Post videos, practice with low weight all the time, study anatomy, ponder about technique in your sleep.
- Perform external rotation strengthening exercises (rotator cuff supports shoulder during press)
- Stretch your pecs (major and minor), anterior delts, biceps, lats, and internal rotator cuff muscles every day.
- Gradually increase bench weight until you get to the weight you were previously at.
- Problem solved

See a doctor if this advice doesn't work for you. Severe shoulder problems require surgery and even more in depth therapy.

[Blakmumba]

Thank you everyone for replying. I will do what has been advised above (don't understand much but will check up the words on google lol . My shoulders don't hurt as in pain, it's like the muscles just run out off steam (hard to explain something like when running for so long your legs give up, that's the problem I'm having). I tried benching 10kg today and only managed 1 lol, dropped straight down to 2.5kg and felt well embarrassed as there was a chap younger and skinnier than me who kept watchinge and then decided to show off lifting max weights and then puffing out on his 5th rep whilst glancing at me throughout my workout.

[kanis999]

Ah, good clarification. I thought your shoulders had a sharp pain. In that case, you only need to focus on these steps:

- (because technique is the ultimate determinant of future progress) Bench embarrassingly low weights at first while analyzing your form. Be as anal as you can possibly be about form. Post videos, practice with low weight all the time, study anatomy, ponder about technique in your sleep.
- Train back with at least as much zeal as you train chest (lots of rows).
- Stretch your anterior (front) delts, biceps, and internal rotators often.

Shoulders tiring out probably is due to technique, which is why I emphasize the first bullet point.

[Blakmumba]

Sorry everyone, I've just been to the gym again to check the machine that I use and it's the 'Pec Deck'', that's what's hurting my shoulder muscles and not my chest. It's the only machine they have got for the pecs