shoulder pain!

[Softmuscled]

2 days ago at the gym i tried to prove to someone that i can bench press a certain weight.. which is pretty close to my max. I pressed it 2 times but i forgot to warm up. Right now everytime i try to bench press my shoulder really hurts. It only hurts when doing flat bench press as it doesnt hurt on incline or shoulder presses. I think i prolly pulled or strained it. I am currently doing a powerlifting routine which is suppost to increase bench press and squat strength. But with this shoulder injury it might slow me down. My question is: what should i do for the shoulder to heal? just rest? go lighter? or ice it? what? I only hurts when doing bench press and the pain is more inside of the shoulder then outside. Thanks

[ItalianPowerman]

if it dont go away soon see a doctor

[bsder]

I developed a sore, popping shoulder from benching heavy. I ended up taking it a little easier for awhile, switching to db's and doing more pulling and rotator cuff work. After a couple of months it feels better.

I will never argue with anyone who says to see a doctor.

[AJ010]

See how it feels within the next few days. Dont lift at all....except maybe light stuff like just the bar.

BTW, hows your back?

[LovinSteel]

My shoulders are hurting too, flat bench press with dumbells or barbell are really painful. I have noticed that incline presses and shoulders presses both with dumbells dont bother it at all, but lateral raises with 30lb dumbells are nearly impossible.

I am doing rotator cuff excercises, taking flax seed oil, and glucosamine in hopes to relieve the pain. From other forums and posts I have read, going too heavy on decline bench press, and going too low for weighted dips is likely the cause of my problems.

Will keep you posted as to the results of the "remedies"

[Chrome Face]

The reason your shoulders hurt doing flat bench presses is because you are going below parallel with your upper arms. This creates an enormous amount of stress on the ligaments of the shoulder and it should be avoided.

You may think that the correct range of motion for the bench press is to go all the way down to your chest... You are wrong! For many people, lowering the bar to their chest is incorrect technique because it puts you at risk for injury. Some people can get away with lowering the bar to their chest because they might have shorter arms or a thick chest which forces their upper arms to go only to parallel. The average person should only go to parallel.

[Alexxx]

Originally posted by Chrome Face
The reason your shoulders hurt doing flat bench presses is because you are going below parallel with your upper arms. This creates an enormous amount of stress on the ligaments of the shoulder and it should be avoided.

You may think that the correct range of motion for the bench press is to go all the way down to your chest... You are wrong! For many people, lowering the bar to their chest is incorrect technique because it puts you at risk for injury. Some people can get away with lowering the bar to their chest because they might have shorter arms or a thick chest which forces their upper arms to go only to parallel. The average person should only go to parallel.

When I touch my chest with the bar, my elbow is about 1-1.5 inches lower than my shoulder. Is this cause for concern? I'm 15 and I want the full ROM for my bench.

[Softmuscled]

Originally posted by Alexxx
When I touch my chest with the bar, my elbow is about 1-1.5 inches lower than my shoulder. Is this cause for concern? I'm 15 and I want the full ROM for my bench.

yeah i do the same, always touch my chest with the bar.

[Chrome Face]

Originally posted by Alexxx
When I touch my chest with the bar, my elbow is about 1-1.5 inches lower than my shoulder. Is this cause for concern? I'm 15 and I want the full ROM for my bench.

1 - 1.5 inches isn't that bad. I can go about 4 or 5 inches below parallel and that's why I used to be in a great deal of pain.

You will see the same benefits from bench if you only go to parallel. It puts your shoulders in a safer range of motion and you will be able to lift more because going below parallel is the weakest part of the lift.

Doing dumbell bench on the floor is a good way to see the proper range of motion.

[MikeyMike]

Last year, I went to see a sports medicine doc about my shoulder injury. He said that i suffered from the most common shoulder injury associated with weight lifting. I had aggravated my AC joint. This is the joint where your clavicle (collar bone) meets the shoulder blade and is most commonly injured from heavy bench presses.

If this is your injury, you should be able to pinpoint the exact location of this joint by the tenderness. You'll also be able to feel it if someone pulls down on your arm in the relaxed standing position. You really can't do anything for this injury except rest. If a certain excercise hurts, don't do it. Just stick with what doesn't hurt. Hope this helps.

Mike

[Ashford]

Sounds like what happened to me. I was maxing bench press and forgot to warm up. Hurt my shoulder in the exact way described above. Now two weeks later I am finally to the point where I can go back to lifting. I guess that teaches me not to warmup and stretch eh?

[spritz]

ill tell you what fellas, sholder pain is a bitch if you dont watch it. ive been lifting for around 10 years now, and when i was really young i never paid much attention about streching before and during a workout. now my shoulder kills me, after a workout i cant lift my left arm up for the rest of the night. my rotator cuff is screwed up pretty bad. so just letting you guys know, that ****s serious and if you want to lift for a long time take care of yourself now. and remember you dont have to prove **** to anyone.