Weak Shoulders! Shoulder Pain during Incline Bench and regular Bench?

[Zuovi]

Hey! I warmup when I gym with some biking for 10 min and some pushups, also I do bench without weights for 1 set of 10 reps. Then however, when I do my real sets, my left shoulder always get in huge pain during the pushes. I do 4 sets with 8 reps and my shoulder pain is whats holding me down, especially on incline where I ALWAYS get huge shoulder pain on my left shoulder. I have been lifting for about a year, 3-5 times a week (depending on the program) but now I am doing a PPL 6 days a week with about 4-5 heavier exercises per workout. I would love to increase in strength buy my shoulders are holding me back. When I squat I cant have the bar at the upper back because my arms get locked, so I have to have the bar at my neck which hurts a lot. Should I stretch my shoulders more or what's the key here? Cheers

[Zuovi]

Also some quick key lifts facts (on 4x8):

Squat: 45kg
Leg Press: 140kg
Deadlifts: 100kg
Bench Press: 75kg
Military Press: 35kg

[backinthegymbro]

Well first of all, get your shoulders loose in the gym and warm up properly before even benching the plain barbell.
Do 4 sets of these at 40 seconds with a 5 lbs dumbbell. Add some lateral raises in there too with 5 lbs only. And maybe do some other stretches for shoulders as well.



Then you can do 2 sets of plain barbell on bench press before increasing the weight.
Make sure you always stretch post work out so you stay flexible and don't end up muscle bound.
A lot of musclebound guys i know who can't even touch their toes anymore, have huge mobility issues and thus shoulder issues.
But i myself am pretty flexible and flaring out on bench press doesn't harm my shoulders at all yet works my chest more, and i can go really deep on dumbbell flyes etc.
It has helped me a lot. Spend around 5-10 mins of stretching when you're done, with whatever muscle group you've been training.

The fact that you can't put the bar on your back during squat is proof you have mobility issues.
Tucking your elbows in more 45 degrees will relieve some pressure off your shoulders during bench.

[TolerantLactose]

My guess is you have jacked up form when you're benching.

When I squat I cant have the bar at the upper back because my arms get locked, so I have to have the bar at my neck which hurts a lot.

There's no reason that could justify back squatting with the bar up against your neck unless you're looking for more impairment. Fix your shoulders and fix your form.

Also, you need a program more appropriate to your level of advancement. I don't think you need to be in the gym more than 4 days/week.

[Tommy W.]

Back off of benching with a barbell for now and start using dumbbells. They allow for better shoulder position. For now, don’t go all the way down, only go down to where your upper arms are parallel with the floor. If your shoulder is still hurting, stop any exercise that causes pain. Let the pain subside then come back into it after awhile. When you come back stretch properly first

[radrd]

Watch some Athlean-X youtube videos on shoulders and bench press. Guarantee you have form issues.

[Garage Rat]

Stop doing what hurts your shoulder.
Possibly use dumbbells so you can change the hand position to more of a neutral grip and see how that feels.
If it keeps bothering you see a doctor possibly an orthopedic guy or chiropractor maybe.
As far as squats go get use to front squats and if you have to use a pad of some sort on the bar.
If your gym has a safety squat bar that would help being more shoulder friendly.
Good luck.

[sowilson]

second on stopping what is causing your pain. Thoroughly review your form on shoulder exercises (with much lighter weight), get that on point first. Second warm up your shoulders (and upper body) with exercises that will work them through their range of motion. Look up "Throwers 10" program for some exercises. To those I would add Cuban presses and face pulls. I would also consider an Indian Club routine.

[Sqweebo]

Drop the barbell and use dumbbells. I had the same issue and switching to DB was the best thing i could have done.

[gerbilz]

get a physical therapist.

I had this same problem but tried fixing it on my own. Rehabbing injuries via YouTube and articles only go so far.

What I do for my shoulders is not posted online. It’s customized to MY shoulders ROM.

Maybe you should be pressing with your rear delts and lats when benching. For some people, doing raises and face pulls can make it worse.

I do 15 minutes of various twisting lunges, semi lunge while raising my arms, over hand grip over unders with a bamboo stick, internal cable pulls for 20 reps 2x, and single arm chest presses with one arm.

Any heavy movement, I push with my back and rear delts rather than my chest. Once I started doing that for several weeks, I was able to BB bench for the first time in a year. I nearly cried.

Moral of the story - get a physical therapist, highly rated, with a doctorate and other great specialties/abilities, degrees.

I pay out of pocket and it’s worth every goddamn penny. You don’t know why your shoulder hurts.. just when it does. I fixed my right leg by strengthening my hamstrings and a lot of work.

Your form is probably ****. I’m just being blunt because I don’t think you want to ruin your shoulders even more

[gerbilz]

Bro- use a hack squat or leg press

[Oleg1975K]

Topic starter need to pause training. Drink a small course of some non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug.
Then start training with low weights for any beginner program (fb or L \ U), with the ideal technique for performing exercises. Warming up rotators, of course, is good, but it will not fix fundamental mistakes in training.