benching form, i hurt my shoulder...

hey guys i got a quick question, my form on the bench is so pathetic it pisses me off,a nd that is why my chest is my "weakest link", and yesterday i was benching and after i did a set my left shoulder started to hurt, its like deep in the center of my shoudler whenver i rotate my shoulder, does anybody know what this is? like say i try to move my left arm behing my neck, it starts to hurt. So can anyone who has had this problem please give me any suggestions and let me know what i might have hurt?! thanks

I'd say you impinged your rotator cuff..if shoulder rotation is now giving you pain...

From the description of the area...yea i'd say rotator cuff

Go get it checked out

i dunno though one of my sholders always hurts after bench day. Never got it checked out but it only bothers me on that day. Never really worried about it.

yeah almost definatly the rotator cuff. I had the same thing happen to my left shoulder. Go see an orthopedist. They have exercises you can do to help recovery. They are to hard to explain here. Hopefully you wont need surgery. Dont lift until you see a DR. you could damage it further. Good luck.

well its not that bad at all, i can move it freely and everything, i can swing my shoudler around, it just hurts a tiny bit sometimes when im oved it in a certain spot, unlike my right shoulder

did you play football or some kinda contact sport with your sholder? Personally i think thats what mine is from.

Why don't you correct your form?

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Originally Posted by Hypertrophy

Why don't you correct your form?

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how would i go about doing that?!i really want to try and fix it but i dont know how or who?!

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Originally Posted by statuZ

how would i go about doing that?!i really want to try and fix it but i dont know how or who?!

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That would be extremely difficult to assess without analyzing your form. It could be a major problem or simple. Find someone at your gym who is reputable, and ask him/her for help.

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Originally Posted by Hypertrophy

That would be extremely difficult to assess without analyzing your form. It could be a major problem or simple. Find someone at your gym who is reputable, and ask him/her for help.

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It hink its cuase i push with my shoulders up instead of my chest, like i dont feel benching in my chest unless i go down really slow! it could just be where i place my grip on the bar who knows!

i used to have shoulder problems all the time (from playing football) i had to have surgery once and decided to never have another one! its been about 4 years since then and i havent had any problems. i use the shoulder horn harness and lights weights to get a GOOD burn at the end of my shoulder routine. I believe this has strengthened my rotator cuff and saved me from further injuries.

I'm not conviced it is a rotator cuff but it is and should be a suspect. Does it hurt to raise your arms up? When benching using a too wide grip with some heavy weight will stress your shoulder girdle. You need to lower the weight or just do cable movements until it heals. Only resting will heal. If you do not then it will only get worse.

I had and sometimes have the same problem. Same shoulder and all. I would check you form. My problem was that I had the bar to far towards my head. If that is your problem, keep the bar more towards your nipples, and keep a little bit less that 90 degree angle for your grip. Also, I noticed with me that dips hurt my shuolders considerable, so i stay away from them now as well. But I am sure that the best advice would come from a medical professional, so that would be the best bet. All the luck in the world to ya!

yeah i've got the same problem, on sholder day i get pain inside the rotor cuff, i just take it easier and use lighter weights but do more reps to get a burn. You should go get it checked tho.

Definately your rotator cuff :( ... go see the doctor.
i have the same problem right now. about 6 weeks ago i strained my left one while doing incline bench. my form slipped on one rep and it hurt.
you should definatly stop lifting till its examined. and then they will advise you not to lift for a number of weeks depending on the severity. mine was a very minor tare in my left rotator cuff and i laid off for 3 weeks..then built up again to almost back to max lifts.

a good test for your rotator cuff damage is to hold your arm out straight as is you were at the peak of a frontal raise. then twist your arm clockwise and anti clockwise whithout moving it from that position prependicular to your torso. if you get any discomfort/ crepetis its a good sign its the cuff.

another is if you put your arm around behind your back as if someone had you in a lock so your forarm goes across the length of your lower to middle back. apply pressure to that arm to raise it up then press the front of the shoulder. it will be quite tender when pressure is applied.

bottomline see your doc. your shoulders are very important. dont be brave and lift before you see him. its just going to be a matter of time and depending on the severity maybe some physio.
good luck!

I have the same pain in the same shoulder. I have found that doing a light set of rear delts before I bench helps a ton. Screw going to the doc, I don't want to stop and lose all I have worked so hard to gain.

k_dogg thanks, i tried that by sticking oujt my hand and rotating it, well my shoulder didtn hurt at all, just sometimes on chest days my left shoulder kills me, and about 2 days later it almost completly goes away.

I Had The Same Thing Happen About 3 Months Ago. I Had To Lay Of Anything Over My Head (pulldowns,pullups,military Press) And No Bench Or Incline Presses Or Flies. I Could Do 3 Sets Of 20-25 Lbs. With 15 Lbs Dumbells. The Doctor Told Me To Do Alot Of Rows To Strengthen My Upper Back He Said It Would Reduce Chance Of Shoulder Injurey In Future. That Lasted For About 8 Weeks Now I'm Good As New 4 Weeks Back Benching 360 At 200lbs Bw.

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Originally Posted by statuZ

how would i go about doing that?!i really want to try and fix it but i dont know how or who?!

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Like hyper says it is tough to critique what we can't see. But first of all are you training your upper back properly? Shoulders? Are your rhomboids and teres and lats and delts, including rear head, balancing out your pecs? A lot of shoulder problems for some strange "coincidence" seem to appear in "the bench press kids"-- you know... the high school kids who come in your gym on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday and do 5 sets each of spotter assisted bench presses, but nothing else save maybe a set of ezbar curls. I think quite often an imbalance between pecs and the rest of the shoulder girdle either causes or aggravates shoulder injuries, including R.C.I. so get your back training and shoulder training in order, after your injury heals, before benching again.

I also think it is important to maximize the stress on the muscle while minimizing the stress on the joint. The way to do that is to use less weight and modify your form to hit the muscle harder. Try NOT locking out at the top, for instance. Instant 10% reduction in weight needed for failure. Also be sure your grip is wide enough so that when your upper arms are flat horizontal, your forearms are straight vertical, forming a 90 degree bend at the elbow. Concentrate not on raising the bar, but on pivoting the upper arms and raising the elbows, which only incidentally just happen to have a set of forearms and a barbell balanced on them. Get your brain in touch with your muscles. Be aware of when your triceps are helping and when they are not. Try to keep triceps and front delts out of the picture. Let the pecs do all the work. Scrunch hour shoulder blades together and try to dig them into the bench. Keep your back down on the bench. If necessary, raise the knees and place the feet on the bench. Don't use a spotter for "IT'S ALL YOU!" forced negatives. Fight the bar up yourself. Partials are still good! Try finishing with properly done flys. Or try dumbbell BP. If you do them correctly, you can isolate pecs quite well. Unfortunately most people do them exactly and precisely the wrong way, clacking the dummies together at the top, locking out the elbows, pushing the dummies up from the chest instead of from the elbows, etc. Work with light weights and you will be able to figure all this stuff out.

DON'T lift until that injury is healed! A minor joint pain is like an idiot light on your car's dashboard. It doesn't tell you that you will soon have a problem; it tells you that you ALREADY have a problem. A major pain is like your car's engine completely seizing up. Don't continue until you get the major pain! See a doc and give it a rest. Taking a few months off now is better than never being able to train again.

i once did the same thing i inflamed somthing in my shoulder doing bench i went to the doctor and he told me if i wanted to avoid a chortazone shot i should take 2 aleve a day and space them 12 hrs or so and i did and it helped alot i also found that bumping my grip a lil bit wider helped good luck

I recently got a pain that starts at my right trap then moves down the rear delt and into my arm when I bench or any type of shoulder or tri exercise. Ive been lifting very heavy recently so could it be from that??