Chest Workout with Shoulder Pain

**Testecha** · 08-16-2014, 12:36 PM

I hurt my shoulder and need to lay off of it for a while. Are there any chest routines I can do that will not stress my shoulder joint.

**davidtheman100** · 08-16-2014, 03:05 PM

Chest press?

**almostgone** · 08-16-2014, 09:26 PM

Originally Posted by Testecha

I hurt my shoulder and need to lay off of it for a while. Are there any chest routines I can do that will not stress my shoulder joint.

If you've really been pounding your chest and can still lift, try hitting flyes first then pressing.
For example, incline flyes, then incline press, flat flyes, then flat press. If done properly, hitting flyes first will really lower your pressing weight and take some strain off of the
shoulders.
That's something a wise man shared with me, and it made a huge difference.

**pushit_05** · 08-16-2014, 10:41 PM

The above advice is good. One thing you can add in addition is light dumbbell presses for 15-20 reps. Try incline, flat, and decline to see which ones don't aggravate it and use that. When I suffered a minor pec tear (sharp pain in armpit area) incline dumbbell press for 20 reps helped a lot to rehabilitate the area.

**Testecha** · 08-17-2014, 06:21 AM

Thanks for the input, I will try all of the above.

**600@50** · 08-17-2014, 06:31 AM

Just do what you can do with minimal or no pain. Experiment with exercises, weight and reps. Best of luck man.

**zempey** · 08-17-2014, 07:03 AM

I am going through a shoulder issue right now, tendonosis. I have had to back off all my weights again, had slowly built up to two plates a side for 4 sets of 12-15 on incline and flat and my shoulder gave out a couple weeks ago. Now I have backed off to 1 plate a side for 4 sets of 20, just going through the motions and getting blood into the muscle. I have also closed up my grip a few inches, this takes stress off the shoulder as well. I have always had bad shoulders, no matter how much I warm up or watch my form, they always give me grief.

**yeahbuddy289** · 08-17-2014, 12:10 PM

Use dumbbells and instead of using a traditional grip (thumbs towards your body) twist your wrists so your thumbs are pointed back toward your head then twist in to the traditional grip on the way up. I had to do this for months to protect my shoulder and it worked great.

**Khazima** · 08-24-2014, 02:21 AM

Give your shoulder some rest, if you come back once it's healed and it starts to hurt again, there's likely something wrong with your form, or you need to get your shoulders looked at. Also try some joint support, fish/krill oil or something. My shoulder gave me a lot of trouble for a while but I let it heal then fixed my form, and it hasn't given me trouble since, I always make sure my shoulders are really warm and lubricated before I start any serious pressing as well.

**Nij** · 09-25-2014, 09:47 AM

Originally Posted by Testecha

I hurt my shoulder and need to lay off of it for a while. Are there any chest routines I can do that will not stress my shoulder joint.

When you doing anything chest related, make sure you retract your scapula and keep you elbows in. I used to bench with my shoulder parallel with the bar, and I snapped my shit up.

**ScotchGuard02** · 09-26-2014, 10:37 AM

My recommendation would be to use machines not free weights for a while. The machines, like the seated fly, has a very definite plane of motion and doesn't require as many supporting tissue to support the motion. Do the exercise slowly and SQUEEZE the chest on every rep. Let's say you're doing seated fly machine. As you bring the handles together, elevate your chest and SQUEEZE your pecs together to elevate your cleavage. Do it slow and deliberately. You'll be surprised how fatigued your chest will get with relatively low weights.