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nyyanks937
nyyanks937 g Yevgeniy Kruchenetskiy
86 Post(s)
86 Post(s) Gender: Male Goal: Gain Muscle Date Joined: October 10, 2017
Posted

During the bench press I do my best to pack my shoulders down and in to prevent pain/injury (I didn't know about this when I first started working out and experienced some pain during this exercise). However, sometimes in the middle of a set my right shoulder "unpacks" and I start feeling pain. My two choices at this point are to either finish the set through the pain, or to stop and readjust my shoulder and then finish the set. Obiously, neither of these are ideal. What could I be doing wrong? I've tried to squeeze them down and in as tight as possible to prevent this but it still happens sometimes. For some reason this seems to only happen to my right shoulder. Any advice?

jmboiardi
jmboiardi p John M Boiardi
2.6K Post(s)
2.6K Post(s) Gender: Male Goal: Bodybuilding Date Joined: October 10, 2013
Posted
Posted By: nyyanks937

During the bench press I do my best to pack my shoulders down and in to prevent pain/injury (I didn't know about this when I first started working out and experienced some pain during this exercise). However, sometimes in the middle of a set my right shoulder "unpacks" and I start feeling pain. My two choices at this point are to either finish the set through the pain, or to stop and readjust my shoulder and then finish the set. Obiously, neither of these are ideal. What could I be doing wrong? I've tried to squeeze them down and in as tight as possible to prevent this but it still happens sometimes. For some reason this seems to only happen to my right shoulder. Any advice?

I have this problem as well with my right shoulder. I usually just try to re-adjust and then press again. This is also why I do more dumbell chest exercises versus barbell as dumbells eliminate this problem. Barbells force both sides to move in the same plane of motion. This is fine if your shoulders and shoulder girdle are aligned.

 

In some people (myself included), the shoulders are not aligned. My right shoulder hangs a bit lower than my left. When barbell bench pressing, this can cause the problem you are having. Dumbells eliminate it because each arm can move independently of the other. Therefore, your shoulders can also set and move independently. DB chest pressing is better for building a chest whereas BB chest pressing is better for strength development. If your goal is to a build a solid, thick chest, I would revert to more DB-centric chest exercises and skip BB benching - especially if it causes pain.

 

Also, it is a little known fact but most Yankee fans develop these types of shoulder issues. Usually it is the result of all the shoulder shrugging they do when they are trying to figure our what Cashman and Steinbrenner are doing every year with the team :-P

 

 

John

34 years of lifting and nutritional experience and resident "old man" :-) MS Athlete and past Super Hermanite since 2013.
nyyanks937
nyyanks937 g Yevgeniy Kruchenetskiy
86 Post(s)
86 Post(s) Gender: Male Goal: Gain Muscle Date Joined: October 10, 2017
Posted
Posted By: jmboiardi

I have this problem as well with my right shoulder. I usually just try to re-adjust and then press again. This is also why I do more dumbell chest exercises versus barbell as dumbells eliminate this problem. Barbells force both sides to move in the same plane of motion. This is fine if your shoulders and shoulder girdle are aligned.

 

In some people (myself included), the shoulders are not aligned. My right shoulder hangs a bit lower than my left. When barbell bench pressing, this can cause the problem you are having. Dumbells eliminate it because each arm can move independently of the other. Therefore, your shoulders can also set and move independently. DB chest pressing is better for building a chest whereas BB chest pressing is better for strength development. If your goal is to a build a solid, thick chest, I would revert to more DB-centric chest exercises and skip BB benching - especially if it causes pain.

 

Also, it is a little known fact but most Yankee fans develop these types of shoulder issues. Usually it is the result of all the shoulder shrugging they do when they are trying to figure our what Cashman and Steinbrenner are doing every year with the team :-P

 

 

John

I'm using the barbell instead of dumbbells because it's what is used in month 1 of the PPL routine. Month 2 has the barbell pin press instead of the bench press, and month 3 has the dumbbell bench press. Should I just substitute the barbell pin press in month 2 with the dumbbells? Also, when you re-adjust, do you put the barbell back on the rack or do you try to do it while still holding it up?

 

Actually I haven't been doing much of this shrugging you're referring to...especially not last year. That must be why my traps are so small. Now if I was a met fan on the other hand, I would have the traps of a bodybuilder.

andrei25
andrei25 g Andrei Leon
18 Post(s)
18 Post(s) Gender: Male Goal: Gain Muscle Date Joined: December 12, 2017
Posted

I used to have that problem too.

 

When I first started out I didn´t know I had to pack my shoulders down but then ocassionally ran into the same problem you have, I always re-adjusted.

 

I don´t do flat barbell bench anymore only with dumbells and chest started to grow way better.

jmboiardi
jmboiardi p John M Boiardi
2.6K Post(s)
2.6K Post(s) Gender: Male Goal: Bodybuilding Date Joined: October 10, 2013
Posted
Posted By: nyyanks937

I'm using the barbell instead of dumbbells because it's what is used in month 1 of the PPL routine. Month 2 has the barbell pin press instead of the bench press, and month 3 has the dumbbell bench press. Should I just substitute the barbell pin press in month 2 with the dumbbells? Also, when you re-adjust, do you put the barbell back on the rack or do you try to do it while still holding it up?

 

Actually I haven't been doing much of this shrugging you're referring to...especially not last year. That must be why my traps are so small. Now if I was a met fan on the other hand, I would have the traps of a bodybuilder.

When doing the PPL routines, Scott has put together recommended guidelines and exercises. You can change/modify them to meet your needs or biomechanical tendencies. In this case, substituting dumbells in for many of the chest exercises is fine. What is more important is hitting the muscles and movements as outlined in the program. How you ultimately get there is up to you.

 

As for the re-adjustment, I do it with the bar still above me. I don't BB bench heavy so doing this is easy for me. If I go heavier, I would rack the weight, make the adjustment, then bench again.

 

You make a good point - the Mets probably have their fans shrugging more than Yankee fans :-)

 

John

34 years of lifting and nutritional experience and resident "old man" :-) MS Athlete and past Super Hermanite since 2013.
Shreddergp07
Shreddergp07 g Anonymous Many
1 Post(s)
1 Post(s) Gender: Male Goal: Gain Muscle Date Joined: December 12, 2017
Posted

How can I fix forward head?

mustafakaleem9
mustafakaleem9 g Mustafa Mohammed
1 Post(s)
1 Post(s) Gender: Male Goal: Gain Muscle Date Joined: October 10, 2016
Posted

some how injured my left shoulder. I got an x-ray and checked with physician he said that notings wrong with my shoulder joint, so maybe i have injured the muscles around it (like rorator cuff)?. this injury has kept me out of the gym for almost about 3weeks.I cant even sleep on left side. This started when i was DB pressing, i din't felt any kind of pain when I was working out but when I got home i suddenly realised that some things wrong with my shoulder. what can I do to strengthen my shoulders and muscles around it for a better stronger and healthy joint.

(Before this happend I was regularly working my upper back and also the rotator cuff)still some how the injury occured.

andrija04
andrija04 g Andrija Jokovic
27 Post(s)
27 Post(s) Gender: Male Goal: Gain Muscle Date Joined: November 11, 2017
Posted

Hey guys,

 

In my current program, I am focused on strenght on bench press.

So, I am doing 4 sets x 5 reps.

Problem is I cant increase the weight for 8 weeks.

Any advice to give me to go through this plateu.

 

nyyanks937
nyyanks937 g Yevgeniy Kruchenetskiy
86 Post(s)
86 Post(s) Gender: Male Goal: Gain Muscle Date Joined: October 10, 2017
Posted
Posted By: andrija04

Hey guys,

 

In my current program, I am focused on strenght on bench press.

So, I am doing 4 sets x 5 reps.

Problem is I cant increase the weight for 8 weeks.

Any advice to give me to go through this plateu.

 

Scott has said that negatives can help you get through plateaus, so maybe you can give those a try. You can get a spotter who would just help you get the weight up, then you control the negative on the way down yourself and so on. 

Scott_Herman
Scott_Herman a Scott Herman
7.1K Post(s)
7.1K Post(s) Gender: Male Goal: Bodybuilding Date Joined: August 8, 2008
Posted
Posted By: andrija04

Hey guys,

 

In my current program, I am focused on strenght on bench press.

So, I am doing 4 sets x 5 reps.

Problem is I cant increase the weight for 8 weeks.

Any advice to give me to go through this plateu.

 

Negatives and cheat reps can help for sure. Have you also tried increasing the weight and just doing as many reps as you can too? So whatever you are using at the moment, increase it by 5-10 pounds and do as many reps as you can. Maybe you'll hit 3 reps, and then rack the weight for about 10 seconds, then bang out as many more as you can to finish the set.

 

You could do this for 2 sets, then on the last 2 sets, still use that heavier weight for as many reps as you can, and then drop the weight to finish the set.

 

Eventually you should be working towards hitting 4, then 5 reps for the first set, and the same for each set after that. Slow progress is still progress.

Need 1 on 1 coaching? Send me a direct message to learn more!
Scott_Herman
Scott_Herman a Scott Herman
7.1K Post(s)
7.1K Post(s) Gender: Male Goal: Bodybuilding Date Joined: August 8, 2008
Posted
Posted By: mustafakaleem9

some how injured my left shoulder. I got an x-ray and checked with physician he said that notings wrong with my shoulder joint, so maybe i have injured the muscles around it (like rorator cuff)?. this injury has kept me out of the gym for almost about 3weeks.I cant even sleep on left side. This started when i was DB pressing, i din't felt any kind of pain when I was working out but when I got home i suddenly realised that some things wrong with my shoulder. what can I do to strengthen my shoulders and muscles around it for a better stronger and healthy joint.

(Before this happend I was regularly working my upper back and also the rotator cuff)still some how the injury occured.

Try some of these exercises to strengthen that area man!

 

Need 1 on 1 coaching? Send me a direct message to learn more!
andrija04
andrija04 g Andrija Jokovic
27 Post(s)
27 Post(s) Gender: Male Goal: Gain Muscle Date Joined: November 11, 2017
Posted

Hey Scott,

 

First of all,thanks for the answer.

My current weight on bench is 132 lbs for 5 reps as I said before.

So if I understood you correct, I should increase to lets say 140 lbs and do as many reps,three for example,rack the weight for 5-10 sec then finish the last two reps.

If I am not able to complete,for example my last set without taking 2 or 3 pauses I should do as many reps,lower the weight and finish the set.

Also is it okey to have a help of spotter in those last two reps after that mini rest in first two or three sets?

Thanks again.

Scott_Herman
Scott_Herman a Scott Herman
7.1K Post(s)
7.1K Post(s) Gender: Male Goal: Bodybuilding Date Joined: August 8, 2008
Posted
Posted By: andrija04

Hey Scott,

 

First of all,thanks for the answer.

My current weight on bench is 132 lbs for 5 reps as I said before.

So if I understood you correct, I should increase to lets say 140 lbs and do as many reps,three for example,rack the weight for 5-10 sec then finish the last two reps.

If I am not able to complete,for example my last set without taking 2 or 3 pauses I should do as many reps,lower the weight and finish the set.

Also is it okey to have a help of spotter in those last two reps after that mini rest in first two or three sets?

Thanks again.

That's it @andrija04, you got it right man! It's totally OK to have a spotter help you with some forced reps, that's a great way to overload and get stronger! In fact, if you have a spotter, you shouldn't even have to rest, just control the negative when you get tired and let them pick the weight up for you and do as many reps as you can like that - just like my Cheat & Recover training 😁 

Need 1 on 1 coaching? Send me a direct message to learn more!
andrija04
andrija04 g Andrija Jokovic
27 Post(s)
27 Post(s) Gender: Male Goal: Gain Muscle Date Joined: November 11, 2017
Posted
Thanks !
Scott_Herman
Scott_Herman a Scott Herman
7.1K Post(s)
7.1K Post(s) Gender: Male Goal: Bodybuilding Date Joined: August 8, 2008
Posted
Posted By: andrija04
Thanks !

You're welcome my friend!

Need 1 on 1 coaching? Send me a direct message to learn more!
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