Chest exercises hurt shoulder

M

mkunkel

Cathlete
Yesterday I did Power Hour. When doing the chest presses, especially towards the end where Cathe staggers them, I felt some pain in my shoulder. Today it's really bothering me. Could my grip have been too wide? Does the same go for pushups? I always thought that the wider your hands were, the more you concentrate on your chest, but I guess if you go too wide, it stresses your shoulder too much? If anyone knows about this, please help. How wide do you place your hands when doing chest presses and pushups?

Thanks,
Melissa
 
I'll be interested to hear the answer to this too! I was noticing I had to be really careful last night on bench press!
 
I had to give up chest exercises because of my shoulder pain, I'm in healing mode now and looking forward to coming back slowly soon. I think the problem has more to do with how low you go than how far apart your hands are--you might be able to stay comfortable longer if you stay more in the high range of the movement. Also, pay attention to how much total shoulder load you are taking on--I'll probably never be able to manage a week that contains chest exercises AND tricep dips AND kickboxing punches AND yoga chaturangas. Please be careful and patient with shoulders, they are used in so many activities that it's really hard to rest them (for example driving--turning that steering wheel a lot can get mine hurting)so they take a long time to heal. Good luck! --Karen
 
Hand width as well as how far you go down (upper arms should be parallel to the floor or a little higher--you can test yourself by doing the exercise on the floor: your arms will touch the floor when they get to the maximum depth). I find it helpful as well to always be careful to keep my shoulders in scapular contraction when doing any kind of shoulder work.
 
Thanks for the advice Karen and Kathryn. I will follow both of your suggestions. I think I might have overworked my shoulders this week with kickboxing, strength training, etc. When I felt my shoulder twinge during PH, I should've quit instead of pushing it. Anyway...

Kathryn,

You've been very helpful to me in the past, i.e. I can now do upright rows without hurting my wrists and thanks to your advice (and a few others), I finally bought Slow and Heavy and will get the Pyramids later (maybe when I can afford to get a Troy Lite barbell too). So I have some more questions for you if you don't mind.

Regarding chest presses, I understand not to bring my arms down too far, and I think I'm doing the scapular contraction thing right (isn't that just like squeezing your shoulder blades together), so how far do you place your hands when doing chest presses and push-ups?

Also, I'm working on more of an endurance type rotation right now, but when I begin my strength rotation, do you think it will be more beneficial to do a Pure Strength rotation first or Slow and Heavy?

If you can respond, thanks so much.

Melissa
 
>Regarding chest presses, I understand not to bring my arms
>down too far, and I think I'm doing the scapular contraction
>thing right (isn't that just like squeezing your shoulder
>blades together), so how far do you place your hands when
>doing chest presses and push-ups?
>
>Also, I'm working on more of an endurance type rotation right
>now, but when I begin my strength rotation, do you think it
>will be more beneficial to do a Pure Strength rotation first
>or Slow and Heavy?
>
>If you can respond, thanks so much.
>
>Melissa

Melissa,
Yes, scapular retraction is more-or-less squeezing your shoulders together, but think "back and down" rather than just "back." When standing, if you get into scapular retraction, then put your hands on your hips, you'll be in a "Wonder Woman" pose!

As far as how far apart your hands should be, thinking of keeping your forearms perpendicular to the ground is a good guide.

When I cycle through my various types of workout, I use Slow and Heavy as the "peak." I start with endurance (PH, ME) then move into endurance/strength (MIS), then strength (PS), then the peak, Slow and Heavy. But you could just as easily go right into Slow and Heavy. Or heck, you could eaven mix it up! I love S&H chest/back, but I prefer another workout for legs (PLB) and sometimes for biceps/triceps (that section of PUB). Whatever you choose, I recommend doing Slow and Heavy for a shorter rotation than you might be doing other workouts (4-6 weeks for others, but only 2-3 for Slow and Heavy), because it takes a lot of concentration and energy.

P.S. I'm always happy to give my opinion;) , so don't hesitate to ask.
 
Melissa - thanks for asking all these questions! :) I've gotten answers for problems I was ahving and just haven't been able to fix on my own! :)

Kathryn - thanks for listing the 'cycles' for the videos. I was wondering how to order them. Would you put the Pyramids in the endurance/strength category with MIS? You have been so helpful here! :7

Angie
 
>>Kathryn - thanks for listing the 'cycles' for the videos. I
>was wondering how to order them. Would you put the Pyramids in
>the endurance/strength category with MIS? You have been so
>helpful here! :7
>
>Angie

Yeah, I guess I would consider PLB/PUB as a strength/endurance workout. But that's just my humble opinion. It's definitely more endurance oriented than PS because of the quick changes and little rest between sets, but it's less endurance oriented than PH because of the lower number of reps.
 
Another recommendation to add to the list for shoulder pain is to do presses on a decline bench, rather than on a flat bench. You are probably not a good candidate to do flyes on a flat bench either, but most experts no longer recommend doing flyes on a flat bench anyway.

Hope you feel better.
 
You are probably not a good candidate to do flyes on a
>flat bench either, but most experts no longer recommend doing
>flyes on a flat bench anyway.
>
>Hope you feel better.

I haven't seen this recommendation before. Can you give any sources? Why is the flat version not recommended? How about inclines?
 
Thanks Kathryn for all your help. My shoulder is back to normal (I think) so I will attempt chest presses again today while keeping all your pointers in mind.

I am also interested in hearing more about the recommendation not to do flyes on a flat bench. Never heard of that. I also wonder what the best position is for somebody with a smaller chest :(

Melissa
 
I also >wonder what the best position is for somebody with a smaller
>chest :(
>
>Melissa

Well, I'm definitely not well endowed, and I like to concentrate on incline presses [as well as flat] so that I develop some "cleavage" in the top area of the chest. Just don't make the incline so steep that it becomes more of a shoulder exercise. I vary between a 1-riser incline and a 2-riser incline (using the Original Step) (I'd try a 3-riser incline, but I think the step becomes a bit unstable at that point).
 
I looked briefly through my files and can't find an identifiable source for the recommendation not to do flyes on a flat bench. I think I might have first learned of the flyes-issue in my Human Biomechanics class. Basically, the theory is that your shoulder experiences so much torque during the flyes that you should avoid them if you have ever had shoulder problems. Alot of the problem is that your hands are facing each other, which means that your shoulder has more freedom to rotate, which can cause pain for many. With a bench press, you hands are such a way to limit the rotation (and your scapulae can provide stability for your shoulders).

I will keep looking for sources for you all.
 
Kathryn,

Thanks again for your help! :) I plan to start a new rotation sometime in June and really want to have my videos in order - hopefully leaving no room for failure!

I'll also have to remember to place my step on an incline so that I can develop more cleavage too. I am not overly endowed either. :( My sisters were given that pleasure while I was overlooked. x(

Anyhoo, the flat bench method tends to get to my shoulders if I am not fully focused on keeping my shoulders blades retracted and down. I also find find it easier (on my shoulders) to do the flyes with my palms facing forward versus facing each other. I can feel my chest working more.

Thanks for the tips ladies! :) :)
Angie
 
I also find find it easier (on my
>shoulders) to do the flyes with my palms facing forward versus
>facing each other. I can feel my chest working more.
>
>Thanks for the tips ladies! :) :)
>Angie
>
I like a palms at a 45-degree angle position, somewhere in between the facing forward and facing each other position. You might want to try that.
 
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