Plie squats and bench presses

[DanielleS]

Hi Cathe,
I have a couple questions about MIS. This is my favorite strength training video. The crazy eights and ab work are SO TOUGH! OK, what I would like to know is during the barbell plie squats I find it uncomfortable (mostly in my shoulders) to hold the barbell across my shoulders/chest in front. Is the exercise still effective if I use the same position for the barbell as the regular squats (across my upper back)? My other question is during the bench press I find my wrists bothering me, what could I be doing wrong or how can I modify this? Thanks so much for your help!
Danielle

 

[Cathe Friedrich]

Hi Danielle!

Yes, the plie squat is still effective if you change your bar position to the "across your back" position. I personally prefer to have the bar in front so that the weight is centered directly over my inner thighs. However, your comfort is much more important when doing an exercise, and fortunately in this case, changing the bar position does not alter the exercise's effectiveness.

Tips to help prevent wrist pain:

1) During bench presses, be sure that you are keeping your wrist in a strong fixed position. Many times people develop a wrist pain from allowing their wrist to hyperextend. Let me try to describe this to you. When the weight of the bar is in your hands, be sure that your lower knuckles are facing the ceiling and not aimed back at you. Your hands should be upright in one straight line even with your arm. If your hand is cocked backwards, you are placing unnecessary stress on your wrist. [Side note: If you actually look at peoples hands when they are bench pressing, you will find that many do flex their wrists backwards. While this does place more stress on the wrist, and would be better if corrected, many people experience no pain in this position and therefore continue to lift in this manner that they are used to].

2) Be sure that in your starting position, your arms are spread wide apart from each other so that when you lower the bar down, your arms form a 90 degree angle as opposed to collapsing inward, therefore potentially stressing your wrist. Again, this is just recommended as a helpful method if your wrists are weaker or are experiencing sensitivities. You will still find many people lifting without using these precautions and have no wrist problems.

I hope you find these tips to be helpful for you. Good Luck!

 

[DanielleS]

Thanks Cathe!

I'm planning to do MIS tomorrow and I will try out your suggestions for my wrists during the bench presses. Thanks again!
Danielle