Author Topic: The long term effects of the bench press  (Read 9074 times)

Offline Sergio

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The long term effects of the bench press
« on: June 02, 2013, 10:44:23 AM »
Are bench press the exercise that creates shoulder problems for lots of longtime lifters?


Refunded from: http://forum.iron-age-classic-bodybuilding.com/index.php/topic,26542.0.html

Maybe it's the typical chest workout of many bodybuilders that ruins the shoulder anterior head forty five minutes three times a wee, with several kinds of inclines, declines, dips, pullovers, barbells, pec dec, dumbells, flys, etc...
Also they have to see 'how much they can bench' and will kill themselves trying to do it And by the way young guys see warming up to prevent injuries as a waste of energy, power, and time. I know I did. Warmups were for old guys and pansies.
Do some rear delt work before you bench. It not only helps when your shoulder is bothering you but it helps prevent future problems.
I recall a doctor in the weight room telling me as a young man, 'keep it up, I'll see you in my office in twenty years!' Of course I knew better than to listen to anything other than what Joe Weedy told me through the lips of his champs. 
Especially when we're young, the tendency is bench, bench bench. It's an easy exercise, no real technical expertise (at least initially!), a lot of leverage so you can use heavy weight, and ego-boosting results - there's no denying the rush you get from a pumped-up chest. Too much of anything can create overuse syndromes, especially when there's nothing balancing it out (in this case, rowing/posterior delt work and rotator cuff training)
Along with that, the technique used by many benchers - elbows flared wide - is prime impingement territory for the rotator cuffs (humerus abducted 90 degrees from the torso). Given that rotator cuff strengthening is pretty far down the list in most training routines means tendonitis crops up pretty regularly and gets summarily ignored
When you bench, your scapulae are trapped against a flat, unyielding platform - so instead of moving freely the way it's supposed to and complement the humerus, it's stuck. More shoulder problems ... it's why dips and pushups are safer methods of training chest.

Given all this, there are still many who bench quite well for a long time with no issues; sometimes folks happen to win the genetic lottery and their shoulders stay healthy no matter what. We tend to hate these people, because they make the rest of us just look bad ... the unfortunate part is bad shoulders and benching don't have to happen; unfortunately, by the time we realize it, usually it's too late.

I love the bench press it has really been responsible for building up my chest like not other exercise. However, it can be dangerous if it is not performed correctly. If you chase big numbers and stress your ligaments then you might eventually suffer injuries. If you use it to train your chest then it can be a wonderful exercise.  We all benched heavy like all bodybuilder do, and for some of us we are paying the price in shoulder chronic injuries years later. It was all part of our well-intentioned but misdirected 'go heavy or go home' platitude.

Offline Steff

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Re: The long term effects of the bench press
« Reply #1 on: August 07, 2013, 01:00:39 PM »
I try to cycle my use of the bench press. The big up side to it is(for me) that it allows me to stress the body with more weight
than the DB press. The down sides are shorter ROM and if you have a strength difference between left and wright it's harder to adjust.

Offline Sergio

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Re: The long term effects of the bench press
« Reply #2 on: August 07, 2013, 02:54:34 PM »
I remember that Kris Kangas rarely did bench press.  always dbs presses , dips push ups and flys

Offline Steff

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Re: The long term effects of the bench press
« Reply #3 on: December 10, 2013, 12:32:03 PM »
Another thing is pulling work! The common trainee usually does too little of this. It can prevent a shit load of problems. (pardon my french)

Offline Tom

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Re: The long term effects of the bench press
« Reply #4 on: November 21, 2014, 08:10:59 AM »
yes you need to row as much as you press!

Good advice on shoulder pre-hab is from Dorian Yates, light DB's and move them around like the shape of the letters.. if you imagine the letter "T".. the vertical is the body, and the horizontal is the arms, so you would do 8 reps like straight arm lateral raises, "T", 8 reps arms up to 45degree angle "W", arms from the side, like a front raise to the position "Y".. use very light weights, maybe 2-4kg's and the rotator cuff is ready for hard work!