If you are experiencing shoulder pain while on the bench press you are not alone. Follow these tips to alleviate your pain and improve your strength.
1. Mix up your programming. Vary your exercises to include the incline and decline benches and dumbbells. The use of dumbbells recruits shoulder stablisers for increased stability.
2. Mix up the width of your grip. Change between wide and narrow. With a narrow grip the bar should be over the lower part of your sternum and when it’s wide it should be higher up the sternum. Important that your forearms stay vertical the whole time.
3. Vary the load. Don’t be a creature of habit and try lighter weights and more repetitions. An example of this could be 3 sets of 15 repetitions for 2 weeks, then 4 sets of 12 repetitions for 2 weeks, 5 sets of 8 repetitions for 2 weeks.
4. Add a 4 second eccentric phase on each repetition.Eccentric is when you are lowering the weight down and have a distinct pause at the bottom.
5. Incorporate scapula free exercises like push-ups and cables. This allows the scapula to move more freely and doesn’t lock the shoulder in one place like the normal bench press.
6. Keep your feet flat on the ground.
If you are still experiencing shoulder pain after incorporating these tips into your routine, call GET ACTIVE PHYSIOTHERAPY on 1300 89 10 11 and mention this article to receive a Free Physiotherapy Assessment.
