something wrong?

[muscleted18]

ok so heres a problem ive encountered, accually there are two problems but i think they are related

first, whenever im working my chest(bench presses and dumbell flys and such), i dont feel my chest being worked, instead what gets tired are my triceps and sometimes my shoulders, i dont understand this

second, sometimes when i am doing my chest, i get this nasty pain in the front of my shoulders, sounds bad

i prolly didnt explain these right, so feel free to ask anything to help me figure out my problem. thanks.

Originally Posted by muscleted18

ok so heres a problem ive encountered, accually there are two problems but i think they are related

first, whenever im working my chest(bench presses and dumbell flys and such), i dont feel my chest being worked, instead what gets tired are my triceps and sometimes my shoulders, i dont understand this

second, sometimes when i am doing my chest, i get this nasty pain in the front of my shoulders, sounds bad

i prolly didnt explain these right, so feel free to ask anything to help me figure out my problem. thanks.

Without watching you or having a detailed description of your technique, it's hard to say what the problem is but here are a few possibilities.

1) When you're working your chest are you working your CHEST? or are you passing the strain onto smaller muscles that can't handle the poundage.

2) Are you unbalanced? i.e. if you've got good chest exercise technique are your surrounding muscles up to the task of keeping the weights steady?

3) "Working the chest" is a fuzzy statement. What part of the chest? Upper, lower, middle?. Are your elbows bent enough to take the strain off the elbow joint but not so much that you transfer the force to your shoulders and triceps.

4) Are your chest exercises coming at good time in the sequence of exercises. Chest muscles are big muscles, they should be warmed up and worked early in a session while you've got the energy and the surrounding muscles that help handle balancing the weight haven't been pre-exhausted.

5) Have you had a previous shoulder injury that may be recuring.

If you can't "feel" the chest being worked, you may need to get some advice from someone who can watch your technique and help you find an exercise and technique that does teach you how to recognize the "feel".

Barbell presses to work the chest should have the hands no closer than shoulder width apart. Wider is better up to a point. It helps keeps the triceps from having to jump in to finish the lift. Do negatives, i.e. lift rather quickly (1-2 seconds) then lower the weight much slower (4-6 seconds).

If your deltoid is getting sore doing benches, its probably got a lot of strain on it. What angle is the bench? Where is the bar in relation to your shoulder joint?

When doing dumbbell flies, I always imagine that I'm doing a bear hug with them or that there is a barrel on my chest. Elbows crooked a little, and the angle doesn't change, come up and hug the bear quickly and then lower the weights slowly. For working on control I let the dumbbells approach each other gently and just barely kiss making a "tink" that only I can hear.

Getting heavy dumbbells up is a problem. Watch the good guys in the gym and you'll see that they've probably worked out a way to get dumbbells into position in a safe manner and that they pretty much have the weights under complete control at all time. No overstraining, no incorrect leverage. Yeah it sounds butch to drop them at the end of a set but unless you're completely out of energy or have just torn something, try to return them to the ground under some semblance of control.

"Bodybuilding is a contest with gravity. You will ALWAYS lose! Learning to be a consistently graceful loser makes you a winner."

[RoidBoy]

Originally Posted by muscleted18

ok so heres a problem ive encountered, accually there are two problems but i think they are related

first, whenever im working my chest(bench presses and dumbell flys and such), i dont feel my chest being worked, instead what gets tired are my triceps and sometimes my shoulders, i dont understand this

second, sometimes when i am doing my chest, i get this nasty pain in the front of my shoulders, sounds bad

i prolly didnt explain these right, so feel free to ask anything to help me figure out my problem. thanks.

Hi ... it depends also how your body is built up with different fibres. You are faster tired with other muscles than the chest, has not to be that you haven't worked the chest. Probably you get sore a day later. Do you feel them on the next day (i mean worked)? ... damn, wish my english would be better

Next point is like the poster before stated, it can be different reasons. Also different are upper or lower pecs.

Another point can be with different rotations of the exercises, so you work more longer or shorter fibres. So take attention to your free weights workout.

[Mdlftr]

Excellent post from LG, as usual!

MuscleTed18, what you are describing is a classic case of your shoulders and tris taking the stress of the weight when you are benching. After awhile, your shoulders get involved, take too much stress, and start to hurt! That's called an injury, and you need to rehab it, NOT 'work through the pain.'

I'm not a personal trainer (but I sound like one, sometimes!) but I did use one for a year or so. What you probably have is shoulder pain caused by too much stress on your shoulder caused by a range of possible problems: bad form, too much weight, bench at a bad angle, or prior shoulder injury which is being exacerbated by the current effort.

Possible solutions:
1. do rehabilitative exercises for your shoulders, particularly the rotator cuffs. That is the band of tissue around your shoulder joint that frequently gets torn or irritated from bad form, weight that is too heavy, etc.

2. Reduce the weight and only use weight you can safely handle in good form.

3. Get someone you trust knows what they are doing to observe your form and help you to correct it.

One exercise to help strengthen the shoulders is uneven pushups. Take a towel or a baseball mitt or some other, semi-solid, non-slippery item with some 'give' in it. Put the mitt on the floor, then put the hand of the bad shoulder on it, and put the other hand on the floor. Do a set of push ups, with one hand on the mitt (making it uneven) and one hand on the floor. Then, switch hands and do another set, with the other hand on the mitt. A few sets of this will really help strenghten your shoulder.

Another exercise is standing dumbbell lateral front raises. Take light (15# OR LESS) dumbbells in each hand. Standing straight, with your arms at your sides, and the dbs alongside your thighs, slooowwllly raise the dumbbells to shoulder height. They should be raised at a point midway between your hip and your front deltoid. If the planes of your back and your chest make a 90 degree angle, (that is, your rear deltoid and your front deltoid) the dumbbells should be raised at a point halfway between your back and your front delt, or at about a 45 degree angle. Your arm is straight, and your movements should be smooth and controlled---4 count up, 4 count down. Do not raise the dumbbells higher than your shoulders. 1 set of 15 reps to start (believe me, you'll feel it!) then build up from their. This is NOT a macho, big weight exercise--it's a precursor to doing other, macho big-weight (maybe, who needs 'em, unless you're powerlifting?) exercises! You are working the stabilizer muscles in your shoulders, which is what hurts now.

Your shoulder should NOT hurt when you are doing benches. That is a sign that something is wrong and you need to find the problem(s) and fix it. I personally had that same problem for years, and just thought, oh well, I guess I'm 'not built for benching.' Wrong-o! Good form and rehab exercises make a world of difference! I may not have pecs like Schwarztenegger (yet! ) but things don't hurt in a bad way!

Give it a try, and let me know how you do!

Mdlftr

[glammaman2000]

first,you may feel it in your tri's because they need to be strengthened first.i often hear new lifters say they feel lat pulldowns in their forearms;because they haven't developed their grip&YOU HAVE TO HOLD ON TO EVERYTHING!as to form;i don't think that the bar should touch at your nipples.it should be much higher,closer to your collarbone.KEEP YOUR CHIN DOWN!this will lessen the tendency to roll your shoulders forward.grip should be wide enough so that at the bottom of the lift;your wrists are directly over or slightly outside your elbows.there is always a tendency to try to push the weight up with your lats,but this is what strains the shoulders.keep your elbows high.glucosamine/CSA will help to repair a shoulder that is already sore(takes about 3wks)if you have very long arms,bench presses may just be a bad idea.LG's advice on flyes is right,once again,keep your chin down.they are a riskier exercise than people realize.do relatively light weight;high reps.

[UKBeefy]

It might be worth dropping the weight down for the next couple of sessions and really slowing down your reps to consciously feel the muscle being worked. On the chest you should feel your chest getting tight and pumped as you work it. If there is no real sensation of that then really concentrate and squeeze your pecs as you push up.

I had similar problems at times in the past and had a training session once with a close friend and he actually put his palm on my chest to point out when I was and wasn't squeezing the pec during the exercise.

Hope that helps.

[brent]

Originally Posted by Mdlftr

...
2. Reduce the weight and only use weight you can safely handle in good form.

3. Get someone you trust knows what they are doing to observe your form and help you to correct it.
...

I thought it sounds like your weights are too heavy as well. I like to start chest with a super-light warm-up set, so I can feel the form. Then I go for heavier weights.

If you don't have anyone you can really trust, many gyms have trainers, on staff, that you can ask for some quick help. Just be sure they aren't busy with a paying client at the time!

Originally Posted by glammaman2000

first,you may feel it in your tri's because they need to be strengthened first.i often hear new lifters say they feel lat pulldowns in their forearms;because they haven't developed their grip&YOU HAVE TO HOLD ON TO EVERYTHING!
...
they are a riskier exercise than people realize.do relatively light weight;high reps.

I agree that you need to go light at first to strengthen the secondary muscles.

There are many exercises that are very dangerous in the gym. For God's sake, PLEASE keep you back flat on the bench, and on leg presses.

Originally Posted by UKBeefy

It might be worth dropping the weight down for the next couple of sessions and really slowing down your reps to consciously feel the muscle being worked. On the chest you should feel your chest getting tight and pumped as you work it.
...

Wow, it sounds like we have a common theme here! Try dropping you weight for a couple weeks, and before you go to the gym, try doing a dry run first. Before I go to the gym, I like to flex the muscles in the same form as the exercises I will soon do in the gym.

Please take care of yourself, and get huge soon Teddy!