Benching problem

colman1212

Hi guys,
I have noticed that when I'm benching my last couple of reps, my right elbow seems to come in and it feels like I'm using more right bicep than chest. This has been really annoying me lately and my right bicep feels tight after a chest session whereas my left doesn't.
An instructor at the gym told me that this is because my rotator cuffs are tight.
He said I should do an exercise with the D ring and cable pulley- said this should increase my bench by 10-15%. He said its happening with my right because I'm right handed...
Does this sound correct?? and if so should I do that exercise on chest day also?

crotalus667

colman1212 wrote: »

,

Does this sound correct??

errr no , you schould be useing your tri's not your bi's :rolleyes:when you push it's triceps when you pull it's biceps

the drifter

elbow seems to come in? for a start both elbow should be in when your benching....

rubadub

Maybe try dumbbell bench pressing. Many subconciously lift more with their stronger arm/leg in many exercises. This means the stronger arm just gets stronger, and the weak stays relatively weaker which componds the effect.

YOu might even want to drop the reps on the right to allow the left catch up.

Hanley

There is absolutely no way to know what's going on withotu seeing you bench.

And put me in contact with your trainer. I'd kill for 10-15% extra if all Ihad to do was some cable movements with a D-handle.

the drifter

Hanley wrote: »

There is absolutely no way to know what's going on withotu seeing you bench.

And put me in contact with your trainer. I'd kill for 10-15% extra if all Ihad to do was some cable movements with a D-handle.

ha ha not if i kill before ya!

maradona10

I read an article by Fred Hatfield online that said bicep strain can be caused by the bench press because the shoulder blades are pinned to the bench which forces the biceps to take most of the strain when lowering the weight.

the solution is to do the press on a specially designed narrow width bench which allows the sh blades to move freely or do standing presses or weighted press ups as a substitute

apologies but didnt save link. google it and it shouild come up

Hanley

maradona10 wrote: »

I read an article by Fred Hatfield online that said bicep strain can be caused by the bench press because the shoulder blades are pinned to the bench which forces the biceps to take most of the strain when lowering the weight.

the solution is to do the press on a specially designed narrow width bench which allows the sh blades to move freely or do standing presses or weighted press ups as a substitute

apologies but didnt save link. google it and it shouild come up

You're suggesting it is a BAD idea to keep the shoulders pinned back during bench presses, and they should instead be allowed to move freely?

Dragan

Hanley wrote: »

You're suggesting it is a BAD idea to keep the shoulders pinned back during bench presses, and they should instead be allowed to move freely?

Thousands and thousands of competitve powerlifters must have it wrong.

maradona10

im not suggesting. the article was by fred hatfield so maybe there is something in it cos he knows his stuff. if i find the article ill put a link to it.

the drifter

man free moving shoulders in a bench shirt....it would be safer to stand on the edge of a tall building in a strong gale...

Hanley

maradona10 wrote: »

im not suggesting. the article was by fred hatfield so maybe there is something in it cos he knows his stuff. if i find the article ill put a link to it.

Half of the time I think Fred Hatfield was smoking crack when he was writing his articles. The amount of bizarre sh!t he's said that goes completely against pretty much EVERY other powerlifter/strong person is unreal. And everyone treats it like gospel because he was strong.

I honestly think he's jsut one of those god given freaks who has such incredibly special genetics that anything he done would have worked.

colman1212

rubadub wrote: »

Maybe try dumbbell bench pressing. Many subconciously lift more with their stronger arm/leg in many exercises. This means the stronger arm just gets stronger, and the weak stays relatively weaker which componds the effect.

YOu might even want to drop the reps on the right to allow the left catch up.

I use dumbells regularly aswell and its the same.

errr no , you schould be useing your tri's not your bi's when you push it's triceps when you pull it's biceps

.

I know your not meant to be using biceps and thats why I put the post up...

Maybe try dumbbell bench pressing. Many subconciously lift more with their stronger arm/leg in many exercises. This means the stronger arm just gets stronger, and the weak stays relatively weaker which componds the effect.

YOu might even want to drop the reps on the right to allow the left catch up.

.

But i'm right handed and its my right arm i'm having the problem with


When your benching your elbows should be out wide and when doing a close grip bench press your elbows should be in tight. Am i right in saying that?

So when I start my set my elbows are out wide. At the end of my set my right elbow comes in tight like your elbows are when your doing a close grip bench. My right arm should be stronger than my left since I'm right handed surely, not the other way around. Was just wondering if anyone had experienced this anyway....

maradona10

i dont take anything anyone says as gospel, least of all on this forum.

the op was looking for an explanation for his problem and i just put forward hatfields article on the bench press as a possible reason.

brianthebard

Obviously as pointed out above we can't know whats wrong unless we see your form BUT I had the same problem a while ago, and it was caused by a couple of things. I was bringing the bar down too close to my nipples, I moved it further down towards my stomach/end of ribcage. More importantly my hands were bending down in the course of a set, so the back of them were almost parallel with my chest, if that makes sense. That caused my arms to drift backwards a little and put the force on my bis, as far as I could tell. The solution was to fix my hand and forearm positions, to make sure my forearms weren't moving back towards me. All the force then went on my chest and tris. Hope that makes sense.

Mikel

colman1212 wrote: »

I know your not meant to be using biceps and thats why I put the post up...

It's not physically possible to use your biceps, that's what he was saying.
Alas nobody could tell you what you're doing wrong without seeing it and your descriptions are not very clear.
Do you have a spotter? It's very unlikely (read impossible) that your technique is correct if you don't.

beastman

Theres a video on thefitshow of rusty jeffers doing a chest session, he always does some form of light biceps exercise when doing chest, his explanation is that the bicep tendom begins in the shoulder and that even though benching is a chest exercise the bicep does come into play and that its a good idea to keep it 'warm'. maybe you should do the same??

Hanley

In fairness, the biceps do play a huge part when it comes to stablisation in the bench press. It doesn't really have any function other than that tho.

It's unusal to hear of peoples elbows coming in when benching. They usually drift out due to poor scap control or weak lats.

kevpants

Hanley wrote: »

It's unusal to hear of peoples elbows coming in when benching. They usually drift out due to poor scap control or weak lats.

Tell me about it. I had a serious breakdown in form last night in my last set of 90kg 5x5's.

Was on a months holiday prior to this week so everything rusty anyway but on the way up on set 5 rep 4 I exhaled (first mistake) then somehow relaxed my right shoulder blade (I didn't think you could relax one shoulder blade) causing a chain reaction of my right elbow drifting out my body turning to my right on the bench, my left leg flying up into the air and me nearly falling off the bench with 90kg on my chest. Niiiice.

I'd advise the OP to listen to Hanley's advice (H do you ever get sick of people phelating you on this forum?) on form, he pointed me to some articles on elitefts.com specifically this one:
http://www.elitefts.com/documents/bench_like_a_stripper.htm
which will make you realise that what you have been doing up to now is not benching.

Mikel

Hanley wrote: »

In fairness, the biceps do play a huge part when it comes to stablisation in the bench press. It doesn't really have any function other than that tho.

How so? If your bicep contracts it would be bringing the weight towards you wouldn't it? What am I missing?

Hanley

Mikel wrote: »

How so? If your bicep contracts it would be bringing the weight towards you wouldn't it? What am I missing?

Ok, put your arms out in front of you in a bench press position. Relax and try to pull your arms down like you're lowering the bar...

Now try it while flexing your biceps (imagine trying to twist your hands together as if you're holding a bar), and contract your lats hard too (like you're trying to pull the bar down, not just lower it). With a bit of practice this should help you feel spring loaded when you bench. It'll build up a huge amount of energy on the way down and give you great explosion out of the bottom.