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Thread: Back at it--Shoulders and Chest

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Nov 2010
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    Default Back at it--Shoulders and Chest

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    Well--probably serendipitously I caught a virus which coincided with a killer couple of weeks at work and the beginning of coaching for my high school rugby team. Any two of which I could have handled and still worked out--three at once and I could not work out.

    Like I tell my clients-- work wise I can do any two of the following three things--Fast, inexpensive, and Well--but not all three. You pick the two you want.

    Serendipity is that my shoulders now feel fine--no more pain in certain ranges of motion etc.

    So I am ready to dive back in.

    But--as Einstein said the definition of insanity is repeating the same actions and expecting different results.

    Deads and squats--no problem. No issue even with power cleans assuming my shoulders feel good.

    What can I change (from SS) to work chest and shoulders hard without repeating the injury/chronic pain pattern.

    Shoulders feel good now--I would like to keep them that way. For whatever reason, BP seems to be more the villain than the press.

    Any advice--particularly from resident guru Mark Hurling appreciated.

    Thanks, Bill

  2. #2
    Join Date
    May 2010
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    Murphysboro, IL
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    Who me, a guru? Well I did have a nehru jacket in the 60's and I like sitar music and patchouli oil always makes me wonder who was smoking dope last but Oldster fits the guru title better than me. With all those disclaimers said, how wide is your grip in the bench press? The wider it is, the more likely you are to have shoulder issues. It was certainly true for me in the past. Try a narrower width grip. It'll reduce the weight you can use and put more hurt on your triceps, but it does save the delts. Also, I discovered this week how important keeping a 45 degree angle between your arms flaired out from your body is to prevent problems thanks to Oldster. If those two adjustments continue to cause problems consider dips. Just don't let your arms drop below parallel kind of as in squats. Too deep can cause delt problems too. Stretching, like towel dislocates and windmills can keep them happy. Never do a behind the neck press or pulldown either.

  3. #3
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    Nov 2010
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    Good ideas. When you say narrow--how narrow--approximately just inside shldr width, hands touching on the bar, hands a few inches to a foot apart?

    Also--45 degree angle with what--from your arms to your body--or ?

    Good to hear from you--thanks, Bill

  4. #4
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    Well I just measured my hand spacing at Oldster's recommendation and found I was dead on his 16" advice. The distance is the inside dimension from thumb to thumb. Going too narrow, like a few inches apart will give you wrist problems in my experience and makes balance a major issue. As for the angle of the arms, this cue might be helpful reviewing from a standing position. Stand up with your arms at your sides and bend your elbows at a 90 degree angle like you were halfway through doing a curl. Hold them in this position and then bring your elbows up until your forearms and upper arms are parallel to the ground. This is the 90 degree angle you want to avoid. Now drop your elbows halfway down from that position and hanging at your sides. That is the 45 degree angle you want. Once you get that feeling hardwired into your arms and shoulders in a standing position, lie back on the bench and do the same. Hope this helps and wasn't too wordy of an explanation. Is that Ravi Shankar I hear in the background?

  5. #5
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    So--the 45 is between your arms and your chest viewing the body side on? That is interesting, if I am right in my interpretation. Your arms straighten , but not to form a 90 degree angle with your chest. You are almost pushing slightly away versus straight up and down? The push feels more co fortable on my shoulder (standing and with no weight).

  6. #6
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    I'm not sure I'm explaining this well at all. I wish I could figure out how insert a picture of some sort. The 45 degree angle formed is between the side of your body (lats and rib cage) and your upper arms (or humerus) when viewed from either your front or your back. Does that help?

  7. #7
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    Yes--I think that does it. View a man from behind, standing. When he moves his straight out to either side and raises them to level shoulders--he forms a T and his arms are at 90 degrees to his body. Dropping his arms halfway down from there forms a 45 degree angle. We want to use the 45 and not the 90 because it puts far less strain on the shoulders--when pressing from a lying bench position.

  8. #8
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    May 2010
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    Murphysboro, IL
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    Yeah, that's it! Good, because as I said, I only became aware of the importance of this in the last week or so after a minor pec injury.

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