L Shoulder gave out unracking Bench

[ryantetz]

I've been progressing starting strength the last 4 months. My Bench is at 175. I did my first 2 sets of 5 with a spotter and felt fine. No shoulder pains.

On the 3rd set I went to unrack the bar and press it up in to neutral lock out.. as soon as I had the bar moving up and out of the hooks instead of going up to lock out, I felt the bar dropping rapidly downward (on the left side most of all) until I was holding it caught flat on my chest and my feet had also unexpectedly also come off the ground in this reaction momentarily. My left shoulder felt perhaps like it had sub luxed and given out as I felt the tendons shifting funny and slight pain (I've done this climbing in years past but no problems at at all lifting or in last few years).

It's like the bar had momentum before I could lock it out maybe?

The only thing I did different was roll the bar all the way to the front of the long hooks instead of all the way back against the supports on this particular bench at my spotter's urging. I lined my eyes up just in front of the edge of the bar the same as I always do.

Advice? What happened? It felt like one side of my press just gave away immediately in that shoulder. It was scary! No way a spotter would have reacted. I don't usually have them hand the bar off to me, but should I in the future? I'm going to rest for a week or 2 and hope the pain goes away before re- evaluating if I'm injured significantly now or not.

Thanks!

[Greg Ruhl]

It was scary! No way a spotter would have reacted. I don't usually have them hand the bar off to me, but should I in the future?

I don't know about the rest, but this is exactly why I will not bench unless there are safeties. Handoffs can help reduce fatigue at the start of the set but you need to find someone competent at handing off the bar. This sounds easy but it's not.