Bench Press Form Check - Left Shoulder Sounds Crunchy

[wakk0]

While bench pressing tonight my left shoulder was making all sorts of crunchy sounds. It sounded like rice krispy treats. I did my best to keep my shoulder blades retracted, have a high chest, and not have my elbows at 90 degrees but it still sounded pretty horrible. Now my shoulder is pretty freaking sore. I filmed my third set, and after it was done I realized I shot the wrong side. I am hoping that this vid can still show what I'm doing wrong. If I need to make another vid just let me know. Thanks for everyone's input!

http://youtu.be/sss72zdjEjM

[Michael Wolf]

wakk0 - this is Campitelli and Wolf together here. We think you need to speak more russian in your everyday dialect. Russia is strong country; capitalist lifestyle makes you weak. Weak as a child. Compare to motherland, where even our seniors are strong as 9 month old piss, as evidenced here:


Start please to speak russian and type in cyrillic characters and see your puny shoulder issues subside. Пожалуйста.

All kidding aside, we don't see anything terribly wrong with your bench - there's a few tweaks we think could make it a bit better, though hard to tell due to the dark and poorly angled video, but nothing that would cause the kind of pain you're having. But obviously there's something wrong with your shoulder. Did you notice it doing anything else previously, or was this the first sign of a problem?

Yours in Revolution,
Comrades Wolf & Campitelli

[Nick Klemetson]

wakk0 - this is Campitelli and Wolf together here. We think you need to speak more russian in your everyday dialect. Russia is strong country; capitalist lifestyle makes you weak. Weak as a child. Compare to motherland, where even our seniors are strong as 9 month old piss, as evidenced here:


Start please to speak russian and type in cyrillic characters and see your puny shoulder issues subside. Пожалуйста.

All kidding aside, we don't see anything terribly wrong with your bench - there's a few tweaks we think could make it a bit better, though hard to tell due to the dark and poorly angled video, but nothing that would cause the kind of pain you're having. But obviously there's something wrong with your shoulder. Did you notice it doing anything else previously, or was this the first sign of a problem?

Yours in Revolution,
Comrades Wolf & Campitelli

This is why I love the coaches forum. The meme isn't showing on my screen though. I had to put it in a separate window, and hilarity ensued.

Anyway... what is the ideal angle to film a BP form check? I thought I remembered reading that it was a few steps back from where a spotter would stand, but then it's hard to see bar path and elbow/wrist alignment. Is 90 degree perpendicular ideal?

[wakk0]

товарищ Campitelli and товарищ Wolf,

Мой капиталист собака мать компьютере не покажет мне славную образ наших членов партии, которые вы опубликовали. Если возможно, пожалуйста, разместить ссылку, поэтому я не будут вынуждены взять мой серп и молот и вырвать из внутренности моем компьютере и фунта Никакого следа капиталистического догмы от этой машины.

Большое спасибо

My shoulder had a bit of grinding the last time I benched. It was slight sore last time afterwards. Today it the back and side of my shoulder feels like a deep bruise. It isn't a sharp pain but it kinda throbs. I can shoot another vid on Sunday. Does it need to be shot from a high viewing point looking down or at the same level of my body? Also, I assume a position of about 45 degrees (where 0 degrees would be the center of the bench next to my feet) toward the left side would be best - is this correct?

Я уверен, с вашей помощью я могу быть сильным, как медведь.

Большое спасибо
товарищ Wakk0

[Michael Wolf]

This is why I love the coaches forum. The meme isn't showing on my screen though. I had to put it in a separate window, and hilarity ensued.

We aim to please. And advance, the revolution, of course. Forward, friends!

Anyway... what is the ideal angle to film a BP form check? I thought I remembered reading that it was a few steps back from where a spotter would stand, but then it's hard to see bar path and elbow/wrist alignment. Is 90 degree perpendicular ideal?

http://startingstrength.com/resource...358#post189358

There's no one perfect place to film for any lift; that's why we move around the platform a lot as coaches. If we're coaching AND spotting someone's bench, of course we have to stay in position to spot. But otherwise, we move around a lot for this reason.

[Michael Wolf]

товарищ Campitelli and товарищ Wolf,

Мой капиталист собака мать компьютере не покажет мне славную образ наших членов партии, которые вы опубликовали. Если возможно, пожалуйста, разместить ссылку, поэтому я не будут вынуждены взять мой серп и молот и вырвать из внутренности моем компьютере и фунта Никакого следа капиталистического догмы от этой машины.

Большое спасибо

Here is link so you need not take out hammer & sickle on your computer: http://memerial.net/2451-usa-vs-russia

Пожалуйста.

My shoulder had a bit of grinding the last time I benched. It was slight sore last time afterwards. Today it the back and side of my shoulder feels like a deep bruise. It isn't a sharp pain but it kinda throbs. I can shoot another vid on Sunday. Does it need to be shot from a high viewing point looking down or at the same level of my body? Also, I assume a position of about 45 degrees (where 0 degrees would be the center of the bench next to my feet) toward the left side would be best - is this correct?

See the note just above in response to workout Nick, and the link there. My guess is the bench press is exacerbating an already-present issue, the cause of which you may not be sure of.

Я уверен, с вашей помощью я могу быть сильным, как медведь.

Da. Definitely. Stronger.

[wakk0]

Today the workout was five sets of 3 at 150 lbs. I filmed the fourth set and fifth set. On the fifth set I tried for five and got it. Shoulder wasn't making crunchy sounds today but it squeaked throughout all the sets. It's sore again after the work sets.

Fourth set of 3
http://youtu.be/tZlUc_twXBg

Final set
http://youtu.be/hzgMzQCLDSs

пожалуйста, помогите мое плечо остановить визжа, как маленькая девочка

[Michael Wolf]

пожалуйста, помогите мое плечо остановить визжа, как маленькая девочка

Я постараюсь, товарищ.

The better angle did allow me to see some things I couldn't before. Narrow your grip a finger width or two, so your elbow makes a 90 degree angle when the bar touches your chest. Also, touch the bar about two inches higher up on your chest. That's too much horizontal travel, which your shoulders won't like either.

If you tucked your elbows more, that would be more OK, but that would also change the lift some. People with shoulder issues sometimes need to do that, which we typically see in a close grip bench. But try the conventional bench with a slightly narrower grip and 2-inch higher touch point on your chest, and let's see how it feels.

[wakk0]

Я постараюсь, товарищ.

The better angle did allow me to see some things I couldn't before. Narrow your grip a finger width or two, so your elbow makes a 90 degree angle when the bar touches your chest. Also, touch the bar about two inches higher up on your chest. That's too much horizontal travel, which your shoulders won't like either.

A couple of questions. When you say that the elbow makes a 90 degree angle when the bar touches my chest - how is that possible? I am pulling an imaginary bar to my chest right now, but when I lower the "bar" it seems like I would make an acute angle with the radius and humerus. Is the 90 degrees achieved by "pushing your boobs forward" (as Rip says in the book) and arching your back and therefore raising the point where the bar would touch and allowing a 90 degree angle with the radius and humerus?

When you say, "That's too much horizontal travel" I'm a bit confused on this. Do you mean - The bar is too low on my chest and this results in too much horizontal travel or the bar is to low on my chest (one point you are making) and there is too much horizontal travel (a second and different point you are making)?

Finally, by horizontal travel are you meaning side to side movement at the lowest point of the movement?

Thanks for your insight on this. I am really trying to make sure I have your suggestions firmly understood so I can practice them tomorrow.

[Michael Wolf]

A couple of questions. When you say that the elbow makes a 90 degree angle when the bar touches my chest - how is that possible? I am pulling an imaginary bar to my chest right now, but when I lower the "bar" it seems like I would make an acute angle with the radius and humerus. Is the 90 degrees achieved by "pushing your boobs forward" (as Rip says in the book) and arching your back and therefore raising the point where the bar would touch and allowing a 90 degree angle with the radius and humerus?

Nevermind the 90 deg. It's a vertical forearm at the bottom that we - and you - are looking for. Your grip was a bit wide, thus creating a situation where there's a small moment arm between your hand/grip and elbow. That's what I want you to eliminate by narrowing your grip a bit.

When you say, "That's too much horizontal travel" I'm a bit confused on this. Do you mean - The bar is too low on my chest and this results in too much horizontal travel or the bar is to low on my chest (one point you are making) and there is too much horizontal travel (a second and different point you are making)?

The former.

Finally, by horizontal travel are you meaning side to side movement at the lowest point of the movement?

No. Horizontal movement between lockout and the bottom position on your chest.

Thanks for your insight on this. I am really trying to make sure I have your suggestions firmly understood so I can practice them tomorrow.

Guess it's too late for tomorrow, since by now, tomorrow is a couple days ago. But hopefully helpful for your next bench session.