im 6 foot 1, 190 pounds, 21 years old, been lifting for almost a year

ok, in about a month and a half, or 2 months i went from bench pressing 205 pounds @ 8 times per set, and 225 @ 4-5 times per set, didnt take too long before i went to benching 225 pounds @8-10 times per set, and 250 @ 4-5 times per set.

then after that my routine is to do calf extensions @ 450 pounds, lat-pull-down at 320 pounds, curls at 100-125 pounds, various dumb bell curls and sit ups/ pull ups blah blah blah...

but recently, ive been having a sharp pain in my shoulder that ONLY occurs when bench pressing... i only get it during decline at about when my elbows are bent 90 degrees or more. its in my left shoulder, feels like it might be tendons instead of muscle. i took a week off from lifting, seemed to help a little, and like tonight i only benched 185 max, and at no more than 90 degrees of elbow bending.

i ALWAYS stretch well for 5-10 minutes, use pretty good form, use a spotter if im benching more than 225#s

does anyone have any idea what it might be, how i might solve it? common sense would tell a guy to NOT bench press at all if thats what causes the problem, but im seriously afraid ill lose so much of my hard earned progress. any ideas??

 

My problem would get so bad I couldn't pick the bar up. I maxed out at 300 lbs and then this pain would just nail me.

What my problem was was a inflamed tendon. The joint was tight enough that once the tendon became inflamed it couldn't heal since it just kept rubbing against the tendon. It would get real bad for a while (could not push open a door without pain) and then I would be just fine. Finally, I had enough and went to see a Dr. He operated on my shoulder in an attempt to enlarge the area inside. Worked great. However, he said if I ever went back to bench pressing 300 lbs I would be back to see him. He said that when you do 200, 250, 300, etc all that weight is carried by one small point on your shoulder, right where the tendon attaches to the bone.

I started doing finger push-ups (about 3 years after the op) and it only took a couple of days before my shoulder started talking loudly to me. So I quit and the ice pick in the shoulder pain slowly went away.

Sounds like a tendon problem to me. They take forever to heal.

 

Do you do any rotator cuff work? That is most likely the problem. Common problem. The shoulders are out of balance strength wise.

 

I am suffering from both shoulders objecting right now - the one side is adhesive capsulitis, the other one may be, but feels different. I can hardly lift anything without feeling it, which is not good, but can't figure what I did to annoy it.

The first side is improving slowly, but the left one is getting worse - I can't lie on it in bed without being woken with a really sharp set of pains - not just one, but the whole area hurts.. I know, I should go see a doctor, and if I could find one worth going to, believe me, I would go. But the offerings I have seen round here have not instilled any confidence in me at all..

So, Adhesive Capsulitis, or frozen shoulder, hurts.. That is on the right side.

The other effort, on the left is totally different, and hurts more. Any ideas?

Theo

 

Studies have shown that stretching PRIOR to lifting can actually weaken your lifts....they stress that stretching DURING your lifting, in between sets, is the way to go. As for your injury, maybe the large increase in weight over a short period of time has something to do with it. Could be your muscle was growing too fast for your joints and tendons and something got tweaked. What exercises do you do when you do shoulders? Maybe it has something to do with your choices of exercises there. Or do you even lift shoulders? If you are not lifting shoulders as heavy as you are going for chest, then maybe the weight is too over bearing for your shoulder joints. Do you do any incline on chest day? What happens then? That is when the shoulder joint is really placed under some stress, at leat the front delts. Personally, and ill-advised, I lift through all my injuries, but I have been lucky enough to not have any really serious enough to worry about. I have felt tweaks here and there, but have just kept truckign along. Hope this helped........answer some of those aquestions and maybe we can figure it out.

 

Knock on wood.. I tried that with mine and it then made it nearly impossible to sleep on my side or even pick up my arm. So I get to sit on the porch now. (At far as bench pressing goes)

Pain is not always bad, it's when you get the SHARP pain that you have to take notice.

The comment by hang10 that your shoulders are out of balance strength wise is 100 % correct in my book. Mine are.

 

mattyd- ive started doing decline bench press, between 205 and 235

i was using a machine that simulates incline bench, doing 270-310. that is what i felt was causing me slight shoulder irritation.

i think lat-pull-downs and and 2 other excersizes ive down with dumbells are all that work my shoulders other than bench pressing.

i guess with bench pressing and lat-pull-down there was a HUGE increase in weight, in a short amount of time, so that may have been the problem.

 

Those two other exercises you are talkign about for shoulders......what are they? You need to do some mass building exercises for shoulders, such as mil. presses and shrugs.....these exercises will strengthen the shoulder joint, and will make that whole are that much more solid. If you aren't doing these shoulder mass builders, you will start to look a little deformed after a while......if you are going heavy for chest, you should go heavy for everything else too...dont just concentrate on the all too popular "what do you bench" deal..........hope this helped ya...

 

the 2 excersizes are with dumbells, one i put my knee and arm on a

 

the 2 excersizes are with dumbells, one i put my knee and arm on a flat bench, and witht he other arm i raise the barbell to my chest, switching off between arms.

the other i grab a barbell with both hands,lifting it over my head, behind me head, raising it up and down

 

ok........the first exercise you listed is a back exercise.....dumbell rows......the second one is a military press......do you do that seated or standing? There is much debate on whether or not to do this exercise in back of the head, so the bar comes down almost to the neck, or in front, down to upper chest region.....people say if you have a problem with your shoulder, you shouldnt do behind the neck presses, which is what you do......maybe you shoudl try switching to the front......come down with the bar right in front of your nose, to that bone you feel going across your upper chest, the clavicle......once you get good at this seated, try it standing.....one of the best mass builders for shoudlers.......also.......try doing shrugs.......you need to do more shoulder work my friend........hope this helped........also......for good information......check out muscle and fitness magazine....they have great info every month, and get real specific with what exercise does what, and how to come up with routines.....sounds like you are just gettin into it....so maybe you should check it out...... http://www.muscleandfitness.com/

 

i recently started readin mens fitness. and muscle fitness.

ive been wanting to get a session from a instructor, but unfortunatly all the ones at my gym are women who dont seem to do heavy weightlifting instructing, just light excersizes for older adults

 

i am sidelined now with a wierd injury, it is in my forearm. i can pull but i can not push, if i try to squeeze my hand or someone shakes my hand a little hard i am in pain. i cant do my job and i been off work for two weeks now because of it. doctors are unsure of what the injury is. makes me feel like a cripple cause i cant even open a can of pop with my right hand.

 

Opiewan, last year, in training, I injured my left forarm, during rapid weak side firing (of a .45ACP) the symptoms were very similar to those you mention. I applied heat all night, with the arm supported on a soft pillow, and had it firmly strapped during the daytime. After 5 or 6 months, my arm recovered well. I have not done unsupported weak side firing since then though. I will wait a year before I try that again.

The forearm feels great, despite the shoulder objecting after a few weeks weight exercise.

Theo

 

i was strapping it firmly in th day time, but it got so i would have to wrap it tighter and tighter everyday. my blood vessels would be bulging and with that i would still have pain. doctors want to do a MRI soon, to see if they can see anything the xrays missed. hopefully they can figure out something soon, kinda hard on the family not working.