Sharp Pain in Elbows and Shoulders After Bench Pressing
Are you getting a sharp pain in your elbows and shoulders after bench pressing? Well you’re not alone because I was experiencing when I started benching.
So I decided to get into the bench press. I had never tried it before even though I went to the gym for years. After a couple of sessions after benching, I started to feel a sharp pain coming from my elbows and shoulder.
I knew this pain wasn’t because of a good workout, it felt really bad. Like I was doing something wrong. I knew that the pain was coming from the bench because the only thing that changed was me incorporating the bench into my workouts.
I couldn’t figure out what I was doing wrong. Maybe the bench press wasn’t just right for me? But I knew that was a weak and lame excuse for me to stop bench pressing. So what did I do? I decided to buy a bench press course called critical bench. You can check out a review of it on BodyBuilding Nuts.com,
After I got this program and started to incorporate the tips in there, I knew exactly what I was doing wrong. My form was not right.
You see, what my form looked like was me holding the bar with a wide grip. And when I was benching and went down, I was touching the top or middle of my chest.
By doing this, I was putting a lot of strain on my shoulders and elbows.
Here’s what I did to fix this issue…
I held the bar a little closer. My pinky finger was on the ring this time and not my index finger.
And when I was pulling the bar back to myself, I made sure I was placing it at the bottom of my chest and not the top or middle.
By doing this, I took away the strain on my shoulder and elbows and instead placed that weight on my triceps.
The very next day, my shoulders and elbows felt a lot better. I could now carry on benching without worrying about hurting my elbows and shoulders.
So that’s literally it. That’s exactly why your elbows and shoulders were hurting after benching and that’s exactly how you can fix it.
And before you think the bench has already damaged you enough. You must check out these benefits…
Benefit 1 – Grow your chest
Pretty damn obvious, right? When you bench press you will grow your chest. In fact, the bench press may be the most used piece of equipment to grow the chest muscles. And I know exactly why, because when I started bench pressing, I instantly noticed my chest starting to grow.
In fact, when I first joined the gym, I was doing the usual stuff. A few months later, I decided to give the bench press a shot.
And boy, I’m so glad I did. 10 weeks later, I could clearly see that my chest grew. In fact, people around me were saying, you’ve gotten bigger. and I’m not going to lie, it felt pretty damn good.
The bench press is a must-have exercise if you’re serious about growing your chest.
Benefit 2 – Create a passion
So when I was going to get into the bench press, I thought it would just be another exercise. I didn’t really bat an eyelid. But he eventually, the bench press became something I was actually passionate about. I really cared about increasing my weights and reps. I really gave a damn about getting my form perfect.
I even went ahead and bought a bench press program. And damn, I’m happy I did because I learnt so much about the bench press and broke through so many plateaus or potential plateaus instantly.
When you bench press, the weight you lift is like a badge of honour. It really is a beautiful thing and something that I strive to keep increasing and increasing.
Benefit 3 – Work the bottom, the top, and the middle of the chest.
You see, the bench press allows you to target all areas of the chest. When you’re benching with a flat bench, you can target the middle of the chest. When you do decline, you can work at the bottom of the chest. and with the incline, you can target the top of the chest.
You can get a solid overall chest by simply bench pressing. It really is a staple exercise that you need in your workouts.
So those were my top 3 benefits of bench pressing. If you have any concerns about the bench, I would recommend getting a really good bench pressing course that will lay all your concerns to rest.
Still want to learn more about the bench press benefits? Check out this post.
