Started using power lifting method for bench press. Problem.
Hi everyone
I started using the power lifting method and today only my front delts are sore, very sore. Nothing else was hit. Is this normal? how do I remove my delts from being targeted during bench press training?
Ash
__________________
Never underestimate a man. He may be slow, he may be weak and he may be an asshole but given the chance, he could put you to shame.
Most people sit around talking ABOUT God, but how many people sit around talking TO God? - A.M
What do you mean by powerlifting method? I assume you mean that you've got your elbows tucked rather than flared? With the tucked method your Tri's are going to come more into play than your chest, so you probably won't feel it as much in your chest. As for your delts, I can't really say on that. Perhaps EC will comment on this one a bit or if there's any other PL's out there.
Hmm....well, the tucked version is much more healthy for the joints. Eric had written an article advising the tucked version. Anyone else have a comment?
__________________
Never underestimate a man. He may be slow, he may be weak and he may be an asshole but given the chance, he could put you to shame.
Most people sit around talking ABOUT God, but how many people sit around talking TO God? - A.M
I'm sitting here in the same confusion. With a powerlifting style bench press, you'd expect your delts to be less involved, not more. So I don't know what to tell you.
could it be that you now lower the bar lower down on your chest?, when i started tucking my elbows inn i felt it in my delts too. Could he be lowering it to the upper abs? If he has lowered it to the chest at the nipples before it would be unusual.. thats what happened to me, i tricked around with it a bit, so now i lower it higher up on the torso, but still get my elbows tucked.
Not trying to insult you, goldwave, but are you sure it's the front delts and not the rotator cuff? it certainly could be the delts, but often enough a change in grip/motion can effect the cuffs.
Yeah, could be a different muscle, but in brainstorming this one I'm wondering if maybe you brought your hands in lots closer than the bench grip you used before, and slowed or paused at the chest, making it more like a close-grip bench. If you stay tucked and don't flare your elbows on a close-grip bench you can get it more in the front delt. Wow, just wild guesses until we get more information.
I am quiet sure its my front delts, because i feel the strain right under my skin. Ill try my best to describe it. Its not the full front delt, but more of the delt that joins the chest muscle. At the moment, it feels tight, and when i move it back and around, I feel a strain.
__________________
Never underestimate a man. He may be slow, he may be weak and he may be an asshole but given the chance, he could put you to shame.
Most people sit around talking ABOUT God, but how many people sit around talking TO God? - A.M
EC, get your ass over here and help the Claymation dude!
Guys, hes not at your beck and call.
And really, everyone here is just guessing what happened because, we dont know how he was benching (i.e. how wide, amount of flare, arch degree, etc) nor do we know what else you did during that workout. Could be your posture, and it may be that you have no business benching right now. The possibilities are endless without more info.
Post a vid if you need to because no one knows what you were doing.
If this is a new movement, youll feel a different type of stress than a typical bench press. Like everything else, your body will accomodate. And remember, soreness =/= quality of workout.
__________________
"The strongest steel goes through the hottest fires."-Anonymous
"When you begin to believe nothing is heavy, all weights become light." -Rossbow
"Just remember, somewhere there is a little Chinese girl warming up with your max."-Jim Convroy
"It's a round hole, dammit. Everyone fits."--Anonymous Mod at Strengthmill
1. Be certain your elbows are tucked in.
2. Mix structural and/or functional hypertrophy into your weekly schedule. It could be that your delts are weak and feeling the strain, or you're lifting too heavy for your body's ability to withstand. I used to do dips with a 25lb plate, but it was doing damage to my shoulders and my opinion was that my joints weren't and probably still are not capable of taking that kind of load.
Hmm....well, the tucked version is much more healthy for the joints. Eric had written an article advising the tucked version. Anyone else have a comment?
I have to do bench with my elbows tucked and a narrow grip or else my shoulder will start to hurt. Since I have been keeping the elbows tucked and the narrow grip I have set a PR with no shoulder pain at all.
__________________
I want to be pushing weights when I'm 70 instead of a walker in an old folk's home.
hi all, good to see this thread getting a lot of responses.
1. I do have weak shoulders, but I have been working on it a lot lately. My front delts are stronger than the rear. That's about it. When I perform bodybuilding form benchpress, my front delts are fine.
2. I clearly remember arching my back and raising my chest a little. Used to flat bench until I learned how to do it right.
__________________
Never underestimate a man. He may be slow, he may be weak and he may be an asshole but given the chance, he could put you to shame.
Most people sit around talking ABOUT God, but how many people sit around talking TO God? - A.M
Maybe EC or someone could give me a small check list before performing a powerlifting style bench press. It would help me a lot. I am currently using Christian Thibaudeau's methods for bench press. Purely bodybuilding.....
__________________
Never underestimate a man. He may be slow, he may be weak and he may be an asshole but given the chance, he could put you to shame.
Most people sit around talking ABOUT God, but how many people sit around talking TO God? - A.M
Yep, that's it EC. Great article plus the other 2 you link to at the end changed how I do my benching and have eliminated any shoulder pain while using heavy weights. Thanks!
__________________
"Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go." -- T.S. Eliot
"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act, but a habit."-- Aristotle
Nice artice, learned something new about benching there. One thing is though, when i keep my elbows tucked inn, the bar hits alot lower on the upper body, which is unfomrotable, it hits almost at the upper abs, is this ok, and just a thing to get used to? Maybe im using to wide grip, forcing me to bring my arms further down towards my feet?
And when i have my shoulderblads retracted and im lying on the bench, should i still flex the muscles in the upper back holding the shoulderblades tight together while i lift, or is it enough to just lie on it, relax and just dont stretch your arms out so far that it "de-retracts"?
Started using power lifting method for bench press. Problem.
Linear Mode
