Skip to main content

Squat University’s 5 Tips for Pain-Free Shoulders While Bench Pressing

Squat University is known for high-quality lifting advice for athletes in multiple sports, including strongmen, bodybuilding, CrossFit, powerlifting, weightlifting, various field sports, and more, to train healthy and pain-free over the long term. One of the most common issues from consistent lifting is an excess strain on the shoulders during a bench press. Squat University has advice to remedy that.

On Aug. 26, 2023, Squat University published its top five tips to eradicate shoulder pain while bench pressing in a video on its YouTube channel. Check it out below:

[Related: Does Crash Dieting Negatively Affect Body Composition and Muscle Gains?]

1. “Lock 3” Shoulder Routine

For the first tip, Dr. Aaron Horschig, a physical therapy doctor and coach head of Squat University, has his assistant, Micah, lie prone on the floor. With light weights – one to two-and-a-half pounds – the routine begins with lifting the arms backward into the air, engaging the posterior muscles in the shoulders. There isn’t much range of motion, but it helps with posterior flexibility and strength, which is an important facet for weightlifters, who are typically anterior-dominant in the torso/shoulders.

Fifteen to 20 reps with lighter weight and palms up is generally enough to create more body balance. Micah then flipped their hands’ palms down. They flared their arms and lifted them a few inches while not over-retracting the rhomboids. Dr. Horschig suggested focusing on the hands rather than pinching in the back to train the rotator cuffs and lats

The final position is a “T” formation, with straightened arms out to the sides. For all these movements – 15-20 repetitions each – Dr. Horschig implored slowly lowering the weight rather than slamming them to the floor.

2. External Shoulder Rotation

With a foam roller positioned underneath the arm while lying on their side, Micah externally rotated a five-pound dumbbell slowly. This trained the infraspinatus — a thick triangular rotator cuff muscle — keeping their shoulder immobilized while maintaining external rotation torque. (1)

The recommendation was 15 to 20 slow reps that don’t go beyond parallel to the floor or eclipse perpendicular at the top to prevent the shoulders from rotating over. The foam roller mimics the arms’ position during a traditional flat bench press. The elbows don’t flare but rather maintain a natural pressing position with a slight tuck.

[Related: The Best Beginner Workout Plan To Start Your Fitness Journey]

3. Banded Bench Press

Dr. Horschig placed a resistance band around Micah’s wrists, who laid in the bench press position without any weight. Dr. Horschig said to “break the band,” which “engages the lateral shoulder muscles by tensioning the band.” Maintaining that tension, Micah performed a bench press comprised of a five-second eccentric and a five-second concentric.

This increases posterior shoulder support by engaging those muscles and keeping them active throughout the movement. Dr. Horschig recommended six to 10 reps or as many as one can do without shoulder pain.

4. Kettlebell Upside-Down Bench Press

Micah pressed their fingers on their off-hand into their core, ensuring the abdomen was engaged. Micah braced their core and stiffened the abs to push the fingers out. Next, they engaged their back by flexing their shoulders onto the bench. Lastly, they performed a single-arm bench press with a kettlebell facing up, creating instability. By engaging the core, back, and shoulders, the kettlebell shouldn’t fall. They performed two sets of five to 10 reps per arm.

With the weight away from their body, Micah stabilized to create an effective lift. If the lats or the core are engaged, the kettlebell wobbles and falls. This increase in stability prevents the shoulders from compensating for the poor bracing and thus lowers the risk of injury.

[Related: The 6 Best Landmine Shoulder Exercises You Can Do]

5. Engage Upper Back Properly

“Pull your shoulder blades back and down,” Dr. Horschig says. “This will engage your lats and your rhomboids to set your back into a strong, powerful position.” For visualization purposes, this is like putting the shoulders into the back pockets, clinching all the muscles in the middle and upper back.

For this exercise, they implemented five-second negatives and three-second pauses at the bottom. Micah performed five sets of three slow reps at 30 to 40 percent of their one-rep max. During the negatives, Micah focused on pulling the bar with their upper back to expose back and shoulder stability deficiencies.

More Lifting Content

Reference

  1. Williams, J., Sinkler, M., & Obremskey, W. (2023). Anatomy, Shoulder and Upper Limb, Infraspinatus Muscle. Statpearls Publishing. Retrieved from https://ift.tt/1Sbyvka

Featured image: @squat_university on Instagram

The post Squat University’s 5 Tips for Pain-Free Shoulders While Bench Pressing appeared first on BarBend.



from BarBend https://ift.tt/G6SyCje
via IFTTT

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

The 2 Best Biceps Exercises for Muscle Growth (Says a Pro Bodybuilding Coach)

Building buff biceps is a big deal to bodybuilders, broadly speaking. But here’s the kicker — with so many biceps curl variations out there, how are you supposed to know which kind of curls kick butt, and which fall flat? That’s where professional muscle-maker Joe Bennett comes in. “The Hypertrophy Coach” trains and consults some of the baddest physique athletes on the planet, including two-time Arnold Classic winner Terrence Ruffin and Ms. Physique Olympia Dana Linn Bailey . https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqMBvB_IsGc Video can’t be loaded because JavaScript is disabled: MUST HAVE exercises for big arms with Hypertrophy Coach Joe Bennett (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqMBvB_IsGc) [Related: Do Different Row Grips Matter for Bodybuilding?] In a May 14, 2024 YouTube video, Bennett detailed his picks for the pair of biceps curls that stand above the rest . Here’s what they are and how to do them to build muscle . The 2 Best Biceps Curls for Bodybuilding We’re not going ...

2025 Shaw Classic Schedule and Strongest Man On Earth Competitor Invites Revealed

The 2025 Shaw Classic featuring the 2025 Strongest Man on Earth (SMOE) contest will be held on Aug. 15-17, 2025, in Loveland, CO. The show’s namesake promoter, four-time World’s Strongest Man (WSM) Brian Shaw , shared additional details on Jan. 10, 2025, including the strongmen invited to compete . Shaw Classic The Shaw Classic Open competitions for male and female athletes will return in 2025. The qualifier contests will be held on Friday, Aug. 15, 2025, featuring three yet-to-be-revealed events — they will be officially announced on April 3, 2025. The top 10 male and top 10 female athletes will advance to compete in the Open competition on Saturday and Sunday. The qualifier events will be officially announced on April 3, 2025. The top 10 from each class in 2024 will receive priority sign-up for the 2025 competition. [Related: Strongman Martins Licis Stonelifts in Tibet ] Shaw Classic Expo The Shaw Classic Expo, which features vendors, events, athlete and fan interaction,...

Tyler Manion Shares 2025 Pittsburgh Pro Updates

The 2025  Pittsburgh Pro  is scheduled to be held in Pittsburgh, PA, on the weekend of May 10-11, 2025.  This show is an annual event on the IFBB Professional League calendar and has been highlighted by a Men’s Open guest posing event featuring top Olympia contenders. The 2025 event is being billed as the biggest version yet, with the addition of an expo and an IFBB Pro League Men’s Open contest as the main event. They also promoted that more prize money would be given to all divisions featured at this event. On Jan. 3, 2025, IFBB Pro League Vice President Tyler Manion shared the most recent update on the prize money — awards for the Classic Physique division will total $50,000.  The breakdown of the prize money will be as follows: First Place — $25,0000 Second Place — $10,000 Third Place — $7,500 Fourth Place — $5,000 Fifth Place — $2,500 The Classic Physique announcement can be seen in the video below. The prize money for ...