Why Do My Shoulders Hurt When I Bench?

I get more emails about shoulder pain from bench pressing than any other type of question about strength training. In the new video, I show you one of my biggest ‘wins’ when trying to clean up someone’s bench press technique.

It simply involves the lifter getting more thoracic extension when they bench.  This ‘chest up / shoulders back’ setup has a ton of benefits.

The majority of lifters bench with their back flat on the bench and without any tension.  The bench press is a full body lift and requires every part of your body to be tight and charged up.  Whenever you bench without a proper setup, you’re just asking for problems.

You should always be working to improve your bench press form and one key component of the setup is more thoracic extension.

Why More Thoracic Extension Works?

– tightens up your upper back

– shortens the range of motion

– helps prevent anterior humeral glide, shoulder irritation and shoulder pain

– pulls the shoulders back and down and creates a stable base to press more weight

– develops more upper body tension that translates into the hips and down into the feet, i.e., more full body tension.  This is what I call the ‘arch of tension.’

I actually wrote about this exact technique after an interview with elite powerlifter Jesse Burdick.  In the article, Jesse talked about getting out of position when benching and why this will tear your shoulders up and lead to long-term issues.

Improving Your Bench Press Technique

Don’t Press Out of Your Arch – CLICK HERE

Best Bench Press Tip from Jesse Burdick – CLICK HERE

How to Bench Press – Schwarzenegger.com – CLICK HERE

How to Bench Press – Comprehensive Guide – CLICK HERE