Bench Pressing and Shoulders

[ZZuluZ]

My Input:

"How much do the shoulders help in the bench press??"

A lot.

"Where do they perform their most work in the lift?"

Throughout the lift.

"Which head of the shoulder is used the most in the bench press?"

Front head.

"Also, would strengthening your rotator cuff, in turn, strengthen your bench press?"

It probably would, although this is a hot topic of debate. I'm leaning towards possibly saying 'no'

If your military press is less than 70% of your bench, strengthen it.

Shoulders are VERY RARELY the problem. It's usually the lats, tris, or lack of speed.

-Zulu

 

[Deciever]

thanks zulu

 

[ZZuluZ]

Rotator Cuff training has almost become an axiom in what concerns heavy benching assistance.

This leads us to conclude that the Benchpress is an inherently dangerous lift. There are aboud 600 muscles in the body. Why isolate such a small muscle as the infraspinatus in the hopes of increasing the benchpress?

That is part of what Mel Siff says.

Maybe Arioch can help us out here.

-Zulu

 

[The mann]

shouldes are important,i don't do overhead presses though......just sideand rear,i agree with jay......the frint delts get alot of attention from all the pressing.......

 

[b fold the truth]

Nothing wrong with adding a little delt work in there when you train your bench. You could always use overhead pin presses for a ME exercise for a few weeks...

B True

 

[Grantsdu]

I may be wrong but I don't think that the sholders play a huge role in the bench press. I know they don't help with the actual pressing of the weight. I think they help stabalize the weight though.

 

[Arioch]

The rotator cuff's do not play a direct role in increasing the bench, per se, but they are vital to the proper function of the shoulders. The primary reason for strengthening the rotator cuffs is to avoid a muscle imbalance which can lead to injury. The heavy pressing work will significantly work the internal rotators, hence the focus on strengthening the externals in the Westside program. The goal here is not to increase the bench, but maintain optimal health and perfomance. An injury free lifter is a happy lifter.

Also, the wider the grip, the more the shoulder joint is opened. This is especially true if the elbows are flared outward at the bottom of the lift. While this will provide more direct muscular stress on the shoulders and the pec's, it will also place the lifter at greater risk of injury.

 

[ZZuluZ]

Would it be fair to say that benching isn't really that healthy a movement then??

I mean, if we have to isolate such small muscles because of benching....

Do you see what I'm saying? Some people on another board were mentioning this, I just wanted to know your opinion.

Mel Siff also posted concerning rotator cuff training NOT being important. Would you like to read the post?

ANy comments are appreciated, thx,

-ZUlu

 

[erickthegreat11]

I think that shoulders play a huge role. If you all can remember the first time you started free weight benching, you probably couldn't press much because your shoulders weren't strong enough to stabilize a lot of weight. When I get up to a maximum weight I can bench, I can feel it in my shoulders. I'm thinking I need to focus more on shoulders to increase the bench. My tris and lats are getting a lot stronger, but my wide bench max is at about a stand still. My shoulders have not gotten stronger though, so I tried inclines for the first time yesterday, and I felt some "new" muscles. Got to 145#. Flat bench is 205#.

 

[Screwball]

Shoulders and Benching...

IMHO. Shoulders are extremely important to the execution of the bench press. I equate shoulders as the transition muscles in upper body pressing much as the abs, obliques, and lower back muscles are transition muscles between upper and lower body. If you neglect your core training then you will eventually pay the price whether it be injury or stalled strength gains. The same can be said about the shoulders when pressing with the upper body. The shoulders tranfer energy/power/strength from your chest/back to your triceps. You must train your shoulders.

Personally, I don't train my anterior delt head directly. The front delt gets plenty of work from any upper body pressing movement. However, the medial & posterior delt heads are another matter. I think these heads need to be hit directly in order to balance the shoulder capsule. Don't neglect these muscles, especially the rear delt head. I also feel that rotator work is important. I don't necessarily think that strengthening these small muscles will increase your bench press significantly but I do feel that you can increase the stability of the entire shoulder girdle and prevent injuries. The last thing you want is an imbalance in the shoulder girdle. This spells eventual disaster and injury. The shoulders get beat up pretty good from both upper & lower body movements so I think it best to use light to moderate weight and medium to high reps when training them.

- Screwball