Defending The Bench

   The Bench Press Is Only Bad For You If You’re Not Doing It Properly. 

POWERED BY TRUCKS : Anthony Trucks

   I’ve recently heard talk that the bench press may be a bad exercise for the upper body joints. It was odd because I hadn’t really heard this in the past, but the more I ask around I found that people are actually avoiding the bench press a little more because of the negative effects they, or someone they know has experienced. 

   The common negative points I hear are that is stretches the shoulder joint, it adds uncommon stress to the acromioclavicular (AC) joint “” where your clavicle meets your shoulder “” and that it leaves people feeling achy pains in the elbows and shoulders overall. 

   So here’s my two cents on avoiding these things, so you can do what I think is one of the most cornerstone exercises without hurting yourself. 

   >> Warm up and stretch your shoulders and chest EVERY time you plan on getting under the bar. Almost every person I talked with did zero prep before they lifted, or even after. Would you start a cold engine and put the pedal to the floor? No, so don’t do it to your body. 

   >> Slowly climb up in weights as you progress into your lift. This helps your body and nervous system slowly adapt and recruit more motor neurons to adequately lift the weight. 

   >> Use a full range of motion so that you don’t hurt yourself in the future by accidentally going to far in the range.

   >> Don’t flare your elbows because it puts too much stress on the shoulder socket in the wrong angle.

   That’s it. Apply this information and you should be good to go when it comes to safely bench pressing.