Ok, it now seems that the brachialis muscles have become the weakest link as my bench has increased. They really ache after benching.
What exercises will help me overcome this?
[quote]4est wrote:
Ok, it now seems that the brachialis muscles have become the weakest link as my bench has increased. They really ache after benching.
What exercises will help me overcome this?[/quote]
Are you sure it’s your brachialis? Seems kinda odd that benches would cause this with proper form, but OK. If it is, hammer and reverse curls hit mine well.
–Tiribulus->
Its not your brachialis…you have impingement syndrome (tendonitis, bursitis) of your rotator cuffs. The brachialis is minimally active in the bench. The pain that you feel is a referral pain from swelling of the supraspinatus tendon of the rotator cuff. Get it checked out and see a shoulder specialist physical therapist (I am one!!) to give you the exercises to bring your rotator cuff back up to speed. Best of luck.
Mike
[quote]Tiribulus wrote:
Are you sure it’s your brachialis? Seems kinda odd that benches would cause this with proper form, but OK. If it is, hammer and reverse curls hit mine well.
–Tiribulus->[/quote]
Being a paraplegic, ALL of my bench balance comes from mid-torso up. I literally move the bar side to side ever so slightly to keep balance. Just picture the way a tight-rope walker uses a long (and heavy) pole to keep balance. I believe it may be due to the extra challenge of balance that my stabilizers are worked harder.
[quote]mikandrea wrote:
Its not your brachialis…you have impingement syndrome (tendonitis, bursitis) of your rotator cuffs. The brachialis is minimally active in the bench. The pain that you feel is a referral pain from swelling of the supraspinatus tendon of the rotator cuff. Get it checked out and see a shoulder specialist physical therapist (I am one!!) to give you the exercises to bring your rotator cuff back up to speed. Best of luck.
Mike
[/quote]
Oddly, it only hurts during and shortly after benching. I have no pain by the time I leave the gym.
I suppose it’s time to get a family Dr and a referral. Thanks for the tip.
It may be an RC issue, and you can do several exercises for the RC specifically. The hammer curls suggestion will handle the brachs.
For the RC, do light cuban press, face pulls, upper arm cable rotations (there’s diagrams here somewhere). Doing more rows will help balance out the RC, too.
I get what seems like biceps pain when benching. I use a very narrow grip (pinky 1" inside rings) since I hurt my RC a couple of years ago. It helps me tuck my elbows pretty well, and I think that may something to do with it.
Hope that helps
-folly