Pressing For Another Day

This picture is not that far from the truth when it comes to Bench Pressing. A lot of guys these days are also dressing this way to train. Man up guys!!! In all seriousness, clowning around under the bar leads to pain. A lack of know how does too. No wonder why fighters can not press on their own. I say fighters can Bench Press. Read On...

The most prized possession of a fighter or weekend warrior’s upper body is their Shoulder Girdle. The shoulder girdle is made up of the Glenohumeral Joint (where the Humerus, Scapula and Clavicle are joined by a bunch of muscles including the “Rotator Cuff”, tendons, and ligaments).

Boxers, Kick Boxers, and MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) fighters know exactly what I’m talking about when using the term “Trashed” shoulders (Trashed: a slang term used to describe an area of the body that has become “Banged Up” which can no longer function properly in movements such as Punching and “Benching”).

Overuse symptoms such as pain, inflammation, scar tissue, and a decreased range of motion is mostly due to weak or overused muscles along the shoulder girdle compensating and eventually breaking down leaving you with the "Trashed" effect. It doesn’t stop there. Depending upon your shoulder type, impingement of the Humerus (upper arm bone), grinding against the Acromion and Coracoid Process of the Scapula (your shoulder

blade) could leave you sidelined from training and fighting indefinitely.

So how can a fighter who is experiencing such problems still incorporate pressing movements into their training? Simple. If it hurts, don't do it. Sometimes you just have to step away from a certain movement for a while as you rest, heal, and recover to Bench Another Day. Of course we are going to dig a little deeper on ways to possibly bench press without pain and still gain personal records with pressing movements, but you may need to completely shut down benching in and itself so scar tissue can be broken up through massage, active release technique (ART), and other forms of healing therapy.

You can work around the overused area with other movements that can counter act a lot of the impingement that is happening with your benching such as horizontal dumbbell, barbell, and various cable rowing. Stay with horizontal rowing as in bent over dumbbell rows, bench supported dumbbell rows, seated cable low rows with various grips that position the hand in a neutral position (palms facing each other) or palms facing up toward the ceiling (same grip you would use while performing a chin up when palms are facing you). This must be worked into your routine not only because it positions your humerus and scapulas in a less compromising way, but this type of rowing trains the exact opposite motion of the bench press. Horizontal rowing strengthens a fighter's ability to pull the shoulder blades together under tension-which is a vital component when performing any bench press variation. Keeping your shoulders healthy too.

Palms Facing Each Other

Extra movements can be incorporated into your training besides horizontal rowing like knee supported external rotation which strengthens your external rotator muscles (muscles of the Rotator Cuff as in the Supraspinatus, Infraspinatus, Teres Minor and the Subscapularis). Check it out:

Step 1

Step 2

Say that you laid off pressing for a while and the shoulders feel pretty good. You incorporated more horizontal rowing and added in some external rotation movements that brought life back into your shoulders. Great, now you are left with the dilemma of a weak ass bench press and crummy pressing strength. You are asking yourself where do you go from here. Now I have to tell you that books have been written solely on the topic of bench pressing and how it's practically and art form, but I am going to give you my top five "Advises" (Arnold Schwarzenegger joke) that might rock your socks off and give you the ability to bench again. Here's what to do:

The Austrian Oak Benching

1) Pinch the Shoulder Blades: The scapulas, other wise referred to as the shoulder blades, should be set up even before you unrack the bar. I'm not into making a subject hard to follow, so here it is as simple as I can make it. Once you’re lying on the bench press and the bar is unracked, your shoulder blades should be pinching together as if they are trying to touch each other and focus on pulling them down as if you are trying to direct them toward you butt. Together and Down is the mental cue. Why should I keep my shoulders blades tight by pulling them together and down while benching you ask? Good question. If every part of your body was moving during the bench press, you would look like a person who is having a convulsion or seizure (Huge Portion Of The Average Gym Population). Now if you were able to take as much movement out of the bench press as possible by keeping every area of your body as tight as possible, while still descending the weight toward your chest and pressing it away toward a lockout, this type of bench press would not only look good, but feel solid as a rock. Practice this in your warm-up sets until you can execute this in your working sets.

Now, by pulling the shoulder blades together and down while benching with either dumbbells or a barbell, you stabilize the shoulder girdle and decrease unwanted movement therefore incorporating lower trap, mid back, and shoulder muscles to a greater degree that will take tension off of other muscles in the shoulder complex that are prone to getting "trashed" during this movement. Less unwanted movement in the bench press equals a stable shoulder joint; more muscles actively involved to a greater degree, less pain, greater strength!

The first shoulder position in the illustration above shows a "Pinched" shoulder blade while the other, a less stable pressing position. Anytime you are working maximally or performing high rep work, form can go to shit and you end up losing your shoulders. All I'm saying is try not to do this all the time. Help yourself. Keep 'em tight.

2) Tuck the Elbows: Muscle recruitment can solely be affected by joint position. The further away your limbs are from your body, the greater stress put on joints of the surrounding areas. Most pressing that I have encountered with someone with no experience have the traditional body building style of the elbows flared out and the barbell descending down toward the throat. This can lead to vocal problems due to the bar hitting the Adams Apple (If you like to speak, don't do this). Along with that good old shoulder blade pinch we just talked about, give the elbows a slight tuck in toward the body. If your elbows were against the side of your body, flare them out about 45 degrees placed a couple of notches lower than the traditional body building style. This involves the lats to a greater degree ( A muscle that you definitely want full involvement during benching). Focus on lowering the bar along the nipple line or just below or a little bit above. Yes I said “Nipple Line” and yes, you must attempt this new way of benching with no weight on the bar. I said nipple line as a reference an slightly above or below as you are going to have to play around with this. Where the bar is placed will be dependent upon how you are built. At least you are thinking in the right direction and aiming the bar somewhere now. It should feel better too. Not great, but better. Learn it first and become comfortable with it, then add some weight.

3) Switch to Dumbbells- There is only so many adjustments you can make with a fixed piece of equipment as in the barbell. Switching to dumbbells gives you the opportunity to make more adjustments with arm positioning so you can press. The barbell is great, but if you can't do it, dumbbells is a great alternative. Dumbbells also involve greater stability out of each arm which means you may take a hit with the amount of weight you can use, but you will be able to dictate the position of most comfort while pressing-and you still will become beastly strong. The fighters I train predominately use dumbbells if their shoulders are trashed. I get most of them back to using the barbell though! As a former martial art and boxing enthusiast, I have always used dumbbells. Benching with a bar was impossible up until I had surgery on my elbow. In most cases surgery does work, but can possibly be avoided with changes made in a training program. Prevention is better than a cure.

Punching & Pressing, Same Thing.

4) Train Sub-Maximally & Leave Reps In The Tank- No matter what kind of pressing you are performing, I believe fighters should rarely max out (heaviest weight you can handle) with presses and should always leave a few reps in the tank when pressing for high amount of reps. This is optimal for many reasons. Take punching for example. How many punches do you throw a day? Shadow boxing? Mitt Work? Heavy Bag? Sparring? Get my point? Those are various forms of pressing. It's the same motion and if I were to bet, you are also internally rotating your punches while doing so. More of a reason to train with some juice left over. My point is, don't tax shoulders that are already taxed out. Train with sub-maximal weight and always leave 2-3 reps in the tank.

Barbell Floor Press Inside The Power Rack Is Good Too. Decreased Range Of Motion, But You Are Still Pressing.

5) Deload to Reload- Sometimes the body needs a break with any given movement. Dumbbells, barbells, and even push-ups. No matter what variation, there may very well be too much pressing or pressing for too long in your training. Cut your pressing out of a training session or take a week off. Recovery is vital with inflammation and pain management. Keep the EGO in check. You are training for strength and condition to be a better fighter. Not a broken one who can not fight. The weight room should prepare you, and not decrease your chances at winning.

As I said earlier, books have been written about the bench press. There is so much more to benching than the above mentioned, but if you implement just one of these five “Advises” into your training and helps toward less pain and greater gains, it would have been well worth it! The sacrifice is less strength now. The reward is more strength and less pain later!!

A Side Note:
Keep the above tips in mind when it comes to your training. It does not matter what level of strength and condition you are at. Starting out, High school, College, Professional, or just a guy in the gym, technique starts the moment you approach the bar! The world would be a better place if you actually know what you are doing in the weight room.

Another Side Note:
Flexibility in the right areas helps the body become more mobile and injury reduced. By stretching the “Pecs” (muscles of your chest) and “Lats” (muscle of the back) before training, shoulder pain can be reduced from the decrease in muscle tension. “I heard it makes you weak?!?” you say. I say “If you are having shoulder pain while training, you are probably weak already!” Try it out, it may help.

References:

1. Kinakin, Ken. "Optimal Muscle Training"

2. Hamilton, Nancy. "Kinesiology. Scientific Basis Of Human Motion" Eleventh Edition