3 questions for Ladies who Lift...

I know plenty of people who have jacked up rotator cuffs or acl's for sure, but honestly I think it's just the way you're phrasing it that rubs me the wrong way.

One is not at risk of elbow and shoulder problems by benching.

One is at risk of said problems by benching improperly.

I disagree.

If you're lifting heavy, even with proper form, you're at risk for injury.

Same deal goes for running, or cycling, or driving a car, or whatever. Pushing the limits can cause negative results, if it didn't they wouldn't be limits.

Doing the lift properly reduces the chances that you'll get injured, but it's not a guarantee.

If you're sitting under a big squat or bench or whatever, saying that you can't get hurt because you're back is straight or your elbows aren't flaring is a false sense of security.

By your logic, all activity of any kind is just as inherently unsafe. Hell, the welds on the smith machine could fail and crush you under it. Of course there is an element of hazard in any physical activity. There's no guarantee that any exercise can be performed without injury. But a properly performed bench press does not put you at any greater risk of joint injury than a properly performed squat does for knee or lumbar injury, or that a properly performed deadlift does for biceps tendon, etc etc.

You picked out three compound exercises.

A properly performed heavy bench press puts you at greater risk for joint injury than say pushups. And the point I was trying to make initially because of that risk is that tricep work is worthwhile if you're benching heavy to help mitigate some of that risk.

Everything in life poses safety hazards, that's obvious. Some pose greater risks than others, and heavy lifting is a high risk activity (though not so high as heavy lifting with *kitten* form).

I did, yes. I utterly disagree that heavy lifting is more dangerous than lightweight repetitive lifting. You are just as likely to get tendinitis from repetitive low-weight work as you are to get a tear or impingement from properly performed heavy work. Whatever you do, do it in moderation, with variety, and properly in order to protect the muscles, joints, and connective tissues involved.

And how, exactly, does tricep work protect your shoulders and elbows from potential injury from bench press? Upper arm angle pretty well takes care of shoulder impingement, and back work largely is recommended to counter the stresses from pressing in most cases I've read.

You picked out three compound exercises.

A properly performed heavy bench press puts you at greater risk for joint injury than say pushups. And the point I was trying to make initially because of that risk is that tricep work is worthwhile if you're benching heavy to help mitigate some of that risk.

Everything in life poses safety hazards, that's obvious. Some pose greater risks than others, and heavy lifting is a high risk activity (though not so high as heavy lifting with *kitten* form).

I did, yes. I utterly disagree that heavy lifting is more dangerous than lightweight repetitive lifting. You are just as likely to get tendinitis from repetitive low-weight work as you are to get a tear or impingement from properly performed heavy work. Whatever you do, do it in moderation, with variety, and properly in order to protect the muscles, joints, and connective tissues involved.

And how, exactly, does tricep work protect your shoulders and elbows from potential injury from bench press? Upper arm angle pretty well takes care of shoulder impingement, and back work largely is recommended to counter the stresses from pressing in most cases I've read.

I said triceps for elbows, and it's to support the joints and such during pressing.

And if you think you're just as likely to get injured from submaximal effort as you are from max effort, you should probably look into it a bit further.