Bench pressing with shoulder problems

justinrye
justinrye Posts: 61 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I have dislocated my shoulders 9 times and had surgery on my right shoulder. I dislocated my right shoulder 5 times once was after surgery and 4 times on the left shoulder. I'm a little leary on adding bench pressing to my routine but would really like to. So my question is would a wider bench be a safer option than a narrower bench as it may help my shoulders from going back to far. Or any other advice .

Replies

  • sunnybeaches105
    sunnybeaches105 Posts: 2,831 Member
    I'd suggest skipping thebarbell for benchpressing altogether, at least until you strength your shoulders. You can either use dumbbells or a football bar or alternate between them. You may also want to avoid the flat bench and use at least a slight incline on a FID bench or try the dedicated incline bench.

    In addition, you probably need to strengthen your rotator cuff, so do face pulls and try some additional band work and cable work to help. Also make sure you are doing some kind of rowing movement. Do not just bench and overhead press and expect your shoulders to develop in a healthy manner.

    There are articles throughout T-Nation and bodybuilding.com showing how.

  • justinrye
    justinrye Posts: 61 Member
    I have been doing workouts with resistance bands and they are a great piece of equipment. I should also state that I first dislocated my shoulder when I was 16, i am now 33 and the last time I dislocated my shoulder was about 10 years ago.
  • sunnybeaches105
    sunnybeaches105 Posts: 2,831 Member
    If you're going to bench with a barbell I also find that a thumbless grip helps
  • CarlydogsMom
    CarlydogsMom Posts: 645 Member
    I switched from flat bench to using the decline bench, the angle (more of a downward push than horizontal) was much better for my shoulder. Overhead presses were very tough too, so I switched to dumbbell presses with the DB in front and thumbs facing my face and fists facing each other. Helped me maintain my strength while healing.
  • sarahkw04
    sarahkw04 Posts: 87 Member
    A friend of mine is working through shoulder rehab using a bamboo bar. It's been a great alternative for her, and it's helped her strengthen her shoulder and it's stability significantly. I use it from time to time as well. We hang kettlebells from it using resistance bands to add weight.
  • Willbenchforcupcakes
    Willbenchforcupcakes Posts: 4,955 Member
    I've done too many ac separations to count. Gotta love being hypermobile!

    What works for me is a very wide grip, coupled with a decently aggressive arch and a low touch point (it's just below the band of my bra). I have very little shoulder instability these days because of that and building up all the muscles around my shoulders.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,968 Member
    justinrye wrote: »
    I have dislocated my shoulders 9 times and had surgery on my right shoulder. I dislocated my right shoulder 5 times once was after surgery and 4 times on the left shoulder. I'm a little leary on adding bench pressing to my routine but would really like to. So my question is would a wider bench be a safer option than a narrower bench as it may help my shoulders from going back to far. Or any other advice .
    Use dumbells and keep the elbows closer to the body until you've strengthen them up. Personally, any client that I get with shoulder issues do not perform any bench pressing movements at all. I rehab their shoulders first.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
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  • socalrunner59
    socalrunner59 Posts: 149 Member
    Wow--you've had some serious shoulder problems. I think with a medical history like yours, only your surgeon should be advising you on appropriate exercises.

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