# FITNESS and NUTRITION FORUM > INJURIES, REHAB & SPA >  Chest Exercises For Bad Shoulders

## jbran23

My right shoulder has been bothering me for about 2 years now (possible rotator cuff injury) and I have just been working through it. As it has gotten progressively worse I have had to cut certain movements and exercises out of my routine. It is one of the most frustrating feelings in the world not being able to go in the gym and do the things you want to do. I have gotten to the point where I have been debating just giving up. Flat bench has recently been dropped because it causes too much pain in my shoulder along with inclines. What are some exercises I can do to build mass if I basically cant press weight anymore? I know alot of you guys have shoulder issues so Im looking to hear what works for you guys most of all.

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## bass

i have shoulder problems and can't do BP, got advise here to use dumbbells and that helped allot, also i use smith machine for inclines and flats. but most important thing i do before chest workout is stretch exercises, read thread below,

http://forums.steroid.com/showthread.php?t=417613

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## jbran23

Thanks for the link Bass. I have tried these before, maybe I will give them another go. It cant hurt and something has to give. My overall workouts are really starting to suffer because of my shoulders.

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## bass

i feel your pain bro, it sucks but you got to use light weights and increase slowly!

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## Nooomoto

I have shoulder problems (tendinitis/bursitis) as well. You have to stretch, and never stop stretching. On chest days, I stretch before, during (inbetween sets) and after my work out. It helps quite a bit vs when I don't stretch. Also supplement with glucosamine and all that good stuff.

Most importantly, if it hurts really bad, stop. Your chest won't deflate if you miss part of a workout one day.

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## jbran23

> I have shoulder problems (tendinitis/bursitis) as well. You have to stretch, and never stop stretching. On chest days, I stretch before, during (inbetween sets) and after my work out. It helps quite a bit vs when I don't stretch. Also supplement with glucosamine and all that good stuff.
> 
> Most importantly, if it hurts really bad, stop. Your chest won't deflate if you miss part of a workout one day.


Thats good advice bro and I appreciate it. I really need to focus on stretching more. What kind of stretches do you do for your shoulders?

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## cheezy12

> My right shoulder has been bothering me for about 2 years now (possible rotator cuff injury) and I have just been working through it. As it has gotten progressively worse I have had to cut certain movements and exercises out of my routine. It is one of the most frustrating feelings in the world not being able to go in the gym and do the things you want to do. I have gotten to the point where I have been debating just giving up. Flat bench has recently been dropped because it causes too much pain in my shoulder along with inclines. What are some exercises I can do to build mass if I basically cant press weight anymore? I know alot of you guys have shoulder issues so Im looking to hear what works for you guys most of all.


Try Floor presses

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## songdog

I had rotorcuff surgery.Plus shredded bicep tendon.I use dbs.I hold them at appox 45degree angle.Less stress on rotorcuff.I also use a bowflex for incline.When my partner aint around to hand me the dbs.I find throwing them up and puttin them down.Puts a lot of stress on shoulders.

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## sami2

Bench powerlifter style if you can - it's much easier on the shoulders than Body Building style. It involves more triceps than anything, but it should still help. Otherwise, you may want to try machines to try to isolate the chest more.

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## CDiesel313

> Bench powerlifter style if you can - it's much easier on the shoulders than Body Building style. It involves more triceps than anything, but it should still help. Otherwise, you may want to try machines to try to isolate the chest more.


x2

When a lot of people bench press, they don't know it, but they bring the bar down to their upper chest (almost their collar bone) and it creates enormous stress on the shoulders. 

Try this:

Set up on a flat bench with just the bar. Pull your shoulder blades together as tight as you possibly can back into the bench and drive your feet into the floor causing a slight arch in your lower back. Have a spotter unrack the bar for you (so you don't lose tightness in your upper back and shoulder blades) and before you bring the bar down take a big breath of air into your stomach not your chest. Then when you bring the bar down, bring it somewhere between the region of below your nipple line to your upper abs expanding your stomach into the bar. This will do two things. Cut your ROM by about 30-40% while also causing less shoulder rotation during the movement. You may not be able to do much weight, but I'll bet after practicing you'll at least be able to bench press without problems. Also, try to make sure you're scapula and all three heads of your delts are proportionate in size and strength. If there are any imbalances it can cause a lot of pain. Eric Cressey has a couple of really good work outs for this sort of thing. Especially for this who have sustained injuries. I'd go to his website and check out his article section. 

Here is a 10 minute video explaining how to bench like I said in pretty good detail...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dh3t6T-nqP0

Hope this helps...

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## xxxl83

Try a neutral grip (palms facing each other) with db's or if your lucky enough to have a gym with a "football bar" (search elitefts.com for it) give that a go. Also try limiting the range of motion by board presses, pin presses, or floor presses like mentioned above.

Usually the neutral grip works out pretty well.
One thing i must stress is to let your shoulder heal and do not become reliant on the f'n smith machine!!!!!!!!! 
Chances are the reason for the injury was an imbalance or weakness and this needs to be addressed and treated, if you avoid using your stabilizers your shoulder will never get better nor will your benching. Unless you take the proper time off to let it heal on it's own and friend that could be years literally. prehab is always easier than rehab.

xxxl83

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## Damienm05

I find that doing only DB presses is very easy on the shoulders and rotator cuffs. Maybe remove decline movements altogether and do dips.

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## lovbyts

> x2
> 
> When a lot of people bench press, they don't know it, but they bring the bar down to their upper chest (almost their collar bone) and it creates enormous stress on the shoulders. 
> 
> Try this:
> 
> Set up on a flat bench with just the bar. Pull your shoulder blades together as tight as you possibly can back into the bench and drive your feet into the floor causing a slight arch in your lower back. Have a spotter unrack the bar for you (so you don't lose tightness in your upper back and shoulder blades) and before you bring the bar down take a big breath of air into your stomach not your chest. Then when you bring the bar down, bring it somewhere between the region of below your nipple line to your upper abs expanding your stomach into the bar. This will do two things. Cut your ROM by about 30-40% while also causing less shoulder rotation during the movement. You may not be able to do much weight, but I'll bet after practicing you'll at least be able to bench press without problems. Also, try to make sure you're scapula and all three heads of your delts are proportionate in size and strength. If there are any imbalances it can cause a lot of pain. Eric Cressey has a couple of really good work outs for this sort of thing. Especially for this who have sustained injuries. I'd go to his website and check out his article section. 
> 
> Here is a 10 minute video explaining how to bench like I said in pretty good detail...
> ...


Nice find. If that is true then my form sucks. LOL I dont put stress on the wrist but I bring the bar to high for sure. Time to give it a try.

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