no barbell, chest?

[ijustmegdu]

i stopped using barbell for chest except when my shoulders feel good, then i do board press, incline boards, incline close, incline close boards. when i am not using a barbell i've got incline dumbell press, flat dumbbell press, and maybe a hammer machine. what else can i do? i cut out flys and pullovers since they are worthless. any suggestions, or ways i can lessen the stress on my shoulders when benching?

 

[lexus]

i stopped using barbell for chest except when my shoulders feel good, then i do board press, incline boards, incline close, incline close boards. when i am not using a barbell i've got incline dumbell press, flat dumbbell press, and maybe a hammer machine. what else can i do? i cut out flys and pullovers since they are worthless. any suggestions, or ways i can lessen the stress on my shoulders when benching?

get a loose single ply bench shirt this will help a ton

 

[DrMCM]

dumbbells rather than bar and weighted dips. The db's made a tremendous difference in my shoulder, the dips can be a little sketchy at times. I haven't done barbells in years.

 

[Juggernauttx]

i stopped using barbell for chest except when my shoulders feel good, then i do board press, incline boards, incline close, incline close boards. when i am not using a barbell i've got incline dumbell press, flat dumbbell press, and maybe a hammer machine. what else can i do? i cut out flys and pullovers since they are worthless. any suggestions, or ways i can lessen the stress on my shoulders when benching?

It is also the way you bench as well. When you bench, you probably place alot of stress on the shoulders. You need to learn to bench with your arms tucked in. This will transfer the stress from mainly your shoulders to your triceps and chest. I had my share of shoulder problems, it was because I benched with my elbows high. When I learned to tuck them in, the stress went from my shoulders to my chest and tris. Also dont forget to train the rotators!!!! Muscle imbalances is a major cause of injuries.

 

[madman]

Form, Form, Form I have seen a lot of kid lately at the gym telling each other to get their elbows back at 90 degrees. Talk about un-needed stress on your shoulders. http://www.musclesurf.com/benchpress.html and the closer in your elbows are to your body the more tricep you'll use. I try to keep a 45 degree angle off of my body.

 

[cutup]

Form is key.

I have a lot of shoulder problems due to flipping my motorcycle 6 times. I had a third degree seperation and it took me a long time (2 years) to get back in the gym. The best way I take stress off my shoulders for chest day is I use dumbells.

I do db press on a very low incline and a very low decline, maybe 30 degree. I do not do flat because of the stress on my shoulder. I use BB's sometime , however, I cannot go heavy at all.