Agree with the second part; only partially agree with the first part. Yes, lots of people overdo it on how much they load the bar with, but the chief culprit in shoulder impingement vis-a-vis flat bench pressing is not retracting the scapula beforehand and if doing so, not keeping it retracted while lying down. There's also some evidence to suggest that even if that form is maintained strictly, flaring the elbows out away from the body reintroduces the forward motion of the shoulders slightly, thus increasing the likelihood of impingement.

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Posted by goatman1419

Prairieville,LA

Member since Jan 2007

3070 posts

Posted on 11/20/14 at 6:23 pm to Come2Conquer

Agreed that's proper form.

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Posted by Ace Midnight

Between sanity and madness

Member since Dec 2006

89775 posts

Posted on 11/20/14 at 6:26 pm to Come2Conquer

quote:
There's also some evidence to suggest that even if that form is maintained strictly, flaring the elbows out away from the body reintroduces the forward motion of the shoulders slightly, thus increasing the likelihood of impingement.

I'm not super strict on scapula retraction, but I'm aware of holding a good static form - I'm curious as to the "some evidence" because I find that flaring the elbows away from the body under weight, causes my shoulders to drop. Having said that - my shoulders are fairly wide for my frame on most benches have my shoulders mostly unsupported by the bench itself. I also try to maintain a fairly neutral angle of the elbows - not flared out (90) and not scraping the torso.

I had some minor shoulder impingement with incline and I don't do those anymore. Despite liking upright rows for years, I never had impingement problems - that is one exercise the risk just isn't worth the reward.

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