The bench press is one of the most commonly performed strength training exercises. Although primarily an exercise for your pectoralis major and triceps, your shoulder muscles are also strongly involved and contribute much to the bench press movement. Strong shoulders are very important and can make a lot of difference to your bench pressing.
Shoulder Muscle Anatomy
Your shoulder muscles, correctly called your deltoids, are made up of three distinct regions. The anterior deltoid is located on the front of your shoulder and is the part most involved in the action of bench pressing. The medial deltoid is located on the side of your shoulder and, along with your posterior deltoid to the rear, works hard during the bench press to hold your shoulder joint in place. Beneath your deltoids lie numerous small muscles that contribute to the stability and secondary movements available at the shoulder joint. These small muscles are collectively called your rotator cuff.
The Shoulders as Synergists
Your deltoids work synergistically with your pectoralis major --- pecs for short --- to extend your arm horizontally at your shoulder joint. The pecs are the strongest muscles involved in this action, but the deltoids also work to assist your pecs. Strong deltoids, especially the anterior portion, can increase the amount of weight you can bench press by taking some of the weight off of your pecs.
The Shoulders as Stabilizers
Your medial and posterior deltoids, plus the deep muscles of your rotator cuff, work hard during the bench press to stabilize your shoulder joint. Shoulder joint instability can result in the weight wobbling, which will affect your ability to lift heavy weights. Strong deltoid and rotator cuff muscles will hold your shoulders in position and provide a stable base from which your pecs can then exert maximal force against the weight of the bar.
Strengthening the Shoulders
You can perform a wide variety of exercises to strengthen your deltoid muscles. You can use dumbbells, barbells and pulley machines to target all aspects of shoulder function. Isolate your deltoids by performing raises to the front, side or rear using dumbbells or pulleys. Each direction uses a different aspect of your deltoid muscles. Pressing weights overhead works your shoulder as a whole and is also a good assistance exercise for bench pressing.
Improving Shoulder Stability
You can target your rotator cuff muscles to improve your shoulder stability. Perform dumbbell bench presses using a stability ball --- the unstable surface will place an extra workload on your stabilizer muscles, which will transfer positively to your bench pressing. Using a stability ball will make your rotator cuff muscles stronger and more able to hold your shoulder joint in position. You can also strengthen the external and internal rotation ability of your rotator cuff by using a pulley machine or exercise bands and performing specific rotator cuff drills.
Shoulder Precautions
The shoulder joint is a complex and highly mobile articulation that is prone to both acute and chronic injury. Because of the similarities between the actions of the deltoid muscles and the pectoralis major, avoid performing too many exercises for these muscles at a time, as the overlap can result in overtraining and therefore overstraining the shoulder joint. Shoulder injuries can be very hard to treat, as much of the vital musculature is very deep and not readily accessible for massage or medical examination. Because the shoulders are involved in virtually every upper body exercise, shoulder injuries may prevent you from working out for long periods of time.
References
- "ACSM's Resources for the Personal Trainer"; American College of Sports Medicine; 2009
- "Principles of Anatomy & Physiology, Ninth Edition"; Sandra R. Grabowski & Gerald J. Tortora; 2000
- "Strength Ball Training-2nd Edition"; Lorne Goldenberg and Peter Twist; 2006
- "Designing Resistance Training Programs"; Steven J. Fleck and William J. Kraemer; 2003
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