The chest press is an exercise very similar to the bench press, but it is performed with a pair of dumbbells or kettlebells instead of a barbell with plates. Depending on the angle of the bench used in the exercise, chest presses can help you build your pectoral, triceps, deltoid and upper back muscles. While chest presses remain a popular weight lifting exercise, many people perform them with incorrect technique, which can lead to shoulder pain.
Elbow Position
One of the biggest issues with the chest press is that you are inclined to flare your elbows out and move the dumbbell in an arc toward the center line of your body. Bodybuilder Lee Hayward states on his website that keeping your elbows out increases the strain on your shoulders and makes you more likely to injure yourself. To correctly perform the chest press, hold the dumbbells around 2 feet apart and press them straight up toward the ceiling while keeping your elbows near your body.
Bench Angle
A study appearing in the November 1995 issue of "Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research" concluded that the angle of the bench used in exercises like the bench press can increase the amount of strain on your shoulders while lifting. Using an EMG, the researchers found that the muscles of the anterior deltoid, or shoulder, activated increasingly from a flat to inclined bench level.
Injury Treatment
Professional bodybuilder trainer Charles Glass states that shoulder injuries, particularly those that involve the rotator cuff, are among the most common maladies faced by athletes and bodybuilders. If the muscles in your shoulder become inflamed from over-training or improper form from the chest press, rest the muscles and apply a cold compress to them for 20 to 30 minutes twice a day until the pain is completely relieved.
Injury Prevention
Personal trainer Jason Lantz and sports medicine specialist Mike McCrain state in their article "Modifying Chest Press Exercises for Athletes with Shoulder Pathology" that keeping your elbows from going below your shoulders when lowering the weights will prevent you from straining the glenohumeral joint in the shoulder. Another way to prevent strain on your shoulders is to perform the chest press on a machine, which isolates your pectoral muscles better than free weights and keeps you in correct form throughout the exercise.
References
- SportsInjuryClinic.net: Chest Press
- National Strength and Conditioning Association: Modifying Chest Press Exercises for Athletes With Shoulder Pathology
- "Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research": Effects of Variations of the Bench Press Exercise on the EMG Activity of Five Shoulder Muscles; Nov. 1995
- Lee Hayward's Total Fitness Body Building: How to Increase Your Bench Press with Proper Technique
- Bodybuilding.com: Shoulder Injuries--My Personal Experience
