Sharn Inquisitor
Underboss
1623 Posts
    
 | | 02/07/2006 1:36 PM |
| | So, like many mornings, I hit the gym at 5:00 am yesterday to kick my week off right. I hit the benchpress machine pretty hard...yet today it's not my chest that hurts...it's my traps (under armpits and back). What the heck? I follow the instructions and everything yet the wrong muscle group hurts. Any thoughts? | | | |
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Felagund
Sergeant
922 Posts
| | 02/07/2006 1:39 PM |
| | I've noticed a similar thing with the bench machines. They just don't seem to isolate the pecs. Maybe you should try the butterfly machine? Just a suggestion. Take it with a grain of salt as I'm not a body-builder or even very big at all. [:)] | |
Champion of Gnomes | |
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2004 D&D Miniatures Champion
Kiddoc
Underboss
1797 Posts
| | 02/07/2006 2:09 PM |
| quote:
Originally posted by Sharn Inquisitor
So, like many mornings, I hit the gym at 5:00 am yesterday to kick my week off right. I hit the benchpress machine pretty hard...yet today it's not my chest that hurts...it's my traps (under armpits and back). What the heck? I follow the instructions and everything yet the wrong muscle group hurts. Any thoughts?
If your traps and/or lats hurt, that means your form needs some work. Cut WAY down on the weight, and work on the motion. Bench press is actually one of the hardest motions to get to isolation consistency in fitness.
Many, many years ago, I learned from a great Zen master the secret of the Bench Press (of doom!). Years of rugby helped me perfect it. Here's some tips:
Start with no weight, or 5-10lbs. Your grip is the most important part of the excercise. Your thumbs should be tucked under the bar (with your hands, just like you'd push a wall), and your hands should be the slightest bit more narrow than your shoulder-width, or even at the widest. That grip witll work your triceps a ton.
A wider grip is theorized to work your pectorals more to exclusion, but in practice, most people can't give a wide-gripped press the same range of motion, and they exhibit poor form, or arch their backs--thus negating any benefit.
When you drop the weight down, your elbows should squeeze in to your body along your ribcage. The bar should touch your chest (or come damned close, but it should be a hair's breadth from touching) right at the lower edge of your sternum (bottom of ribcage). Then you should press up slowly, making sure to keep your elbows in. If your elbows are out, you're losing the motion of the excercise, and putting pressure on your joints, rather than you tri's and pecs. It should be a slow, clean, mechanical movement. Your elbows bend at a 90 degree angle, and your forearms descent perfectly perpendicular to your body. As the bar descends toward your chest, keep those elbows tucked in near your body, and make sure your wrists are parallel to your body line and the bar.
Your butt AND back ought to be glued to the bench, and your feet perfectly flat. I've often recommended that people put their feet on the bench, as this forces people to take their lower body out of the bench press (many folks generate momentum with a hip-push by planting their feet). So try that--put your feet flat on the bench with you, feet and knees together. If your feet shift position, or your butt/back rise off the bench, your form is off.
You can get a TON more muscle-work/growth out of doing a press the right way with low weight, than you can doing it the wrong way with huge weight. So I really stress trying to re-learn the very mechanical form of it with super low weight until you have it mastered.
Stupid machines often cause bad form, because they restrict your range of motion. If you're having a hard time with the machines, go to the barbell. The bar makes it real easy to learn good form, because you control 100% of the motion.
Let me know how it works out. | |
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Felagund
Sergeant
922 Posts
| | 02/07/2006 2:17 PM |
| | Ah, the champ comes through for us. I'll have to try some of that advice myself. Maybe I can be huge come GenCon. [:)] | |
Champion of Gnomes | |
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Username
Warlord
5692 Posts
| | 02/07/2006 2:25 PM |
| | You may have been using the wrong muscles/your form was off. Do your exercises slowly and mentally focus on the muscle group you want to work out. | |
Originally posted by Schooly_D
Username - he deals in minis
Champion of Lhesh Haruuc Shaarat'kor | |
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Sharn Inquisitor
Underboss
1623 Posts
| | 02/07/2006 4:10 PM |
| Thanks fellas. I figured I was doing something wrong on this machine. Maybe I should go back to the traditional bench press as Kiddoc described. If I lose anymore weight, my wife will be able to toss me around...really funny if you knew how small my wife is...
I wanted to start using the machines some b/c I worry my wife won't be able to spot me well enough on the trad. bench. I'll work with the machine some more and keep trying. | | | |
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boba_fouts
Sneak
99 Posts
| | 02/07/2006 6:27 PM |
| You are all gamers, so nobody actually believes that you are exercising.
[:D]ΖD][:D]
| |
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griffrat
Commander
3507 Posts
| | 02/07/2006 6:33 PM |
| quote:
Originally posted by Kiddoc
.... Bench press is actually one of the hardest motions to get to isolation consistency in fitness.
A wider grip is theorized to work your pectorals more to exclusion, but in practice, most people can't give a wide-gripped press the same range of motion, and they exhibit poor form, or arch their backs--thus negating any benefit.
Very true, this is one of those things that you can really tweak your back on. To help with this I have seen folks in the gym ( have never tried this but it makes sense) who while lying on the bench bring the legs up off the floor, like a modified sit up. This would not allow for any leverage from the ground keeping your back flat and isolating the muscle group.
I am a bigger fan of tone and more reps when lifting weights. Then I'm more into the quick reflex, high movement sports; like racquetball. | |
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scruffydude7
Underboss
1196 Posts
Rock Hill, SC
| | 02/07/2006 7:24 PM |
| Indeed, it took me a long time to get my bench press technique right. It's much more of a mental thing than you might expect. Once you get the motion right with a lot of practice, anything else just feels wrong, and it gets a lot easier to do correctly with consistancy.
Also, I'd recommend free weights over machines any day if you have access to them.
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Wrackspawn
ChristopherGroves
Warlord
6093 Posts
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Fry
Underboss
1724 Posts
| | 02/07/2006 10:20 PM |
| quote:
Originally posted by Kiddoc
Start with no weight, or 5-10lbs.
START? Jesus, man, I have to work UP to 5 lbs on the bench press. :/ | |
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Luisjoey
Underboss
1704 Posts
Caracas Venezuela
| | 02/07/2006 11:18 PM |
| quote:
Originally posted by boba_fouts
You are all gamers, so nobody actually believes that you are exercising.
[:D]ΖD][:D]
I was thinking the same as you! Maybe your muscles hurt because you play to much dice to RPG and Skirmish!!!!
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