Chest injury bench pressing

[Double3]

I know it can be hard not to lift.

I'd personally not do anything till I found out what was wrong.

Never hurts to take some time off.

[WillBrink]

Stupidly, I had the bench too far away from the bar when I was benching last week. So to get the bar off the rack I had to lift the bar up practically over my forehead and then move it down to my chest.

Well, while doing so, I hurt something in my right shoulder. It feels like a sharp pain that goes from the top of my bicep through my shoulder into the top of my chest.

Is there anything I can do to heal this faster? I can't bench more than 95lbs or so without serious pain. Should I stop benching? Just do pushups? Ice? Stretches? What the heck did I hurt?

Get a proper diagnosis from a qualified medical professional, proceed from there. Anything said here is nothing but a WAG and can potentially cause more harm than good.

[Shorts]

Stupidly, I had the bench too far away from the bar when I was benching last week. So to get the bar off the rack I had to lift the bar up practically over my forehead and then move it down to my chest.

Well, while doing so, I hurt something in my right shoulder. It feels like a sharp pain that goes from the top of my bicep through my shoulder into the top of my chest.

Is there anything I can do to heal this faster? I can't bench more than 95lbs or so without serious pain. Should I stop benching? Just do pushups? Ice? Stretches? What the heck did I hurt?

Front deltoid. Likely strained it. But I'm not a doctor, just college educated in HTH/Kines making guesses on an internet forum.

General injury immediate treatment: RICE

If you want a real diagnosis, stop by your Doc's.

Athlete to athlete, RICE. When you work back in, go light to ease into ROM. Gradually work back up to strength.

[Eurodriver]

Shorts is the WAG winner.

Went to the doctor and it was a delt strain. Not a rotator cuff injury

She said I shouldn't do any upper body for another 3 weeks!. She said that squats should be okay, as I'm just holding the barbell and I no longer have any pain but she said I shouldn't even do that because "from what you're telling me, if you get into the gym and start doing squats you will start doing upper body work."

I weighed myself at her office. I normally weigh myself before eating, after my Friday morning workout. Last weigh-in was 206lbs. This morning after breakfast I weighed 198lbs. I'm the only guy who stops going to the gym and loses weight.

[Double3]

Don't worry about the weight. When you get back to lifting it will come back quick.

I'm guessing you don't take much time off? I never took time off from the gym when I first started lifting. Got a hernia and had to take time off after the surgery. When I was able to lift again it didn't take long to get my strength and weight back. The best thing is that my strength then went through the roof and I put another 10lbs on over where I was before the layoff. I was sold on taking time off from lifting after that. Your body needs rest whether it is a week off every 4,5,6,8 weeks or a couple weeks.

Gaining muscle and strength is a marathon not a sprint. Be consistent and injury free.

[Shorts]

What can I say, my A&P college professor was good lookin'. I hung on every word


Glad you got it checked out. Yeah bet it will be hard to stay off it for three weeks. Never easy being down when you're use to going. Don't cheat yourself out of recovery though. You don't want that problem to linger. When you come back your body will be fresh and it'll respond very well when you hit it again.

[Eurodriver]

I was doing 12 weeks on, 1 off.

I'm not so much worried about losing the weight and having to start all over, but quitting entirely. I finally got into a routine where I wanted to go to the gym. I went to bed the night before excited to get under the squat rack the next morning. I want to make sure that doesn't turn into "Well, I had a late night. I'll work extra hard Friday"

I recall hearing somewhere that it takes 200 repetition for something to become a habit. I hadn't gone to the gym 200 times yet.

[Double3]

Go to the gym and walk on the treadmill with a nice incline.

It would get you in the gym though I'm sure you would be grabbing a weight by the second week....lol

[BioLayne]

Get a proper diagnosis from a qualified medical professional, proceed from there. Anything said here is nothing but a WAG and can potentially cause more harm than good.

absolutely, could be anything from inflammation to a torn pectoral muscle (which I personally have experienced). Get a doc to look at it and get an MRI

[Eurodriver]

So I'm back in the gym, getting the weight up again on both military presses and bench presses and now my left shoulder feels sore. It feels less like a sharp, extreme pain, and just like a dull ache on the top of my shoulder directly under my deltoid. My form isn't terrible, but I'm not an expert. I start out with my elbows in front of me and then push up until my arms are behind my ears and my body is locked. Does that sound right? Bench is vertical across the nipples.

Are there stretches or exercises I can do to better prepare my body for heavy barbell lifts? This is annoying as ****. I'm actually glad I made this thread because at first I thought it was the same shoulder and it was going to be permanently screwed up. My right shoulder feels excellent.