Is the fat grip bar best for alleviating shoulder discomfort when benching and over-head pressing, or is a parallel grip bar or angled grip bar even better? Thanks.
in most instances the closer to neutral the less stress on the anterior deltoids, that being said, my own personal grip for minimal tax on the shoulders is 45 degrees, e.g. “the mean” between flared and neutral, also retract and get your chest in front of the movement so to speak. also, what’s wrong w/ DB’s?
I really dig a log bar for overhead work. Hits the delts nicely with no joint irritation.
For bench, I’d go with DBs for a while if straight bar is giving you problems. If it weren’t for trying to get my bench press up to 315, I probably wouldn’t use straight bar at all for chest.
I like using fat grip DB handles with a neutral grip. I occasionally use a straight bar, but most of that is in a Smith with limited ROM.
If im interpretting what your situation correctly then I believe i can help you as i have had a similar problem. The reason you may get the shoulder pain is because your shoulders are locked in the movement when you are using a barbell. There is no give unlike dumbells because for their to be give youd have to let go of the weight. Thats why shoulder injuries on barbells are common because in reality all that can actually give is your body if you push yourself to that point. Work on your negatives with light weight and a slow tempo, 5 or six secondds down, and focus more on yoour DB lifts for a whi;e.
[quote]cyruseven75 wrote:
in most instances the closer to neutral the less stress on the anterior deltoids[/quote]
I don’t think that’s true, a hammer grip will have the humerus closer to the torso, so in a press that will actually force the anterior delts to do even more work. (Lateral deltoid works when the arm is moved upwards in the plane laterally)
i’m speaking of overall stress on the entire shoulder girdle; flaring outward clearly puts the load into the shoulders and IN MY OPINION/IN MY EXPERIENCE the 45 marker between the two extremes is the least taxing and promotes work to be concentrated in the chest.
without weight manipulate your shoulders into a flared position and next into a neutral position, the flared position creates a compromise in the kinesthetics even prior to the lift. bottom line everyone’s movements will deviate, find the position which is the most advantages for you.
Dave Tate is a pretty big proponent of fat bars for pressing with a shoulder impingement, and Dave’s shoulders are completely shot to shit so he has definitely been there and done that.
Instead of looking for new bars for your shitty shoulder you should look at the programming that made it that way. Your program probably sucks, you bench way too much. You dont do external rotations, facepulls, and ytwl + squatting wrong yes squatting wrong fucks your shoulders lol. sorry for making this a pissing contest but just threw that out their since those were the mistakes i made to fuck my shoulder up. hopefully your not making the same ones as me. good luck buddy. shoulder pain blows. get it checked out.
[quote]JayPierce wrote:
I really dig a log bar for overhead work. Hits the delts nicely with no joint irritation.
For bench, I’d go with DBs for a while if straight bar is giving you problems. If it weren’t for trying to get my bench press up to 315, I probably wouldn’t use straight bar at all for chest.[/quote]
I haven’t touched a BB in like 18 months outside of the close grips I did last night.
Thing is with DB’s… Going from 115x3 to 120x3 takes FOREVER. I blazed up to the 95’s pretty quick, and got stuck there for awhile, then shot up to the 115’s. Now I fear I’m going to get stuck here for awhile too. (Then again I’m not focusing on chest right now.)
I love DB’s, they are just so slow to progress on, that at this point, I’m seriously thinking about adding some BB work back in.
Plus kicking up the 95’s & getting them into position for overhead pressing takes away like 3 reps.
I’m not saying don’t use DB’s, because certainly do. I’m just thinking out loud.
[quote]cyruseven75 wrote:
i’m speaking of overall stress on the entire shoulder girdle; flaring outward clearly puts the load into the shoulders and IN MY OPINION/IN MY EXPERIENCE the 45 marker between the two extremes is the least taxing and promotes work to be concentrated in the chest.
without weight manipulate your shoulders into a flared position and next into a neutral position, the flared position creates a compromise in the kinesthetics even prior to the lift. bottom line everyone’s movements will deviate, find the position which is the most advantages for you. [/quote]
In bench press extreme flaring yes puts unnatural stress in the shoulder. But if the grip is close and the humerus is close to the torso, the front delts will ALWAYS be activated.
Thanks guys. I’ve been lifting for over 25 years and am just trying to find a way to continue pressing movements as the tendons and joints are just not what they used to be. I’ve been looking at getting a t-bar for pressing, and I’m not sure if the parallel grip or slightly angled grip would be better for maintaining overall muscle and strength. I also heard Christian talking about the benefits of the thick bar. I have been using a safety squat bar to eliminate some of the stress on my shoulders.
Leave barbells alone for a 6 months and chomp on a hearty diet of Fat Gripz, dumbells and Hammer Strength equipment