Hi
I have had this issue for as long as I can remember:
When bench pressing (this happens on light and heavy weight…) I can set up good (arched, shoulders/traps dug in to bench), but once the pressing happens, my left side loses the the tightness and causes an uneven press (the result is left arm flaring out).
I know about scapula recruiting exercises and do them but they don’t seem to help the issue.
Another thing is that my left lat noticeably smaller than my right (but the same strength?).
I notice this when doing a front lat spread, the right side you can see the lat sticking out to the side like 2 inches but the left is like .5 inches (if that).
I’m just speculating here on it being my scapula (I don’t know much about anatomy), the only facts I know is that I lose back tightness on left side, and left arm flares…
Does anyone have advice for this? I don’t want to get hurt.
could be a spinal/ innervation issue I 'd go see a good chiro maybe get some ART therapy as well
[quote]RampantBadger wrote:
could be a spinal/ innervation issue I 'd go see a good chiro maybe get some ART therapy as well[/quote]
What is ART therapy?
Active Release Techniques.
I’m guessing you’re relatively new to this. I have this issue too and I have a history of problems with my left shoulder and it typically grooves differently than my right side.
Don’t worry about it, keep lifting, do a ton of upper back work: face pulls, rows w/ all grips/angles, YTWLs, really everything you can think of and stretch your traps/neck/lats.
Get everything stronger and with time the issue will go away or you will learn to train around it.
Did you play baseball previously? Because I may be in a similar situation to you. I played baseball growing up and was a righty. That seems to have built up the right side of my body a bit more than my left. If I have any shoulder issues, it’ll be on the left side. My upper back is a bit more developed on my right side than my left, and I’m able to keep my right shoulder tighter on all pressing movements.
That being said, I’d recommend always focusing on keeping tight while benching and working on developing the form you want. Maybe stop your sets a rep before you know you’ll likely flare your elbow. And to make up for that do multiple sets. I haven’t taken any steps to bring up my left side, as my strength levels are pretty similar so I’m not too concerned about that. I just focus a bit more mentally on certain movements in order to make sure I’m keeping my left shoulder and upper back functioning the way I want.