Man… what a difference! That’s like night and day. Bet that’s really satisfying to see that tangible of a difference.
Haven’t tried any machine press. Dumbell bench hasn’t hurt it but the increased volume I have been doing of them may have contributed to the sore shoulder !! I’ll rest it for a week first and then see how I go. Will probably just drop the weight back on bench for a bit. The main focus is squat at the moment anyway so it’s not a big problem.
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It really is good to actually see some progress. As I get older and realise that building muscle and looking hot are no longer things I can achieve, then seeing visual gainz in strength is very motivating.
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So shoulder update. I slept ok but woke up pretty stiff and sore. (I’m
sure there is a joke in there somewhere). Good - There is no visible bruising or heat in the muscle.
Bad - it still really sore and tight. Hurts when you push it like a bruise and the muscle feels tight. It feels tightest and most sore at what I am calling the bicep end of the front deltoid. It hurts to raise the arm forwards but not to raise it to the side or back or shrug. Pushing forward also hurts. Washed the car this morning which meant I moved it around a fair bit and whilst it was aching and hurt it wasn’t bad enough to stop me. More rest and ice today and some anti inflams and I’ll see how it feels tomorrow.
The biceps tendon’s main function is flexion and it runs through the spot in which you’re tender. Hopefully it’s just inflamed. Hit the anti inflammatory drugs for 7-14 days.
That was my doc’s recommendation when I first saw him about my shoulder.
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This sounds almost identical to what happened to me in 2017. This means it could quite possibly be biceps tendonitis. The physio explained it this way: when you bench, your shoulder externally rotates (I think that’s the term). This should be done by your rotator cuff muscles. Except, if your rotator cuff isn’t properly activated, your bicep has to do most of the work (apparently the bicep is involved in external rotation somewhat). Doing this for a long period of time can cause inflammation of the bicep tendon where it attaches close to the deltoid, because the bicep isn’t meant to bear the brunt of external rotation.
The solution he gave me was to ditch barbell bench and variations for a while - I think I did that for maybe six weeks. Dumbbell bench was fine because there was much less rotation. That let the bicep rest and recover. The long term fix was to make my rotator cuff active, and doing that was pretty simple. He had me do, every day, 20
Y-raises with a theraband around around my wrists while squeezing my fists as hard as possible. The way he had me do them was starting with my forearms parallel to the floor, pushing hard out against the band. Keeping that pressure against the band, raise your arms overhead, elbows locked out, and return to the start position. Keep your fists clenched hard the whole time.
If your rotator isn’t activated, it makes sense that not too long after your bench frequency increases something will go.
Ok the more I think about this the more I think a quick trip to the physio to get this assessed may be the best idea. I’ll call them on Monday and get an appointment for early next week.
If it is a bicep I wonder if the few curls I have been doing over the past weeks / months has added to the fatigue ?
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Possible that the curls tipped the balance, definitely.
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I always new arm curls were the devil 
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Yes. I’ve been skipping them every time because like shoulder health and shit not because they ain’t fun.
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Hope it’s just a tweak man. Don’t join the crippled crew. It’s not a fun group to hang with. I have bicep tendinitis and it always flares with any sudden jarring movement. I’m good as long as I’m warm
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Simo, just something to think about:
I used to train like you. Specific S/B/D multiple days per week with undulating periodization.
It’s probably the best way to train for quick progress. However, it will beat you up something fierce.
Your strength is getting to that point to where you seriously need to consider alternate programming and main lift variations.
I see you going down a rabbit hole like I did about 5 years ago:
Overuse injury (soft tissue) and imbalances.
Just something to think about. You’re a very similar case to what I’ve been going through.
The barbell is king, but it’s also a murderer if overused coupled with specific programming.
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Simon, hope you get better soon
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@IronOne might be on to something. I know you had a hypertrophy phase last year but it wasn’t long. You might benefit from another one that uses variations and gives you a complete break from the barbell.
In the past, biceps tendonitis always killed my benching. I’d stop benching with the bar and it’d go away. I’m scared to even try barbell bench now that I’ve had my tendon repaired.
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@IronOne has a point. SBD multiple times a week is risky. Combine that with heavier loads and minimal assistance and it’s even worse.
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After your rest maybe it’s time to go back to bench twice a week for a time.
I hope you recover fast.
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TBH for a while bench once a week would probably be safer, with plenty of bodybuilding work for the upper body (triceps, rear delts, upper and mid back, pecs) spread across the week. Chances are that would work as well.
Thanks for all the input guys. It’s good to know people care enough to comment and give ideas. The shoulder feels a lot better today but still a little sore. Still going to call the physio and get an appointment, if only to be sure what I am dealing with.
I see where you guys are going regarding the multiple bench a week but when you look at the total pressing volume including accessories it is actually not that high. Certainly no where near as much as my old BB days.
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Love you Rob, you’re as stubborn as I am.
It’s not the volume it’s the intensity that killed the cat.
you’re dealing with much heavier weight, your bench has skyrocketed over the past 6 month or so. Give your tendons a chance to follow the muscles.
It could be impingement as well, good call to see the physio.
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Total workload and impact on joint is important I reckon. Like u can have perfect technique but too much volume niggles will crop up. Same if ur doing variations or Comp lift e.g. wide grip and it hits ur joints a bit much can’t accumulate a lot of volume there safely.
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