The Safest Bench Press Form for Your Shoulders
A simple shoulder blade position can reduce joint stress and lower injury risk.
If you want to bench press safely—and keep doing it well into the future—what you do with your shoulders before the bar ever moves matters more than how much weight is on it.
One of the safest ways to bench press is keeping the scapulae, or shoulder blades, pulled back and down throughout the entire range of motion (as I describe in my Bench Press: 5 Points of Contact article). It’s a simple setup cue, but it has a major impact on shoulder stability and long-term joint health.
What the Science Says About Shoulder Safety
A recent study from the Netherlands looked at how different bench press techniques affect shoulder joint loading and muscle activity. The researchers found that pulling the shoulder blades back and down significantly
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