Bench Press difficulties?

Question

I've bench pressed for many years and encountered this problem over the past 2months.

During my first set I will get pretty intense pain in my right bicep.

It will be fine after the 2nd set but never the less it is very uncomfortable, could lead to joint damage and reduces how much I can do on my chest during the session.

How can I resolve this problem?

Why is it happening?

Answer 1

Well first off it could be from any number of things, now you say you have been lifting for years so im sure you know that the tricep is the secondary muscle when benching, however depending on how wide your grip is, and what the position of your arms are at the bottom of the press can put more strain on muscles other than your chest and tris, therefore your biceps could be called in to the press, ask someone to watch you and when let them know when the pain starts, is most intense, and when it starts to go away throughout the rep. then try moving around your grip and and relying on stricter form and have them watch you again and see if the point of pain changes, lessens, or increases. None the less you should talk to a sports injury specialist, NOT YOUR GENERAL PHYSICIAN, nothing against them, but those that are in the sports medicine field study specifically that.