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I've tried chest press machines; I prefer dumbbells and a bench or a cable machine. My primary issue with the chest press machine is the angle of my wrist.
Don't dismiss shoulder pain. I did and have to live with a torn labrum for the rest of my life. I am not, for several reasons a candidate for surgery.
I've tried chest press machines; I prefer dumbbells and a bench or a cable machine. My primary issue with the chest press machine is the angle of my wrist.
Don't dismiss shoulder pain. I did and have to live with a torn labrum for the rest of my life. I am not, for several reasons a candidate for surgery.
I have a torn labrum, was a candidate for surgery but declined it, and honestly except for the occasional odd issue (random dislocation) I have no quality of life impacts. No pain. No weakness. I refused the surgery, which was recommended, because I knew they had no good evidence it would improve my quality of life. I did not baby my shoulder, I worked it through a full range of motion, even though the doctor told me I'd never be able to lift heavy on that shoulder again and even got visibly irrate with me when I suggested that was not acceptable, I now lift heavy. Actually, now I seem to even have a mild muscular imbalance where that shoulder is now stronger even though it's not my dominant side (I'm right handed, talking about my left shoulder) - i think because the muscle got stronger to compensate for all the torn ligaments and joint damage I received.
I used to do a lot of activation work for that shoulder before beginning my exercise. Now I don't bother. I can pick up a heavy set of dumbbells and begin pumping overhead presses right away.
I decided to combine using both machines and free weights, with machines such as chest press being used about 75 percent of the time. For example, I may use the chest press machine for 6 consecutive weeks, and then for 2 weeks use free weights when doing bench press. There are pros and cons to both, and I’ll start with this approach for now and make adjustments as needed.
It’s a balancing act, but at this stage in my life, it’s about overall wellness and long term benefits, while minimizing unnecessary injuries.
I do the big 4 lifts with a barbell - bench, squat, deadlift, overhead/strict press. I prefer the recruitment of all the additional stabilizer muscles as compared to using machines.
2x/week I do HIIT style workouts.
No joint pain here, and I don't see a reason why it should necessarily be a problem for anyone. Have you spoken with your doctor?
I'm 46 and same. Work each of the 4 big lifts, HEAVY, once a week plus some accessory work. No issues and I've been doing it for 20+ years consistently. In fact I suspect it's WHY I don't have any issues as far as back pain, shoulder pain, etc. Just have to take to make sure you listen to your body, take decent breaks, and don't let form break down. Never go to failure because that's when form breaks down and injuries occur.
I do the big 4 lifts with a barbell - bench, squat, deadlift, overhead/strict press. I prefer the recruitment of all the additional stabilizer muscles as compared to using machines.
2x/week I do HIIT style workouts.
No joint pain here, and I don't see a reason why it should necessarily be a problem for anyone. Have you spoken with your doctor?
No, I didn’t think it was necessary to see a doctor since it was just minor pain and soreness. Similarly to when I would get knee pain from running years ago when I would go run several miles about 3 or more days a week. What did I do? I just cut back on the number of days that I ran and everything was fine.
All in all my overall health is good. I have a fairly good resting heart rate which is usually around 55-58 bpm. Sometimes it’s 52 or 53, but that’s when I do hard intervals a few times a week for several weeks. My joints seem fine when I do other workouts. I can easily crank out 20 pull ups, and could easily do more in 1 set, but I keep short sets, and do more sets. Same with push ups. I can crank out 70 push ups in 1 set with good form. Not bad for an older guy lol.
I just listen to body and make adjustments when necessary. Although I’ll push myself at the gym, I’m not really interested in pushing it beyond a certain limit and risk injuries and unnecessary pain. That will defeat the purpose of enjoying an overall good quality of life where I can engage in other hobbies and activities that I enjoy.
I'm 64 and have been lifting on and off (mostly on) since I was a teen. I was a chubby kid and in high school, my Mom was a teacher and much to my horror asked one of the gym teachers to help. This was my intro to lifting. I suppose my payback was several years later, much to my Mom's horror, I enlisted in Marines.
I took to the bench quickly and later with help and practice achieved pretty good form with squats and deadlifts. I never got very big. I'm 5'8" and in past pictures at my best I kind of looked like a gymnast.
These days I do just about all machines and cables, this feels like something I can keep going with.
In my opinion, moving on from mostly frree weights to mostly machines in your 50s is fine and for me in retrospect was a good idea.
I use machines, barbells, dumbbells and Smith racks. My current bench/squat/DL total is around 1k, and my current fitness goal is what it's been since I turned 50, and that is when I hit 75, I can get in and out of chairs without help or using my arms to push myself up or lower myself down.
There is no perfect answer other than what works for you, your baselines, your goals, your body, etc. The best part of machines is forcing your form, plus hiding the stack from others which helps dial down ego lifting. The best part of free weights is using stabilizer and smaller associated muscles to help control movement and form.
If you want to stick with machines and they work best for a sore shoulder, cool. Use machines. Whatever keeps you working out consistently and without serious pain or injury, do that.
Now, that said, here is a tried and true way to resume the free weight lifting without hurting yourself.
Get coached (however you want to do that, even if it is just watching YT videos) on proper form.
Take whatever your current machine workout weight is, and start at no more than 50% of that for barbell, and 40% for combined weight of dumbbells. So if you are machine pressing 150, yes, I actually mean to start with 75 for barbell and/or 30lb for each dumbbell. I am a huge fan of drastic drops in weights for resetting baselines.
Focus hard on the "good rep" which is this - slow (2-4 sec) and controlled eccentric, 1 sec pause at bottom, 1-2 sec concentric, and a full range of motion. Make that your rule for counting reps. If they aren't like that, they don't count.
Start at like 3 sets of 6-8. Do not increase weight until you are doing the proper good reps for like 3x12, and then increase slowly. Minimum possible actually.
DO NOT LISTEN TO YOUR EGO. All ego lifting does is cause injuries.
Last week, no joke, I felt like I was flaring my elbows on bench. So in my very public gym, I spent like 12 minutes in a power rack repping just the bar, then the bar plus 10s on each side. No ego here. I like getting stronger, but pain free matters more than anything else.
[*]Focus hard on the "good rep" which is this - slow (2-4 sec) and controlled eccentric, 1 sec pause at bottom, 1-2 sec concentric, and a full range of motion. Make that your rule for counting reps. If they aren't like that, they don't count.
In general the rule is the eccentric should be twice as long as the concentric. But counting can be a PITA, so I suggest do the concentric as explosively as possible (as you get tired, this is harder and harder and your bar speed slows) and your eccentric with decent control (don't let the weight fall back onto to your chest). If you pause the weight on your chest, you're probably achieving that.
One thing I want to add. Biomechanically, I noticed that some people don't have the mobility in their shoulders, lower back (no arch) to allow the bar to their chest without caving in their chest and using their shoulders to muscle it up. If you're one of those people (record your set), stop the bar somewhere over your chest and just do quarter reps (the top part of the ROM of the bench is mostly triceps anyways). The key is always constant tension on your muscle. And while some get a great stretch when the bar rests on their chest, others cannot get in that position without caving their chest in and exposing more of their shoulders.
I don't know if i made this clear. Easier to show then write it.
But no reason to do the bench if it doesn't stimulate your chest or causes joint/shoulder pain. I personally prefer inc bench to flat bench, dumbbell presses to any barbell for chest, and some machines when I can find them.
In general the rule is the eccentric should be twice as long as the concentric. But counting can be a PITA, so I suggest do the concentric as explosively as possible (as you get tired, this is harder and harder and your bar speed slows) and your eccentric with decent control (don't let the weight fall back onto to your chest). If you pause the weight on your chest, you're probably achieving that.
One thing I want to add. Biomechanically, I noticed that some people don't have the mobility in their shoulders, lower back (no arch) to allow the bar to their chest without caving in their chest and using their shoulders to muscle it up. If you're one of those people (record your set), stop the bar somewhere over your chest and just do quarter reps (the top part of the ROM of the bench is mostly triceps anyways). The key is always constant tension on your muscle. And while some get a great stretch when the bar rests on their chest, others cannot get in that position without caving their chest in and exposing more of their shoulders.
I don't know if i made this clear. Easier to show then write it.
But no reason to do the bench if it doesn't stimulate your chest or causes joint/shoulder pain. I personally prefer inc bench to flat bench, dumbbell presses to any barbell for chest, and some machines when I can find them.
1) I use the numbers just as a guide. Generally, yes, just make the eccentric slower than the concentric, however that works for you. I am a math dork, so I count stuff by habit. Whatever extends the tension on the muscle, do that.
2) When I say "full range of motion" I mean FOR YOU. Everything I ever tell people about exercise is FOR THEM. Not everyone can do everything the same. Some people are born for a stronger bench, others for a stronger squat, etc. We are all different with regard to individual biomechanics, and I tend to run away from the "you must do it this way" advice. Do what you can, and try to improve on it.
3) I don't flat bench. I generally always have at least some incline. Biomechanically, I incline more efficiently than flat, even if the weights are lower. I also don't decline, preferring dips instead. Agreeing with you, I find that everyone has exercises they gel with better than others, and for consistency, which is the real key to all fitness goals, doing what feels like your best exercises will keep you going back.
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