Full disclosure: I’m not a standout bencher. I’m not here to spin tales of high‑school glory with a Camaro, a Prom Queen, and a 405 bench—before that football injury in the State Championship changed everything. This isn’t that kind of story. The bench press often serves as a test of general toughness, but I’ve always seen myself as an average lifter (315 lb at a lean bodyweight). Or, as Dave Tate might put it, “I suck.” I’ll take that as a compliment from a strong coach.
I know how to coach the bench and have helped many people over the years. More often, though, I help them work around a stubborn shoulder issue that keeps them from attacking the lift.
Newsflash: lots of people report shoulder pain when benching. When that happens, the instinct is to drop the bench and dive into corrective work—balloon breathing, thoracic mobility drills, scapular stability work—to get at the root cause. I’m not against that, but sometimes we should slow down.
Yes, upper back mobility can be a real bottleneck, and addressing it is worthwhile. Some people have tissue quality or scapular stability issues that contribute to shoulder pain. A thorough assessment or a session with a manual therapist can help. But maybe, just maybe, the reason a shoulder hurts during the bench is that the technique is sloppy enough to make your eyes bleed.
If the technique is off and the movement still hurts after that, you can try other pressing variations to train around the issue while you address the root causes.
Decline bench press: In a decline, there’s less shoulder flexion, which keeps many lifters out of the painful zone. If the flat bench hurts, a decline can be a viable workaround.
Spoto press (the “invisible board press”): A common flaw is failing to meet the bar with the chest, causing the shoulders to roll forward as you lower the bar. The Spoto press stops the bar a few inches above the chest, pauses, then presses back up, helping address that issue.
When in doubt, use dumbbells: A barbell with an overhand grip can lock the humerus into internal rotation, narrowing the shoulder space. Dumbbells allow a bit more external rotation with a neutral grip, which can be gentler on the shoulders. This is one reason I often prefer dumbbell pressing for overhead athletes.
Corrective pressing variations that don’t feel corrective: A frequent pattern with shoulder pain is limited movement of the shoulder blades. To move heavy weights you need both tension and stability, but sometimes the blades are “stuck” (often in downward rotation) and can’t move through full range. You still need scapular mobility for overall shoulder health. In these cases, I lean toward variations that give the shoulder blades a little more room. Push-ups are my go-to here, though I know many would rather skip straight to something else.
Off‑bench dumbbell press: A small shift to the side of the bench allows more scapular movement. It’s also a solid core exercise (you have to brace hard to avoid rolling off) and it helps engage the glutes. With the right setup, you’ll see the lower body stay active.
Bottoms‑up press off a foam roller: Borrowed from Dr. Joel Seedman, pressing a kettlebell bottoms‑up while lying on a foam roller ramps up rotator cuff activation—you really have to fight to stabilize. The foam roller also frees the shoulder blades to move more, and, like the off‑bench variation, it benefits glute and foot/ankle engagement.
That’s the essence. Don’t rush to band external rotations or t‑spine drills at the first sign of trouble. Addressing bench technique can be just as corrective for shoulder pain, and not every pressing variation suits every person. It’s about choosing the right variation for the individual. Press on.
