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My shoulder pops when I do bench presses - Is that very bad?

M

MeddyDuo

Senior member
I just recently started lifting, and today I noticed that every time I would bring the bar to my chest on bench presses, my right shoulder would make a popping noise. It didn't hurt, but it just doesn't seem like it should happen.
Also if I do those arm circle things, like you are pitching a softball, my shoulder cracks almost every circle.

The only thing I can think of is that I pitched in Little League and I heard that some kids throw out their arm or whatever if they pitch the wrong way. But I only did Little League, not high school baseball, and most of the time I only pitched the last few innings.

So any ideas on what it could be and do you think it is serious or should I ignore it?
 
could you explain what those "arm circle" things are?

if you are doing some circle motion with your arms like you are pitching a softball with weights, that could be causing your problem, because i seriously have no clue wtf exercise you are attempting to do.
 
Probably need to work the surrounding muscles, or ease up on the weight for awhile. Mine cracks a lot too sometimes, it's not serious.
 
I have a similar problem except not every time, like 1/10 it will pop and then later when i do the circles it keeps popping/cracking the first few times. My family has pretty cr@ppy shoulders though, my twin brother has tendonitis in his shoulders from swimming and my dad had a pinched nerve there.
 
Do you feel any strange movement in the socket? Or is it just a noise?

Have you tried extensive stretching beforehand? My shoulder socket makes a small bit of movement and popping at the 3 o'clock mark if I do straight-arm circles. It has never done that during a bench press IIRC.
 
Originally posted by: purbeast0
could you explain what those "arm circle" things are?

if you are doing some circle motion with your arms like you are pitching a softball with weights, that could be causing your problem, because i seriously have no clue wtf exercise you are attempting to do.
Click to expand...
You know, just imagine you are pitching a softball. Start with your hand at your side pointing towards the ground, and then move it so your arm is pointing straight ahead, then pointing up, then behind you, and back at your side pointing down.
We have to do them at work to stretch for safety 🙂
 
Originally posted by: mobobuff
Do you feel any strange movement in the socket? Or is it just a noise?

Have you tried extensive stretching beforehand? My shoulder socket makes a small bit of movement and popping at the 3 o'clock mark if I do straight-arm circles. It has never done that during a bench press IIRC.
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Well I can kind of feel it I guess, I wasn't paying too much attention to it though.
I stretch a little, but not very much.
 
First, warm up good b4 lifting.

The fact that it pops every time is a bit worrisome. Might go away with stregnthening, might get worse due to constant friction etc in the joint. May wanna consider seeing a (sports) physician about it.

Fern
 
It's pretty normal for a double-jointed person. Mine cracks every time I do something, even if it's scratching my butt. But then again I'm about 70 years old.
 
Might need to strengthen your rotator cuff??

Linky

Sounds are not uncommon when working out though. When I do push ups my elbows crack about every other rep, nothing I can do about it so I don't worry about it. Although I would look into it more as the shoulder is more complex than an elbow.
 
Originally posted by: tfinch2
How much weight?
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Well I just started again and I'm skinny so don't make fun of me -
80 in weight, probably 10 for the bar
Actually you can make fun of me if you want


thirdlegstump - I don't think I'm double jointed (how do I tell?)
 
Also when I used to lift last year I did those military press things where you stand and put the bar behind your neck and push it up. Then I read that that is bad for your rotator cuffs or something, and you should only do the ones where the bar is in front of you.
 
Originally posted by: MeddyDuo
Also when I used to lift last year I did those military press things where you stand and put the bar behind your neck and push it up. Then I read that that is bad for your rotator cuffs or something, and you should only do the ones where the bar is in front of you.
Click to expand...

You shouldn't be doing pull downs or military presses behind your neck.
 
Well let's see. What muscle is primarily used during a bench press? I'm not sure. I lift weights and work out every now and again, but I've never bothered to figure out which methods focus on which muscles. I would assume a bench press is primarly the biceps, triceps and pectorials.

Perhaps you should focus on exercises that focus on the muscles surrounding the shoulder (not sure what muscles that includes).

Maybe some people are more prone to joint-popping than others. For instance, my knees pop all the time, mostly while doing squats. Though I'm pretty sure that's just gas pockets in my joint fluid popping.

In any case, you should practice extensive stretching before lifting.
 
Originally posted by: mobobuff
Well let's see. What muscle is primarily used during a bench press? I'm not sure. I lift weights and work out every now and again, but I've never bothered to figure out which methods focus on which muscles. I would assume a bench press is primarly the biceps, triceps and pectorials.

Perhaps you should focus on exercises that focus on the muscles surrounding the shoulder (not sure what muscles that includes).

Maybe some people are more prone to joint-popping than others. For instance, my knees pop all the time, mostly while doing squats. Though I'm pretty sure that's just gas pockets in my joint fluid popping.

In any case, you should practice extensive stretching before lifting.
Click to expand...

Biceps? My biceps never feel fatigued from performing bench presses...
 
Originally posted by: thirdlegstump
It's pretty normal for a double-jointed person. Mine cracks every time I do something, even if it's scratching my butt. But then again I'm about 70 years old.
Click to expand...

a 70 yr old in ATOT??? If you take the rest of ATOT's ages combined you probably still be them. 🙂
 
Originally posted by: jman19
Originally posted by: mobobuff
Well let's see. What muscle is primarily used during a bench press? I'm not sure. I lift weights and work out every now and again, but I've never bothered to figure out which methods focus on which muscles. I would assume a bench press is primarly the biceps, triceps and pectorials.

Perhaps you should focus on exercises that focus on the muscles surrounding the shoulder (not sure what muscles that includes).

Maybe some people are more prone to joint-popping than others. For instance, my knees pop all the time, mostly while doing squats. Though I'm pretty sure that's just gas pockets in my joint fluid popping.

In any case, you should practice extensive stretching before lifting.
Click to expand...

Biceps? My biceps never feel fatigued from performing bench presses...
Click to expand...

That's true... biceps would be more affected by curls. So is bench-pressing mostly triceps?

Forgive my n00bness to the technicalities of weight-lifting.
 
Originally posted by: mobobuff
Originally posted by: jman19
Originally posted by: mobobuff
Well let's see. What muscle is primarily used during a bench press? I'm not sure. I lift weights and work out every now and again, but I've never bothered to figure out which methods focus on which muscles. I would assume a bench press is primarly the biceps, triceps and pectorials.

Perhaps you should focus on exercises that focus on the muscles surrounding the shoulder (not sure what muscles that includes).

Maybe some people are more prone to joint-popping than others. For instance, my knees pop all the time, mostly while doing squats. Though I'm pretty sure that's just gas pockets in my joint fluid popping.

In any case, you should practice extensive stretching before lifting.
Click to expand...

Biceps? My biceps never feel fatigued from performing bench presses...
Click to expand...

That's true... biceps would be more affected by curls. So is bench-pressing mostly triceps?

Forgive my n00bness to the technicalities of weight-lifting.
Click to expand...

I'd say it is mostly chest muscles, deltoids and triceps. These are the parts of my body that are affected the most by doing bench presses.
 
Originally posted by: jman19
Originally posted by: mobobuff
Originally posted by: jman19
Originally posted by: mobobuff
Well let's see. What muscle is primarily used during a bench press? I'm not sure. I lift weights and work out every now and again, but I've never bothered to figure out which methods focus on which muscles. I would assume a bench press is primarly the biceps, triceps and pectorials.

Perhaps you should focus on exercises that focus on the muscles surrounding the shoulder (not sure what muscles that includes).

Maybe some people are more prone to joint-popping than others. For instance, my knees pop all the time, mostly while doing squats. Though I'm pretty sure that's just gas pockets in my joint fluid popping.

In any case, you should practice extensive stretching before lifting.
Click to expand...

Biceps? My biceps never feel fatigued from performing bench presses...
Click to expand...

That's true... biceps would be more affected by curls. So is bench-pressing mostly triceps?

Forgive my n00bness to the technicalities of weight-lifting.
Click to expand...

I'd say it is mostly chest muscles, deltoids and triceps. These are the parts of my body that are affected the most by doing bench presses.
Click to expand...

So would he then need to work on this posterior deltoids? Could this be a muscle imbalance?
 
Originally posted by: mobobuff
Originally posted by: jman19
Originally posted by: mobobuff
Originally posted by: jman19
Originally posted by: mobobuff
Well let's see. What muscle is primarily used during a bench press? I'm not sure. I lift weights and work out every now and again, but I've never bothered to figure out which methods focus on which muscles. I would assume a bench press is primarly the biceps, triceps and pectorials.

Perhaps you should focus on exercises that focus on the muscles surrounding the shoulder (not sure what muscles that includes).

Maybe some people are more prone to joint-popping than others. For instance, my knees pop all the time, mostly while doing squats. Though I'm pretty sure that's just gas pockets in my joint fluid popping.

In any case, you should practice extensive stretching before lifting.
Click to expand...

Biceps? My biceps never feel fatigued from performing bench presses...
Click to expand...

That's true... biceps would be more affected by curls. So is bench-pressing mostly triceps?

Forgive my n00bness to the technicalities of weight-lifting.
Click to expand...

I'd say it is mostly chest muscles, deltoids and triceps. These are the parts of my body that are affected the most by doing bench presses.
Click to expand...

So would he then need to work on this posterior deltoids? Could this be a muscle imbalance?
Click to expand...

Possibly. I'm not a doctor or a trainer though, so I really don't know 😛
 
Does it pop when you do lighter weights or does it pop no matter how much or little you lift? If it doesn't do it under lighter weights, you probably just need to strengthen the rest of the area before moving up. If it does it regardless, then it may just be the way your joints are setup and might be nothing wrong with it.
 
OP everyone thus far in this thread has been wrong. For gods sake do not isolate the shoulder.

If it is popping, it could be a lot of things, such as joint fluid pressure (no big deal it goes away after a while), improper bench form, or some scar tissue that is causing some friction from previous injuries.

If it is not hurting do not worry about it. I get popping also from time to time if I am just starting a set.

Anyway look into some articles about bench form (not bbing bench form, powerlifting bench form, t-nation.com has some great articles), and next time you bench focus on keeping your elbows in and check your grip on the bar (arm should be 90 degrees when the bar is on your chest) and it will put less stress on your shoulders along with a slight back arch.

You can also buy a good Glucosamine Chondroiton supplement (take 2 times a day, once in the morning once before working out) to help oil up your joints it will help.

If you do get any pain, then it could be the rotator cuff and really bad bench form, go to a doctor for an MRI if pain starts to bother it and a week with RICE does not help. otherwise it sounds like no big deal. Do some arm circles every morning after you wake up to loosen up, it will help.

-You are not double jointed, do not isolate your deltoids (that could make things worse and is completely uneccesary for a newbie to lift, compound exercises only), and military press is not bad for your shoulders, in front or behind your back as long as the bar follows a straight line.
 
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