heavy bench session = sore/ stuff neck and traps

[hitman11]

I did i bench workout on saturday morning using power bands and without power bands. The power bands were alot harder then i thought and required alot more muscles to stabilize the bar..........

was a good hard workout using lower reps and i benched a PB of 125kg (without bands) which im stoked about!

but i could hardly move my neck today and my traps are very tight and sore, i know that benching heavy works the traps but what about the sore neck?? ive also got a slight headache which i guess is due to my sore neck.

maybe because im not used to the bands??

any advice would be great

[I Declare War]

I used to get a sore neck from training bench press when I was beginning.

When maxing out on bench there's a natural tendency to push your head down on to the seat, sometimes you can push it too hard. Usually you'll find that the concentric portion of the lift is where the strain is caused. It's because you just want to get that bar up there and not crush you...

I don't get this anymore as I'm very conscious of the problem. Sore necks are no fun! I always either lift my head up a little off the bench if I'm really maxing out or make point to just rest it on there.

Of course, you can't lift your head up off the bench in a powerlifting competition... I believe that'd fail your lift. You just need to learn to be conscious not to push with your head at all times.

As for your traps... they just aint used to the workload you gave them. They'll be growing.

[drizzt]

Thanks for that IDW, I've been getting neck pain after benching for the past couple of months (following a shoulder injury) so was wondering what I was doing differently or if it was shoulder weakness referring somewhere else. Will keep this in mind, cheers :nod: