This is also commonly referred to as “tennis elbow” or “golfers elbow” because it’s a common injury in those sports.

Basically it’s a very uncomfortable strain in the tendons of the forearms, just below the elbow, that limits your strength and hinders your workouts.

I recently posted up a video on YouTube talking about this and I demonstrated a unique rotational exercise that you can do to help rehab and prevent this injury from happening.

Check it out below…

Give this exercise a try in your next arm workout and then leave me a comment below letting me know how it worked for you.

If you would like to get some more killer arm exercises and workouts for building big muscular arms, be sure to download a copy of “Blast Your Biceps”. This is a complete 3 phase mass building arm specialization training system that can help you gain as much as 2 inches of solid muscle mass to your upper arms in as little as 8 weeks. Click Here for more information and to download your copy of the program…

Try the program out for yourself risk free at: www.BlastYourBiceps.com

1) “How Much Can Ya Bench?”

2) “How long have ya been benching?”

It was as if the bench press was the only exercise anyone ever did LOL
Now the bench press is certainly a good lift, but it’s only a small piece of your whole muscle building program. But non-the-less it’s an exercise that people put a lot of emphasis on.

Every single guy who lifts weights gets a rush of excitement whenever he sets a new personal record in the bench press. For most guys it’s a high that can last for days. You’ll feel on top of the world when your bench is getting stronger, and at the same time you can feel down in the dumps when you are stuck in a bench press plateau.

So in this article I’m going to cover some very important technique tips that you can use to maximize your bench press strength by using proper lifting form. Not only will these tips help you bench more weight, but they’ll also reduce your risk of injury as well. Most novice and intermediate level lifters (and even some advanced lifters) make a few critical mistakes with their bench press form that places the shoulders in a very vunerable position for rotator cuff injuries. This article will teach you how to Bench Press with proper technique so you can bench more weight without injuring yourself.

Need a spot on the bench?

Improper Bench Press Technique…

This picture shows improper bench press form. The lifter has his upper arms and elbows are pointed straight out to the sides, almost like a T shape to his torso. This places a lot of excess strain on the rotator cuff and the pec tendon. You’ll also notice that the barbell is held right over the shoulders, rather than being held over the chest where you want to have the work load placed.

This is a common newbie bench press technique mistake. When people bench high and wide like this there is a greater risk of straining or tearing a muscle in the chest and / or shoulders. Plus it doesn’t direct the workload on the pec muscles themselves, which is the whole point of bench pressing in the first place.

Correct Bench Press Technique…

This picture shows correct bench press form. The lifter has his upper arms and elbows tucked in at a 45 degree angle to his torso. This reduces the shoulder rotation and places less strain on the rotator cuff and the pec tendon. You’ll also notice that the barbell is brought down to the lower chest. This directs the workload to the thick meaty part of the chest, which is exactly where we want it. This is the proper way to bench press for generating maximum strength and power in addition to stimulating maximum growth in the pecs.

Proper Body Position For Maximum Power…

Many people do not realize how much strength they lose by making the bar travel further than necessary. The less distance you have to move the weight the stronger you will be. To shorten the distance that you press the bar you need to expand your rib cage and stick your chest out. While at the same time squeezing your shoulder blades back together behind you.

You can even try this now while sitting hear reading this. Just sit up tall in your chair and take a deep breath, expand your rib cage, and stick your chest out as far as you can. If you did this correctly your chest should have expanded by a couple inches or more.

Now keeping this position hold your arms out in front of you as if you were doing a bench press. At the same time squeeze your shoulder blades back together behind you as far as you can. You can even alternate back and forth between holding your arms out in front with your upper body relaxed and then holding your arms out in front with your chest expanded and shoulders pulled back just so you can feel the difference.

There will be at least a few inches of distance in the difference. By expanding your chest you can shave an inch or two off your bench press stroke. And by pulling you shoulder blades back together behind you you’ll reduce the distance by another inch or two. Look at the pictures below and you’ll see the difference. Look how far the elbows are in front of the torso in the first pic compared to the second pic. Yet, the arms are straight and locked out in both pictures.

Just by using the set up as shown in the second picture when you bench press you will be able to lift more weight while at the same time stimulating more muscle growth in your chest. And that’s just one of literally dozens of valuable training tricks that you’ll learn about in the “Blast Your Bench” program. Give this tip a try in your next bench workout and I’m sure you’ll notice the difference in strength and muscle activation immediately!

Putting It All Together…

Give these bench press technique tips a try in your next bench workout. However, just realize that any time you make changes to your lifting technique it usually takes a few workouts to get used to the new form. Chances are you may even notice a drop in your strength while you are adjusting to the groove and position of the different lifting technique. But once you do master the form you’ll feel stronger and lift heavier than you were before.

What I’d suggest you do for your next few bench press workouts is take a light warm up weight and bang out multiple sets of low reps. Shoot for 10 sets of 3 reps. The idea here is to practice the set up and getting the right body position over and over again until it becomes second nature to you.

Don’t worry about repping out to failure or testing your 1 rep max just yet. Focus your efforts on mastering the proper bench press lifting technique. One you have your form down pat the strength gains will follow.

If you’d like to get a complete Mass Building Bench Press Specialization Training System, than I’d highly recommend you check out the “Blast Your Bench” program. This program will show you how to cycle your training with the proper exercises, sets, and reps to maximize your strength and muscle gains quickly.

In addition to that there are specialization training programs for bringing up your max squat and max deadlift as well. So with the “Blast Your Bench” program you’ll get a complete mass and power building training system.

Just click here to download your copy of the program at: http://www.BlastYourBench.com

In fact, if you did an informal survey and simply asked the biggest and strongest guys in the gym if they have ever injured their shoulders during training, I’m willing to bet that the vast majority of them will say YES!

The root cause for most shoulder injuries is an imbalance between the front and rear heads of the deltoids. Very often guys will over work their front delts with bench presses, dips, overhead presses, etc. and the rear delts will receive only a fraction of the training volume in comparison.

This uneven development compounds overtime and eventually leads to injury. Now most of the time it’s only a minor pop or strain, but sometimes it can lead to a full blown tear in the rotator cuff muscle or tendon (which can be a real bitch to heal) and will hinder all of your workouts in the gym.

I’ve posted a video clip below that shows some exercises you can do in your workouts to help prevent rotator cuff and shoulder injuries from occurring. And if you already have a shoulder injury now I’ll show you some moves you can do to help rehab that injury so you can get back to normal training ASAP.

After you give these exercises a try, please post a comment below and let me know how they work for you…

You’ll also hear the story of how I Got Beat Up In A Fight With A 600 Pound Tire!
Just watch the end of the video below for all the details…

Have you ever done any Lean Hybrid Training Sessions like this before?
If so please share your comments below…

Sometimes your muscles can literally lock up and the pain can be excruciating. Not only that, but in sever cases you could also run the risk of pulling or tearing the muscles when they cramp and tighten up.

Bodybuilders, athletes, and hardcore fitness enthusiasts who are in the gym working out on a regular basis run the risk of having an electrolyte imbalance.

The main problem is usually losing a lot of sodium through heavy sweating combined with drinking lots of water. This dilutes the blood sodium levels and can cause muscle cramps, weakness, and shakiness.

Another part of this problem stems from the fact that people who workout regularly, also tend to eat the “healthiest” and are more likely to purposely avoid consuming excess sodium in their diets.

But in fact, people who are very active actually run a greater risk of consuming too little sodium, rather then too much.

Here in this video clip I have a simple solution to help solve this sodium problem and improve your athletic performance in the gym.

So what I’m going to show here in this video is a simple exercise that you can do at home that will help balance out your forearm development, strengthen the muscles, tendons, and ligaments of your forearms.

This will literally only take you 3 minutes per day, but it will work wonders if you are currently suffering from any form of elbow tendonitis injury.

And if you’d like to maximize the development of your forearms, I’d highly recommend that you include Heavy Grips Hand Grippers as part of your exercise routine.

By regularly doing gripping exercises to work the forearm flexors, as well as opening exercises to work the forearm extensors, you will strengthen your entire hands and build strong muscular forearms.

You can order your very own set of Heavy Grips Hand Grippers at:

http://www.LeeHayward.com/heavygrips.htm

Click Here To Get Your Very Own Set Of Heavy Grips Hand Grippers

The joints most often affected are the weight bearing joints, such as the knees, elbows, hips, and the small joints of the hands. The pain in these joints is the result of cartilage damage, the main reason being the cumulative effects of years of use of the joints compounded by the inability to restore joint cartilage.

The current treatment for joint pain includes the use of aspirin and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, such as ibuprofen. These medications provide only the short term benefits in the relief of both the pain and inflammation.

There is a natural substance found in high concentrations in our joint structures known as Glucosamine. Numerous double blind studies have shown that Glucosamine produces better results in the treatment of joint pain than traditional drug therapy.

The main function of glucosamine is to stimulate the manufacture of substances necessary for joint repair. Glucosamine is a well tolerated, natural treatment. There have been no reported adverse reactions. In rare instances, some gastric discomfort was reported but was easily relieved by taking the supplement with food.

For the past few years I have been supplementing with a Glucosamine, Chondroitin & MSM supplement and I find that it works great! I used to frequently have pain in my elbows, knees, and shoulders. But after a couple weeks of taking the supplement I haven’t had any problems with joint pain. And I have been able to train harder and lift heavier weights. I highly recommend it for anyone who suffers from joint pain.

You can get Glucosamine, Chondroitin & MSM supplement at most any drug store or supplement store.

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