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Uneven Bench, Right Elbow Flare

Has anyone had this problem and what is a possible solution for it. I’ve just noticed this problem today after a 2 year hiatus I’m back at it. Does anyone have any recommendations to fix this?

Please watch video any and all advice is appreciated.

There’s not really anything alarming showing in this video.

Just ensure you aren’t bound up in the lats or shoulder any where and that grip on the bar is even.

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Is one of your arms longer than the other? It’s not uncommon.

Otherwise just stop doing that, concentrate on having both arms at the same angle throughout the lift.

I’ve had this problem for a while tried a bunch of stuff to fix it. I even switched to dumbells for a while and even did only one arm dB press. My left Pec is slightly larger than my right as well. Only thing I can think of is maybe my back has more meat on it on the left side. When I was doing one arm dumbell presses I could hit the same number of reps with both sides without A noticeable strength difference. My question is. Is benching. Like this going to hinder my lifts further down the road?

Half way up in the second rep.
That’s how I tore my right pec so keep an eye on it. I got stuck at lockout and my right elbow flared.

Do you have any pain in your right elbow during your bench press motion? Or does it ever get painful after bench workouts?

I never have any pain anywhere at all. Everything feels good while I’m benching.

You know what, some people just have imbalances. Jennifer Thompson, one of the top female bench pressers, actually grips the bar unevenly because one of her arms is way stronger than the other. Apparently due to surgery for a pinched nerve.

You could either just stop worrying and keep lifting or go see a specialist, preferably a sports doctor who is or works with powerlifters. Unfortunately there isn’t much more anyone here can do for you.


Appreciate all the help guys. I haven’t been on the forums in a while. It’s not to have a warm welcome back. Thank you all for the advice and input.

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I’d just be mindful of it and keep going until any issues start to pop up, then address from there.

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According to Bro Science your tricep has 3 heads. When your elbows are tucked, or in, or pointing towards your feet you emphasise more long and medial tricep( the back and in side of your arm) . When your elbows are out of flared your putting more pressure on the lateral head (outside).

For whatever reason you’re flaring your arm to take pressure off one part of your tricep, (the long and medial heads) and put it on another part of your tricep (the medial head).

To fix it, get after the long and medial head of your tricep. Find an exercise where your elbows are kinda tucked and do it light enough to keep your elbow tucked to keep pressure on the back and inside of your upper arm.

JM Blankley said to do 5 sets of 10 in the JM Press with moderate weights for like 5 weeks to “force the tendon to adapt” before you really tried to up the weights, drop the reps and get real strong.

I liked the dumbbell floor press, holding the dumbbells and my upper arms at like 45 degrees to my body. The whole move is like all tricep so I could really focus on what I was trying to do and Target the area I was trying to hit.