When I'm doing chest day, my shoulders are giving out well before I feel my chest is adequately worked. And yes, I do have a disproportionate shoulder/chest ratio. My chest is rather, uh, flat..but my delts stick out. When I get to my fourth or fifth set on around the 3rd chest exercise, I can't do much 'cause my shoulders are just killing me at that point.
Is this a mind/muscle thing? Or is it possible that I am benching(dumbbells or flat bench) too far up? When I lower the bar, I touch it to the far upper region of my chest.
It's probably a technique matter.
Personally, I prefer lowering the bar/db's closer to my neck because I feel greater pectoral involvement.
Off the top of my head, here are some things you may consider trying:
1.) Change hand positioning/spacing/grip width. Everybody is built a little bit different, and a minor grip change may make a difference.
2.) Experiment with elbow positioning, too. You'll notice that Ronnie & Branch often employ pressing form that sees their elbows at about a 45 degree angle from their torso as opposed to more of a 90 degree angle. This may negate some shoulder involvement.
3.) Give dumbbells a try. They will help fascilitate the idea in #2. You can even hold the db's at a similar 45 degree angle, which many bigger guys I've known prefer - especially when doing flyes. Db's also permit greater freedom for your upper body to make minor adjustments that a barbell limits by locking you into a more fixed position. This may alleviate some strain from your delts.
4.) When doing incline work, use a lower - maybe even the lowest setting on the bench. A slight incline will have a good effect on the pecs, but too much incline can call into play too much shoulders.
5.) Finally, consider where you do shoulders in relation to chest during the week. Your issue may be a simple matter of changing your training split; either doing chest before shoulders or placing more days between chest & delts, for example.
