Custom
New Member
I get all 3 in on chest day with an extra couple of sets of decline. I have injured my shoulder on several occasions doing incline but still dont shy away from it
MESO-Rx
Anabolic Steroids
Comparing the Different Bench Press Angles- Flat vs Decline vs Incline
- Thread starter Custom
- Start date
Marcus
New Member
Good info here. Love flat for strength and incline for aesthetic.
Question, I can't seem to get contraction in my lower pec when doing decline to the point that it feels like I'm actually working the muscle properly... dumbbells or barbells. Feel like my lower pecs are under developed. Any suggestions?
Anyone here use cables for lower pec growth? I mean how much actual growth do cables give... at least compared to presses
Question, I can't seem to get contraction in my lower pec when doing decline to the point that it feels like I'm actually working the muscle properly... dumbbells or barbells. Feel like my lower pecs are under developed. Any suggestions?
Anyone here use cables for lower pec growth? I mean how much actual growth do cables give... at least compared to presses
Rockclimber
Member
Dips?
Marcus
New Member
Dips are included in my routine one day a week. Although not weighted, I think I'm just doing them out of habit. Maybe I'll try adding some weight to them and see what comes from it
LordSamuilo
Member
Just my personal opinion , but id ditch the cables and decline bench and go with decline dumbbell fly if your trying focus on your lower chest . I pronate my hands on the eccentric half of the movement and really try to open open/stretch my chest , and then on the concentric half I supinate my hand at the top and Really focus on the squeeze. I try to think of squeezing a pencil between my pecs to help with the mind muscle connection and really feel the contraction .. it hits your anterior delt and center of your chest , but its one of the few movements that gives my a crazy pump in my lower chest specifically ...
Try it you will like it
Marcus
New Member
Oh oh I'm not doing either. Tried to add them in when I noticed some poor development and immediately removed them cause I couldn't get them to feel right. I'll try the dumbbell flys
EazyE
Member
Great post and info. Thanks!
Marcus
New Member
Front flys I saw someone doing with a barbell the other day... I might try these and some flys and see what feels best for that part of the muscle
SteroidsBro
Banned
I don't understand why people bother with it. At my gym there's 1 incline bench and 2 decline benches. It should be the other way around imo.
Yeah you got to work up slow. It's easy to injure your shoulders or wrists, but if you are careful, I feel it's much better lift than a flat bench part where using a barbell. I worked up to 175lb dumbbells and just get built my chest my entire upper body up. My traps just got huge just from picking that weight up off the rack.
Yes definitely do need a spotter to help me get the db's up and in position especially the heavy 80+ ones. Had my share of shoulder injury with db presses so yes I needed to go slow and not rush with these.
I do have a hard time getting my traps to grow and I do shrugs a lot. Maybe I am missing something.
Marcus
New Member
I honestly don't see my traps grow from shrugs. I get biggest growth from heavy deads, and lately I've been doing these upward rope pulls that feel great on that muscle group
I been doing deads every leg day and it is a grind for sure @ 365-405lbs for doubles. Usually spent by time I get done with all the sets.
As for upward rope pulls I may incorporate then as well.
Because, in spite of the broscience spouted in threads like this, the decline bench does everything the incline bench does and then some. And science back this fact up:
Decline bench press better for pecs than incline bench press
BTW, I first heard about the superiority of the decline bench from Dorian Yates. I haven't bothered with flat or incline in years.
What do you mean with upright rope pull? Cable upright row?
And on topic what % of people you know flat bench and what % of people you know have pec tear? Bench is probably the most used of the big 3 and a pec tear is far more rare than disc herniation and meniscus tear from what I have found. You do the math.
Also flat bench is the best OVERALL chest development exercise it comes down to form as with any other really, you can just elevate your feet if you can't isolate chest normally. JOJ had an interview on upper pec development where he said he gained best in that doing flat bench where you push the barbell in direction to your face. I have watched a video of Mark Bell explaining the same principle to apply to PL. As long as you keep your shoulder blades together on both flat and also on dips there is no reason you won't feel your chest contracted. Any injury is unpleasant but if you blame it on an exercise (no crossfit please) then you have to question your foundation in the 1st place. Usually form is the prevention and causation of an injury not an exercise by itself, especially in BB you can see people use questionable form because they often ignore biomechanic learning in favor of reading how you have to keep tension on a muscle eg. half assed joint killing chit like not fully extending or contracting in order to keep tension etc. Pin and floor press help a lot in feeling the pec too and can prevent injury in the way they can teach you how to fully contract from the beginning of the lift which is often an issue for people that drop the barbell on their chest instead of pull it down flexed like they have to in the 1st place.
And on topic what % of people you know flat bench and what % of people you know have pec tear? Bench is probably the most used of the big 3 and a pec tear is far more rare than disc herniation and meniscus tear from what I have found. You do the math.
Also flat bench is the best OVERALL chest development exercise it comes down to form as with any other really, you can just elevate your feet if you can't isolate chest normally. JOJ had an interview on upper pec development where he said he gained best in that doing flat bench where you push the barbell in direction to your face. I have watched a video of Mark Bell explaining the same principle to apply to PL. As long as you keep your shoulder blades together on both flat and also on dips there is no reason you won't feel your chest contracted. Any injury is unpleasant but if you blame it on an exercise (no crossfit please) then you have to question your foundation in the 1st place. Usually form is the prevention and causation of an injury not an exercise by itself, especially in BB you can see people use questionable form because they often ignore biomechanic learning in favor of reading how you have to keep tension on a muscle eg. half assed joint killing chit like not fully extending or contracting in order to keep tension etc. Pin and floor press help a lot in feeling the pec too and can prevent injury in the way they can teach you how to fully contract from the beginning of the lift which is often an issue for people that drop the barbell on their chest instead of pull it down flexed like they have to in the 1st place.
Marcus
New Member
Like that, except I've been putting the start position about waist high and pulling from there and flip my hands the opposite way... so every time you finish the movement at the top, it's almost like you are flexing double bicep. Saw someone do this and tried it out, and loved the way it felt
What your missing is this, your study shows decline presses have a similar effect on upper pec development as incline presses. Not that there better. Incline presses have an emphasis on strong shoulders and other benefits that are emphasized less on the decline.
Also what your missing if you read thru the sources on your posted study is they never measured the flat presses EMG activity. Which is shown to be highest according to this. ( see below )
Abstract
This experiment investigated the effects of varying bench inclination and hand spacing on the EMG activity of five muscles acting at the shoulder joint. Six male weight trainers performed presses under four conditions of trunk inclination and two of hand spacing at 80% of their predetermined max. Preamplified surface EMG electrodes were placed over the five muscles in question. The EMG signals during the 2-sec lift indicated some significant effects of trunk inclination and hand spacing. The sternocostal head of the pectoralis major was more active during the press from a horizontal bench than from a decline bench. Also, the clavicular head of the pectoralis major was no more active during the incline bench press than during the horizontal one, but it was less active during the decline bench press. The clavicular head of the pectoralis major was more active with a narrow hand spacing. Anterior deltoid activity tended to increase as trunk inclination increased. The long head of the triceps brachii was more active during the decline and flat bench presses than the other two conditions, and was also more active with a narrow hand spacing. Latissimus dorsi exhibited low activity in all conditions. (C) 1995 National Strength and Conditioning Association
Effects of Variations of the Bench Press Exercise on the EMG Activity of Five Shoulder Muscles (PDF Download Available). Available from: Effects of Variations of the Bench Press Exercise on the EMG Activity of Five Shoulder Muscles (PDF Download Available) [accessed Jul 26, 2017].
Effects of Variations of the Bench Press Exercise on the EMG Activity of Five Shoulder Muscles (PDF Download Available)
Obviously body mechanics change individual to individual. So that major part of the study is a huge control that is unaccounted for. But the facts remain. The participants in the study shows flat pressing activates the most amount of pectoral stimulation. Top to bottom.
Very good reply, and the points you raise are excellent. However, I want to point out the fact that when doing a decline bench you can lift a heavier weight, and with an increased range of motion. Something has to be doing that work, whether it's the chest or not is debatable, the study you posted suggests it isn't. But an exercise that allows you to move a heavier weight for a greater ROM is recruiting more muscles or activating them better and is therefore a better exercise.
Edit: The decline bench does not have a greater ROM, sorry for the brainfart.
I find the increased anterior shoulder recruitment of the incline bench more a negative than a positive. Too many exercises hit those muscles hard, and it's exceedingly rare to see anyone who lifts with undeveloped anterior deltoids. There are also far better exercises than the incline bench for this so I find it hard to justify including this exercise in a routine, even though it is not a bad exercise per se.
As far as I am concerned, the best chest pressing movements are push ups from the gymnastic rings and weighted dips. I just throw some decline benches at the end of the session if there's still something left in the tank.
Last edited:
Similar threads
- Anonymous member 167394
- Steroid Forum
