Help me blow my chest up

[gr8whitetrukker]

Well I never said it was if you look up through the posts that was an assumption by OP.

You can however use the bench as a evaluative tool to see the relative strengths and weaknesses in the involved muscle groups. Like I did here. This can help to determine the best approach moving forward. We know now for him, deemphasising tricep in chest training will probably pay off. We also know it's not just a lack of the basics. So my question has helped us get some answers here.

Your a stud. In no way was i implying u dont know what your talking about. I just saw an opportunity to act like a nerd. So i took it. Im afraid your just going to have to sue me

 

[Docd187123]

Your a stud. In no way was i implying u dont know what your talking about. I just saw an opportunity to act like a nerd. So i took it. Im afraid your just going to have to sue me

Trukk wearing his nerd suit

 

[Casca]

U want to see how weak ur chest is or rather how much ur triceps r pulling the load in all ur pressing movements.....starting triceps first and preexhaust them prior to moving onto ur benching. Ur triceps should b smoked (not warmed up)and ur chest will have no other choice but to handle the weight.

If ur not familiar with this method, seriously start only with 135.

Just like to many out there they r putting more weight on the bar then is needed, when the end goal is to activate the muscle being worked.

I always say if u don't feel the muscle working then it really isn't!

If ur depleted u will b lucky to get a pump. Technique is everything[emoji1377]

 

[Juced]

how about doing sets of decline, flat, and incline bench! That should really get the whole chest. Go light for your shoulders! And do tons of reps, that will activate the chest better anyway. Good luck!

I highly rec this but with DUMBELLS, not so much barbell, i feel it does WAY more.

 

[Juced]

Chest specialization program. Start doing chest everyday for 4-5 weeks. But the workload everyday has to come way down. Take advantage of the increased MPS and DO IT EVERYDAY. The increased frequency for those 4-5wks will be awesome.

So figure out your normal weekly volume and split it up between 6 days. Or to KISS just do flat dumbbell press today then incline dumbbell press tomorrow. 4 sets each day. 4 sets a day x 6 days is 24 sets over a weeks time. KEEP THAT FREQUENCY HIGH. Stay away from failure. You wont be able to finish the week out if your going to failure. Lastly figure out where all your other work fits in to that schedule. Obviously other things are going to take a back seat and they should when you run a specialization block. But maintain them.

Their are numerous excellent programs i have ran for specialization periods with excellent results.

i prefer 2 times a week HEAVY and to or close to failure then givign a couple days to grow and rest. 4 sets is a warm up for me, barely. i like to go for 40min-1hr.
not saying it will work for everyone but i like it best.

 

[gr8whitetrukker]

U want to see how weak ur chest is or rather how much ur triceps r pulling the load in all ur pressing movements.....starting triceps first and preexhaust them prior to moving onto ur benching. Ur triceps should b smoked (not warmed up)and ur chest will have no other choice but to handle the weight.

If ur not familiar with this method, seriously start only with 135.

Just like to many out there they r putting more weight on the bar then is needed, when the end goal is to activate the muscle being worked.

I always say if u don't feel the muscle working then it really isn't!

If ur depleted u will b lucky to get a pump. Technique is everything[emoji1377]

That preexhaust technique will have 1 major unintended consequence. Used in that manner as suggested you are forcing overload on to the triceps by preexhausting them then forcing them in to a bench press.

I think a better method is to pre exhaust the pectorals by doing isolation movements then moving directly in to compound work like a bench press with no rest or very little. Yes the triceps will be fresh but the pecs will be fatigued and taking advantage of that momentary reduced work load the lifter can force more overload on to the intended pecs.

 

[Casca]

That was for him to gauge his ability to activate and to contract the chest muscle not for him to go out and blast that as a program.

I'm silly, but not that silly.

 

[gr8whitetrukker]

I got the 150s on the incline today fer 4. 15° incline.
FINALLY!!!
Didnt even need to be on cycle to do it! I been eyeing those fuckers a couple years now.
I had to work myself in to a rage to do it. Dumbbells are great but half the potential injury is getting them in to pressing position and keeping them in the groove.
Full ROM reps as well. The only ones i count.

 

[Logan44551]

Your a beast trukk!

 

[gr8whitetrukker]

Your a beast trukk!

A wannabe

 

[Wunderpus]

Actually the question tells us a lot.

If you answered something like 200 then the solution would be obvious, you're weak all over.

If you are capable of 315, then as you've said it's a form issue. Dominant triceps will detract from all pressing if you let it and you'll need to arrange training to account for that.

Flaring elbows out would be a good start to fixing this issue, for sure.

OP, when you plateau, I would assume it's either from lack of intensity in the gym (no further increase in reps or weight), dietary issues or recovery issues... Which do you think it is? Do you progressively increase either reps or weights whenever possible? More weight lifted for more reps is generally a good guideline for increasing muscle size... Yes, there are other ways, but progressive overload is arguably the simplest method.

 

[HIGHRISK]

I got the 150s on the incline today fer 4. 15° incline.
FINALLY!!!
Didnt even need to be on cycle to do it! I been eyeing those fuckers a couple years now.
I had to work myself in to a rage to do it. Dumbbells are great but half the potential injury is getting them in to pressing position and keeping them in the groove.
Full ROM reps as well. The only ones i count.

Nice work trukk! We only have 110lbs DB
I would like to see how heavy I could go every once in a while. For now I just count reps.

 

[miketee]

What do you mean that you feel it in the shoulders? I had rotator cuff repair done and my doc, who is the doc for a local pro team, said the damage was caused from benching. He said to use dumbells or else don’t bench past parallel. The only way to tell if you need a cuff repair is to get an mri. My shoulder started to hurt when benching and within a year it progressed to hurting all the time. I was prescribed a shit load of pain killers and I don't need to tell you what that does to your mind and body. Benching should be done with mainly triceps if you want to bench the most weight... elbows tucked in... bring bar down between navel and lower chest. If you want to use mainly chest, bench with your pointer finger on the power ring and bring elbows down 45 degrees between shoulders and lats. This is really going to tax that rotator cuff though.

If I was you I’d get an mri and just use dumbells.

 

[miketee]

Powerlifters dont train legs, chest or back. They train squat, bench and deadlift. There is a distinct difference between the two methods.

This is nonsense bro... Powerlifters do their main movements and afterwards, train what’s holding them back else we would be in the gym for only 15 minutes. What we don’t do is a workout dedicated to biceps.

 

[tenpoundsleft]

I got the 150s on the incline today fer 4. 15° incline.
FINALLY!!!
Didnt even need to be on cycle to do it! I been eyeing those fuckers a couple years now.
I had to work myself in to a rage to do it. Dumbbells are great but half the potential injury is getting them in to pressing position and keeping them in the groove.
Full ROM reps as well. The only ones i count.

Old post, but an evergreen topic, so I hope the bump is OK.

I've worked on fixing a right shoulder issue and finally did incline DB presses yesterday as my last exercise of the day - did a pyramid up with 10 reps per weight and finished with 85s where I could only do 4 reps, although if I'd done that earlier in my workout I think I could have handled 100s (the heaviest my gym has). Just said as a reference - I'm doing OK but nothing impressive. About a 47" chest now, 220 at 6' even.

I can easily do 10 reps with 100s one-sided on flat bench, so I need to get the gym to invest in heavier DBs. Not 150s however, that's wicked heavy, you're beyond strong.

Among these three exercises:

• Flat DB presses (not my favorite TBH)
  
• Flat one-sided DB presses (I like these, they feel really deep)
  
• Incline DB presses (just started these, not much experience)

Which do you think are most effective to build pecs? Or maybe some other?

Full ROM = all the way down to the shoulder - or do you stop at that transition point about 2-3" above your delts/pecs? Full extension on top or stop an inch prior to lockout?

Do you only do 15° incline or vary?

I'm asking as I've avoided chest work for so long because of the bad shoulder and my tailor now says that my back measurement is ridiculously disproportionate from my chest measurement, so I'll have to do something about it.

 

[tenpoundsleft]

Chest specialization program. Start doing chest everyday for 4-5 weeks. But the workload everyday has to come way down. Take advantage of the increased MPS and DO IT EVERYDAY. The increased frequency for those 4-5wks will be awesome.

So figure out your normal weekly volume and split it up between 6 days. Or to KISS just do flat dumbbell press today then incline dumbbell press tomorrow. 4 sets each day. 4 sets a day x 6 days is 24 sets over a weeks time. KEEP THAT FREQUENCY HIGH. Stay away from failure. You wont be able to finish the week out if your going to failure. Lastly figure out where all your other work fits in to that schedule. Obviously other things are going to take a back seat and they should when you run a specialization block. But maintain them.

Their are numerous excellent programs i have ran for specialization periods with excellent results.

Bumping this one too - great post, thanks.

I plan to do exactly what you say here and see if I can't wake up my chest too.

Any modifications based on whether on or off cycle?

So this would be exercises where you set it up so you can do 10 nice and slow reps, with at least 2-3 reps left in the tank each set? Is that the load level you're shooting for?

 

[tenpoundsleft]

Another idea - Gironda dips. Head down, feet forward, and elbows flared to the max. Deep too.

I just started doing them as part of the chest focus, they definitely hit the chest differently and importantly they don't make my shoulders hurt.

Anyone doing those and care to share their experiences?

 

[MindlessWork]

what about cable flyes?

 

[Necessary Evil]

what about cable flyes?

Cable flyes are an excellent finisher for chest. In my opinion and what has worked great for me is the following chest routine:

Incline Dumbbell Press: 3x6-10
Flat Dumbbell Press: 3x6-10

These exercises are guaranteed to put great mechanical tension. You could drop some drop sets if you felt like it to induce metabolic stress as well as adding two finisher exercises to further help that, like:

Cable Flyes: 3x10-15
Pec Deck: 3x10-15

You really don't need anything else. Just make sure to hit it twice per week since frequency is important. Plus the total number of sets is right in the middle so you don't fuck your recovery. If it's a lagging part you could go up to 20 sets but listen to your body and adjust [increase/decrease] accordingly.

 

[FourOneDeuxFitt]

I’ve found my chest responded well when I start with either:
Flat DB Press and work up in sets of 8 or 10 to a final drop (about 4 total working sets and 2-3 warm up sets) or a form of machine Press and again work up in sets of 8 or 10 until I get to a weight I fail my 8th rep on.

Second is almost always incline Barbell which I know most would like to stick to dB and for the most part I agree but I really am under the impression I’ve added a lot of density to my chest using this movement in an explosive manner in the 6-8 rep range. (Normally 3 total work sets occasionally 4)

Third is either flat Barbell or dB variations, sometimes hit incline dB even after Barbell (stopping the bar a few inches above chest, pause and touch chest, and drive up) or some forms of iso hold with loaded stretches, rest/pause sets and here and there higher 12 rep sets to really get the pump flowing.

Last always stretch it out, Pec Deck, stretchers are a great finisher too, Machine dips..

Idk. Just what my body has responded to well the past year of training.