I understand that the pecs are two muscles, one on the top and one on under it. This makes incline and decline benchpressing target the two diffirent muscles.
What i ask is: How important is it to do incline and decline benchpresses? How come that when you max your benchpress you are stronger if you arch your back? Is it becaurse the bottom muscles are stronger?
When you arch you:
1.) effectively decrease the distance of the press
2.) recruit the lats as well
beef
What about incline/decline bench? How important is it?
Incline is important. Decline not so much because you hit your lower pecs with the flat benchpress.
Besides, decline is a bitch to mount and you could do the cable flyes instead.
Thanks, i’ll start doing incline then. What % load of the normal bench is good?
The % varies. Just work up to a max 3 or 5 or whatever you’re doing for the day. Then you will know. Everybody is different so nobody can really tell you for sure.
I can bench more on the decline then I can on the flat. Is this normal?
[quote]Jason12345 wrote:
I can bench more on the decline then I can on the flat. Is this normal?[/quote]
yes
[quote]Tok wrote:
What about incline/decline bench? How important is it?[/quote]
Depends on your goals. What are you trying to accomplish? Big PL bench? Bodybuilder physique? General fitness?
-Dan
Hm, think personal records is most important, then the other ones. But what i understand strength and size walk hand in hand?
[quote]Tok wrote:
Hm, think personal records is most important, then the other ones. But what i understand strength and size walk hand in hand?[/quote]
Chances are, the stronger you are the bigger you’ll be. There’s exceptions to that, but yes, you’re right.
So if you wanna get bigger, instead of focusing on size, just focus on adding weight to the bar, and getting stronger while not sacrificing good form. Add a hypocaloric diet, and mass will come.
[quote]Tok wrote:
Hm, think personal records is most important, then the other ones. But what i understand strength and size walk hand in hand?[/quote]
They usually do, yes, but the actual importance of incline and decline pressing changes depending on your goals. If you want a huge flat bench, you spend most of your time doing the flat bench, using incline and decline to address certain weaknesses and to add variety to prevent overtraining a specific movement pattern.
If your goal is general fitness, you can alternate between them all, pretty much choosing whichever you want to do on a day. If your goal is a specific physique, you’d pick whichever variation addresses a specific aesthetic goal.
Sounds like your goal is basically general strength, you want to get stronger all around without a specific push towards huge numbers on the flat bench. I’d rotate them around, then, spending about 3 or 4 weeks doing each in turn.
-Dan
close grip declines are great for triceps, also usefull to get more chest/tricep work while giving you shoulders a bit of a break.
Inclines can also be usefull for certain individuals and their goals. You just need to understand the benifits of each exercise.
[quote]Wreckless wrote:
Incline is important. Decline not so much because you hit your lower pecs with the flat benchpress.
Besides, decline is a bitch to mount and you could do the cable flyes instead.[/quote]
Please tell me this is a joke.