Elbow Positioning for Incline DB Press

for incline DB press:

  1. what is the best elbow positioning

and

  1. what is the best range of motion

to increase stress on the upper chest and reduce stress on the anterior delts

PS what are some other good upper chest exercises

[quote]youngblood52 wrote:
for incline DB press:

  1. what is the best elbow positioning

and

  1. what is the best range of motion

to increase stress on the upper chest and reduce stress on the anterior delts

PS what are some other good upper chest exercises [/quote]

I like about a 45 deg angle from my body. I use no steeper than say 45 deg bench angle to cut down on the front delt involvement. Steeper than that, in my opinion, is getting into shoulder press territory.
Range of motion for me is all the way down till the D.B.'s touch my shoulders. I often pause for about 2 seconds at the bottom. Another thing I do fairly often is use a jumpstretch band behind my back when I press usually light bands- (the purple ones). As the joint angles change and the weight gets easier the bands load up and make it hard.

sounds good im having a lil difficulty picturing it though do you have a pic or video???

Picture of what??? Let me know.

I stick to no more than 30 degrees. Sure I did the standard 45 degree bench for years, and most likely have it to thank for my thick anterior delts, but I personally believe it is too steep of an angle to specifically target the pecs as much as you could. I also do not press up in a straight line, but lower the bar down by my nipple line (not up by my collar bone), and press up in a slight arc (which will actually recruit more upper chest than bringing the bar down higher!). This little pearl of wisdom was gained not from flex magazine, but from my brother’s physical therapy and kinesiology magazines.

S

[quote]The Mighty Stu wrote:
I stick to no more than 30 degrees. Sure I did the standard 45 degree bench for years, and most likely have it to thank for my thick anterior delts, but I personally believe it is too steep of an angle to specifically target the pecs as much as you could. I also do not press up in a straight line, but lower the bar down by my nipple line (not up by my collar bone), and press up in a slight arc (which will actually recruit more upper chest than bringing the bar down higher!). This little pearl of wisdom was gained not from flex magazine, but from my brother’s physical therapy and kinesiology magazines.

S
[/quote]

when you say press up in a slight arc, what exactly do you mean by that?

[quote]Spidey22 wrote:
when you say press up in a slight arc, what exactly do you mean by that?[/quote]

Lower the bar to your nipple line, but press up arcing up and towards directly over your head (I think it’s the Hammer line of machines that incorporate a similar arc of motion in their chest presses)

S

[quote]The Mighty Stu wrote:
Spidey22 wrote:
when you say press up in a slight arc, what exactly do you mean by that?

Lower the bar to your nipple line, but press up arcing up and towards directly over your head (I think it’s the Hammer line of machines that incorporate a similar arc of motion in their chest presses)

S
[/quote]

Thanks Stu, That works GREAT, Helped with a nagging right shoulder and DOMS in my upper chest for 2 days!

[quote]The Mighty Stu wrote:
Spidey22 wrote:
when you say press up in a slight arc, what exactly do you mean by that?

Lower the bar to your nipple line, but press up arcing up and towards directly over your head (I think it’s the Hammer line of machines that incorporate a similar arc of motion in their chest presses)

S
[/quote]

ok, i think i understand now. thanks alot! ill try it out tomorrow on upper body day