[quote]Spidey22 wrote:
I think Decline Bench is underrated. I know in the last few months, since focusing on it, my chest has made improvements (I’ve gotten multiple comments on it). I think it’s best for those with long arms or who are naturally delt dominant. It’s one of the few movements that I feel EXCLUSIVELY in my chest. [/quote]
I agree if you are “delt dominant”. Otherwise, I think most would benefit from more incline work.
I do decline every so often but it is usually because one of my more favorite movements is occupied by another lifter.[/quote]
Interesting, for whatever reason (biomechanics, grip, who knows,) I’ve found decline movements to allow me to really hit the lower portion of the pec like no one’s business - and I’m delt dominant on pressing. Inclines, anything higher than a fairly low incline (~30 degrees?) is pure delts for me, no matter the range of motion and grip. .02[/quote]
Have you tried to keep your hands outside of your elbows at the bottom of the rep? This helped me out.
I have been rocking incline bench only for my heavy pressing. I always liked decline, but never do it. Might be the awkwardness of being spotted…
My chest is not soooo spectacular, but I get comments on occasion. It’s wide and has good shape, just lacking that good thickness.
My chest is probably also my weakest body part.
But I second the DB thing as well as incorporating machines like the Hammer strength Decline.
Back to the DBs…
More so if you kinda combine your dumbbell presses with a fly type movement, dumbbells far apart at the bottom with elbows flared and wrists directly line with the elbow and coming closer as your push almost touching at the top.
But After doing strictly DB for a while going back to barbell I can feel it in my pecs more rather than my front delt. When I was a beginner sometimes my front delts would get DOMS way more than my chest after a bench workout.
MMC is a beautiful thing and sometimes things that don’t work very well right now can be very effective at other times in your future lifting endeavors.
[quote]browndisaster wrote:
You should take current pics X. It’s a great way to assess progress IMO[/quote]
I take pictures almost every time I am in the gym.
These pics were just already online.
I already know I made a ton of progress from two years ago.
My avatar shows that…which is about 4 months old itself.
I am about 10lbs heavier than that avatar and a little leaner.[/quote]
lol did not read
you’re an absolute buzzkill
anyways, I find that wide grip incline focusing on the bottom half of the motion gave me that cleavage in the collarbones and made my pecs bigger. Actually, any type of press or fly with a wide grip and focusing on the bottom half stretch/contraction made my pecs bigger.[/quote]
But…some of you guys don’t have big pecs.
Not trying to be a buzzkill. Just noting the obvious.[/quote]
but I do, and some of us here are strapped
[quote]Spidey22 wrote:
I think Decline Bench is underrated. I know in the last few months, since focusing on it, my chest has made improvements (I’ve gotten multiple comments on it). I think it’s best for those with long arms or who are naturally delt dominant. It’s one of the few movements that I feel EXCLUSIVELY in my chest. [/quote]
I agree if you are “delt dominant”. Otherwise, I think most would benefit from more incline work.
I do decline every so often but it is usually because one of my more favorite movements is occupied by another lifter.[/quote]
Interesting, for whatever reason (biomechanics, grip, who knows,) I’ve found decline movements to allow me to really hit the lower portion of the pec like no one’s business - and I’m delt dominant on pressing. Inclines, anything higher than a fairly low incline (~30 degrees?) is pure delts for me, no matter the range of motion and grip. .02[/quote]
Dorian Yates is well quoted in saying that decline bench is the best exercise to develop overall chest. However, you are correct biomechanically in that it hits the lower portion of your chest and it is due to the line of pull from insertion to origin of the chest.
Nothing has worked better for me (as well as my clients and training partners) for chest than all angles of dumbbell presses with elbows tucked coming all the way down until the dumbbells touch the sides of my chest, then pushing all the way up and getting a squeeze at the top. Most people that don’t see much success with dumbbells go too wide and use too much shoulder. People are always surprised by how much harder it is and how much they have to lower their weights when they press the way I describe but in every case it’s resulted in better chest growth for the people that adhere to it for an extended period of time.
I’ve tried mixing barbells/machines back in from time to time and it just doesn’t make sense to me considering I feel those movements so much less in my chest.
Do the exercises that you feel the most in the target muscle group, get as strong as possible on them using good technique conducive to feeling that muscle work and that muscle will get big. It’s not about lifting the absolute most weight possible, it’s about lifting the heaviest weights you can handle under the aforementioned parameters… IME
that’s interesting about the close(r) grip dumbell pressing. I always thought the wider the better for chest development. I’ll give it a try your way and see how I find it.
For what it’s worth, though the pecs have always been a tough one for me, I Recently I going very wide, tucking the elbows, and focusing on the mmc, and my pecs have improved drastically over the last few months. I have long arms and am delt dominant. Also found for weighted pushups, which have helped,I focus on trying to move the arms together through the bottom of the rep, and focus on each pec trying to resist the other from moving across each other at the top (kai green explains this way better than me in that Training with Kai Chest Video)
This guy is also a big advocate of dumbbells, IIRC.
[quote]rds63799 wrote:
Christ on a crosstrainer KB, your arm!
that’s interesting about the close(r) grip dumbell pressing. I always thought the wider the better for chest development. I’ll give it a try your way and see how I find it.[/quote]
Thanks, man. The way I look at it is if you haven’t tried it before and you’re currently not seeing the results you want, it can’t hurt to try something different than what you’re used to. I’d say give an all dumbbell routine an honest try for 8-12 weeks with that technique and assess your results. Might be glad you did. I know I was!
[quote]BigJc wrote:
going very wide, tucking the elbows[/quote]
[quote]SSC wrote:
Well, I get lots of comments on my chest (and girls rubbing on it nomnom,) so I think mine is decent. I agree with X for this one, the bench press is simply not the end-all-be-all. I think it’s all about getting blood pumped in, using sensible rep ranges, and hitting the chest from multiple angles. (This is IME, everyone obviously has more or less effective strategies for them.)
For instance, I like to start on pec-decs, high-rep and super strict before I do any pressing. I’ll usually then do four sets of low incline dumbbell presses (8-12) with a partial ROM supersetted with low incline dumbbell flyes. This will be ungodly. After that, I may hop on dips and some kind of HS press or something or a few sets and then a finisher. I’ll also preach time and time again my perceived importance of extreme stretches… it takes 1-2 minutes tops, and even if it’s a disputed method in terms of viability, it takes little time and can only be conducive towards bigger muscles.
Also, in my completely and potentially misguided opinion, I feel like the chest is per person typically an overtrained muscle. For whatever that’s worth.
EDIT: “Overtrained muscle” sounds weird. I mean I think most people overshoot how many sets are actually needed for good growth.[/quote]
No hating man, but your avatar doesnt show a greeeeeat pec…
[quote]kingbeef323 wrote:
This guy is also a big advocate of dumbbells, IIRC.
[quote]rds63799 wrote:
Christ on a crosstrainer KB, your arm!
that’s interesting about the close(r) grip dumbell pressing. I always thought the wider the better for chest development. I’ll give it a try your way and see how I find it.[/quote]
Thanks, man. The way I look at it is if you haven’t tried it before and you’re currently not seeing the results you want, it can’t hurt to try something different than what you’re used to. I’d say give an all dumbbell routine an honest try for 8-12 weeks with that technique and assess your results. Might be glad you did. I know I was![/quote]
Cant remember his name, his chest is huuuuuuuuuuge
[quote]kingbeef323 wrote:
This guy is also a big advocate of dumbbells, IIRC.
[quote]rds63799 wrote:
Christ on a crosstrainer KB, your arm!
that’s interesting about the close(r) grip dumbell pressing. I always thought the wider the better for chest development. I’ll give it a try your way and see how I find it.[/quote]
Thanks, man. The way I look at it is if you haven’t tried it before and you’re currently not seeing the results you want, it can’t hurt to try something different than what you’re used to. I’d say give an all dumbbell routine an honest try for 8-12 weeks with that technique and assess your results. Might be glad you did. I know I was![/quote]
yeah man, I love experimenting in the weights room. Chest is actually my most gifted bodypart (compared to my other shitty bodyparts anyway, lol) but I’m always looking for ways to improve.
When you do these close grip dumbell presses, I take it you’re lowering to your sternum/lower chest yeah?
[quote]kingbeef323 wrote:
This guy is also a big advocate of dumbbells, IIRC.
[quote]rds63799 wrote:
Christ on a crosstrainer KB, your arm!
that’s interesting about the close(r) grip dumbell pressing. I always thought the wider the better for chest development. I’ll give it a try your way and see how I find it.[/quote]
Thanks, man. The way I look at it is if you haven’t tried it before and you’re currently not seeing the results you want, it can’t hurt to try something different than what you’re used to. I’d say give an all dumbbell routine an honest try for 8-12 weeks with that technique and assess your results. Might be glad you did. I know I was![/quote]
yeah man, I love experimenting in the weights room. Chest is actually my most gifted bodypart (compared to my other shitty bodyparts anyway, lol) but I’m always looking for ways to improve.
When you do these close grip dumbell presses, I take it you’re lowering to your sternum/lower chest yeah?[/quote]
The dumbbells touch the outer middle part of my chest. And I forgot to mention my hands are internally rotated about 45 degrees from how your hands would be if you were holding a bar. Takes the delts out of it even more IME.
[quote]kingbeef323 wrote:
Nothing has worked better for me (as well as my clients and training partners) for chest than all angles of dumbbell presses with elbows tucked coming all the way down until the dumbbells touch the sides of my chest, then pushing all the way up and getting a squeeze at the top. Most people that don’t see much success with dumbbells go too wide and use too much shoulder. People are always surprised by how much harder it is and how much they have to lower their weights when they press the way I describe but in every case it’s resulted in better chest growth for the people that adhere to it for an extended period of time.
I’ve tried mixing barbells/machines back in from time to time and it just doesn’t make sense to me considering I feel those movements so much less in my chest.
Do the exercises that you feel the most in the target muscle group, get as strong as possible on them using good technique conducive to feeling that muscle work and that muscle will get big. It’s not about lifting the absolute most weight possible, it’s about lifting the heaviest weights you can handle under the aforementioned parameters… IME
[quote]Spidey22 wrote:
I think Decline Bench is underrated. I know in the last few months, since focusing on it, my chest has made improvements (I’ve gotten multiple comments on it). I think it’s best for those with long arms or who are naturally delt dominant. It’s one of the few movements that I feel EXCLUSIVELY in my chest. [/quote]
I agree if you are “delt dominant”. Otherwise, I think most would benefit from more incline work.
I do decline every so often but it is usually because one of my more favorite movements is occupied by another lifter.[/quote]
I am pretty delt dominant, and decline really works for me. Gives me an insane pec pump too. But I definitely wouldn’t advocate it over incline in any scenario.
[quote]browndisaster wrote:
You should take current pics X. It’s a great way to assess progress IMO[/quote]
I take pictures almost every time I am in the gym.
These pics were just already online.
I already know I made a ton of progress from two years ago.
My avatar shows that…which is about 4 months old itself.
I am about 10lbs heavier than that avatar and a little leaner.[/quote]
lol did not read
you’re an absolute buzzkill
anyways, I find that wide grip incline focusing on the bottom half of the motion gave me that cleavage in the collarbones and made my pecs bigger. Actually, any type of press or fly with a wide grip and focusing on the bottom half stretch/contraction made my pecs bigger.[/quote]
But…some of you guys don’t have big pecs.
Not trying to be a buzzkill. Just noting the obvious.[/quote]
but I do, and some of us here are strapped[/quote]
Why do the little guys always talk shit lol…
This thread is for guys with BIG chests to give advice on getting BIG CHESTS…perhaps you could actually learn something (you have no chest) instead of talking shit to X again and giving advice in an area that you clearly need not be giving advice.
[quote]kingbeef323 wrote:
This guy is also a big advocate of dumbbells, IIRC.
[quote]rds63799 wrote:
Christ on a crosstrainer KB, your arm!
that’s interesting about the close(r) grip dumbell pressing. I always thought the wider the better for chest development. I’ll give it a try your way and see how I find it.[/quote]
Thanks, man. The way I look at it is if you haven’t tried it before and you’re currently not seeing the results you want, it can’t hurt to try something different than what you’re used to. I’d say give an all dumbbell routine an honest try for 8-12 weeks with that technique and assess your results. Might be glad you did. I know I was!
[quote]BigJc wrote:
going very wide, tucking the elbows[/quote]
Trying to imagine what this looks like, lol.[/quote]
I really agree with what you are saying about nothing to lose when trying something new.
I used to be really afraid to try anything but going as heavy as possible on a certain group of lifts. My progress quickly slowed and eventually came to a halt.
I finally gave in and stopped being a douche and lifting with my ego…started using higher rep ranges, more fly exercises, pull overs, lots of machines, etc.
My chest got much, much bigger. And low and behold…i was much much stronger to go with the new size. Now I’m stronger than I’ve ever been, bench far more than anyone I know my size, and I use every rep range and exercise I can. Variety in every aspect of training is key.
[quote]kingbeef323 wrote:
It’s not about lifting the absolute most weight possible, it’s about lifting the heaviest weights you can handle under the aforementioned parameters… IME
[/quote]
QFT! This one statement is absolutely crucial to muscular development and every newb should study it and commit it to memory!
If someone had explained this to me when I first started out it would have saved me a year of messing around chasing weights and getting injured
[quote]kingbeef323 wrote:
It’s not about lifting the absolute most weight possible, it’s about lifting the heaviest weights you can handle under the aforementioned parameters… IME
[/quote]
Absolutely right, I went from incline db benching 26kg’s to 55kg’s within the space of a year and half and most I got to show from it was shoulder impingement.
[quote]kingbeef323 wrote:
It’s not about lifting the absolute most weight possible, it’s about lifting the heaviest weights you can handle under the aforementioned parameters… IME
[/quote]
QFT! This one statement is absolutely crucial to muscular development and every newb should study it and commit it to memory!
If someone had explained this to me when I first started out it would have saved me a year of messing around chasing weights and getting injured
[/quote]
