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Bench versus Dips.

S

skinsfan

New member
I still like to do bench, but unless I drop the weight down to where I can do 12-20 reps I don't feel it. I get tired and can't push the weight up, but I don't feel that muscular tightness like I'm gonna explode.

But when I do dips I really really feel the chest contraction. My chest pulls so hard it feels like it might rip right off the sternum.

Biggest problem is I want to have full strength for dips, but after a set of bench I'm not at my maximum for dips. Do I need to continue to bench or can I jsut do weighted dips? Should I try to do a weekly split where I hit both exercises or just continue to do them both on the same day?
 
bench is the one of the core lifts of any strength training program. if youre not feeling it then maybe you need to change your grip or angle of the bench.
i dnt knw if the ripping feeling you get fom dips is a good thing but as long as there is no pain then stick with it
keep dips in there but focus more on your pressing movements
 
Rage-Of-Sparta said:
bench is the one of the core lifts of any strength training program. if youre not feeling it then maybe you need to change your grip or angle of the bench.
i dnt knw if the ripping feeling you get fom dips is a good thing but as long as there is no pain then stick with it
keep dips in there but focus more on your pressing movements
Click to expand...


Well you know the feeling you get when you are really focused in activating a muscle group. It's like your completely mentally focused on contracting the muscles. I am able to intensely contract my chest muscles during dips, but when I bench I don't feel the control. I feel like I am just pushing something off me without actually contracting muscles to do it. With bench I'm sore the next day and thats about it, with dips I'm sore after the workout, and the pump is way way better for me than benching.
 
Use dumbbells. Problem solved.
 
skinsfan said:
I still like to do bench, but unless I drop the weight down to where I can do 12-20 reps I don't feel it. I get tired and can't push the weight up, but I don't feel that muscular tightness like I'm gonna explode.

But when I do dips I really really feel the chest contraction. My chest pulls so hard it feels like it might rip right off the sternum.

Biggest problem is I want to have full strength for dips, but after a set of bench I'm not at my maximum for dips. Do I need to continue to bench or can I jsut do weighted dips? Should I try to do a weekly split where I hit both exercises or just continue to do them both on the same day?
Click to expand...

Honestly, if you're not a competitive weight lifter then dips are a fine substitute for the bench press. Dips are a compound upper body movement, and you can progressively increase the weight with a dip belt. I would suggest doing both (split them if you have to) because the bench press is extrmely beneficial as well, but I don't believe you will suffer by focusing only on dips.
 
Seattleite said:
Honestly, if you're not a competitive weight lifter then dips are a fine substitute for the bench press. Dips are a compound upper body movement, and you can progressively increase the weight with a dip belt. I would suggest doing both (split them if you have to) because the bench press is extrmely beneficial as well, but I don't believe you will suffer by focusing only on dips.
Click to expand...

don't forget your fly's!!! LOL:chomp:
 
miplank said:
don't forget your fly's!!! LOL:chomp:
Click to expand...

Why be sarcastic about flies?

They are a good excercise. They are most certainly secondary to the press, but flies have their place in the bbing scene. If you're a powerlifter, then flies are worthless.
 
dabuffguy said:
Why be sarcastic about flies?

They are a good excercise. They are most certainly secondary to the press, but flies have their place in the bbing scene. If you're a powerlifter, then flies are worthless.
Click to expand...

I was being a smartass in reference to the "inner chest" thread.


I love flies...I like bench, but for me personally I enjoy doing flies more...
 
Dips are probably a better exercise for beginners. They require balance and are challenging at just bodyweight and build really strong shoulder stabalising muscles that you dont get from benching. The reason why you may feel it activating the chest more is because the bulk of the pecs (2/3) are attached to the sternal portion of the torso (ribcage) whereas the rest is attached to the clavicle and as you lower down into a dip you are able to activate the lower potion ore because of the greater range of motion through that angle.
As ou get stronger at dips - say able to do 50lbs over bodyweight or 30+ reps nonstop - you're probably going to need to bench in order to get the most from a pressing motion in the horizontal plane (chest pressing). This is because the stabalising muscle of the shoulders are overtaxed in relation to your prime movers (pecs, tris, delts).

I'd recommend doing dips until you are good at them, and then adding bench on a different day so you are doing both movements in your routine until you reach a point where the dips start becoming less beneficial. It's all dependent o your bodyweight and individual goals, but they are for some people superior to bench and for other a waste of energy or an injury liability.
 
musketeer said:
Dips are probably a better exercise for beginners. They require balance and are challenging at just bodyweight and build really strong shoulder stabalising muscles that you dont get from benching. The reason why you may feel it activating the chest more is because the bulk of the pecs (2/3) are attached to the sternal portion of the torso (ribcage) whereas the rest is attached to the clavicle and as you lower down into a dip you are able to activate the lower potion ore because of the greater range of motion through that angle.
As ou get stronger at dips - say able to do 50lbs over bodyweight or 30+ reps nonstop - you're probably going to need to bench in order to get the most from a pressing motion in the horizontal plane (chest pressing). This is because the stabalising muscle of the shoulders are overtaxed in relation to your prime movers (pecs, tris, delts).

I'd recommend doing dips until you are good at them, and then adding bench on a different day so you are doing both movements in your routine until you reach a point where the dips start becoming less beneficial. It's all dependent o your bodyweight and individual goals, but they are for some people superior to bench and for other a waste of energy or an injury liability.
Click to expand...

good synopsis. For now I'm going to bench monday and do dips wednesday and then bench again on friday. I'll try this for three weeks and see how my strength feels.
 
That's how I'd focus on chest:

Mon:
Dip 10 x 5 (ramping weight)

Wed:
Bench 5x5 or work up to big single or double

Fri
Dumbell Bench (low incline?) 3-5 x 5-8 moderate intensity
 
Get some chain and a clasp from home depot. I think i got my chain and clip for like 8 bucks. I don't like how dip belts are setup so i made my own.
 
musketeer said:
That's how I'd focus on chest:

Mon:
Dip 10 x 5 (ramping weight)

Wed:
Bench 5x5 or work up to big single or double

Fri
Dumbell Bench (low incline?) 3-5 x 5-8 moderate intensity
Click to expand...

Looks good, except for the incline part. I would say do the dumbbell press on a flat bench unless you are looking to get the shoulders a bit more involved on that final chest exercise...
 
I found that bench didn't do much for me either. So I changed my grip to a much narrower grip. It gave my tri's time to catch up with the chest. Now I feel bench again. That worked for me.
 
mon:
chest
dumbells
flat bench 4 sets 12,10,8,6
incline bench 4 sets 12,10,8,6
flys 3 sets 10,8,8 (switch it up on pec-dec machine, incline flys)
triceps
any 2 of the ones listed

fri:
dumbells
flat bench 4 sets 12,10,8,6
decline bench 4 sets 12,10,8,6
pullovers 3 sets 10,8,8 (make sure you feel the chest and not your lats)
triceps

skull crushers 3 sets 10,10,10
push downs 3 sets 10,10,10
dumbell tri extension
close-grip bench
kick backs
dips


do this for 4 weeks then switch to barbells..

intensity max out everything everytime high intesity always.. I always sweat and I'm out of breath..

I split up my chest muscle routines on 2 different days so i dont over train them..I love every chest excersise...

I went from benching 175-365 in 12 months.. prior to that i went from 135-175 doing incline,decline,flat twice a week in about 8 months..

i split up my leg workouts 2 like this with different cores... having strong legs, abs and back even biceps will increase you chest lifts as well..
 
Make sure you mix it up...

Babell presses
Dumbell presses
Flys
Machine presses
Cables

Range of motion is important...obviously, I'd say stick with the basics like free weights, but sometimes it's important to experiment with all kinds of exercises and ranges of motion to understand how your body responds to each
 
dabuffguy said:
Why be sarcastic about flies?

They are a good excercise. They are most certainly secondary to the press, but flies have their place in the bbing scene. If you're a powerlifter, then flies are worthless.
Click to expand...

As a bodybuilder I've always found DB flies worthless because they stretch but don't offer much in the way of peak contraction. Because of the extreme stretch involved, I only feel them in the shoulder joint. Cables flies are a different matter...I feel them in the pecs.
 
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