Flat or Incline for Chest??

[tzan]

I always utilize both lifts, but was wondering which you guys would consider to be a better all around lift for building the chest. Currently I just switched to doing heavy inclines first followed by lighter flats.

 

[Dorian'sDisciple]

i slightly favor IP . However,the real issue for me is just HOW MUCH more effective i find dumbells to be.

 

[needsize]

I always start with flat barbell, then go to incline dumbells

 

[Dave949]

Iwas wondering which you guys would consider to be a better all around lift for building the chest.

IMHO ....... Flat dumbell. More ROM.

But since I am not limited to one movement I do flat, inclines and dips.

Pump on .....

 

[psychedout]

I always start with flat barbell, then go to incline dumbells

Me too.

And I never use a bar of the inlcine. Just doesnt' feel right.

 

[majutsu]

I like inclines bb or db. But I always do flats later; you can't do chest and not bench!

 

[needsize]

Me too.

And I never use a bar of the inlcine. Just doesnt' feel right.

I find incline barbell stations are way too steep, they all seem 60 degrees or higher, where as anything over 30-40 is hitting more shoulders than anything. With dumbells I just put plates under the bench till the the exact height I want

 

[Clean]

yeh, some guys put that bench toward the upper notch, where it is mostly shoulders like needsize said. On the benches at the gym, I like incline on the first notch from flat.

 

[majutsu]

Thanks for the reminder to keep the incline down guys. Good tip!

 

[Tom Treutlein]

I prefer incline presses.

 

[anthrax]

Incline

(and sometimes decline)

 

[NYBodyguard]

everyone has to figure out their own chest, one body part I think you really haveto try many things before you can tell whats workin for you

 

[aerowana]

30 degrees incline on wide grip for chest day only.

Flat bench with close grip for arm day blasts triceps.

Dont know why, but Im scared of flat benching with wide grip cos I tried it last time, and the muscle seems to bulge out towards the low pecs and doesnt look pleasant. Doing inclines gives me a much better tank look. But flat with close grips are soooo effective for triceps.

 

[b fold the truth]

everyone has to figure out their own chest, one body part I think you really haveto try many things before you can tell whats workin for you

I agree...

I also felt that dips did a lot for my chest when I was 'bodybuilding".

B True

 

[d3track]

low incline db is my choice

 

[d3track]

I always utilize both lifts, but was wondering which you guys would consider to be a better all around lift for building the chest. Currently I just switched to doing heavy inclines first followed by lighter flats.

judging by your avatar, you have built a nice chest already!

 

[Dial_tone]

I don't see why it has to be an either/or choice. I prefer to do both exercises. When I'm not doing 5x5 I do something like

Bench press 4 sets
Incline press 4 sets
low incline fly 4 sets
dips or decline press 2-3 sets to pump

 

[Debaser]

Flat bench.

To me the incline press is a compromise of the flat and overhead presses, but it doesn't work the shoulders as well as the overhead, and doesn't work the chest as much as the flat bench. I'd rather stick to flat bench + overhead presses as my pressing movements.

 

[b fold the truth]

Flat bench.

To me the incline press is a compromise of the flat and overhead presses, but it doesn't work the shoulders as well as the overhead, and doesn't work the chest as much as the flat bench. I'd rather stick to flat bench + overhead presses as my pressing movements.

Interesting...

I use the incline as an accessory movt for overheads and I do mid grip flat bench to increase my overhead lockout...but rarely ever flat bench with a mid/normal grip.

B True

 

[MsBeverlyHills]

flat BB bench for me-- incline BB bench kills my shoulders.

 

[wtlftr]

I do flat bench first because i love the increase in weight and EGO.Flat bench gives you a good ego booost. Incline gives you a good pump but who ask how much you incline?

 

[MJBossman]

I do flat bench first because i love the increase in weight and EGO.Flat bench gives you a good ego booost. Incline gives you a good pump but who ask how much you incline?

So how much do you flat bench?

 

[WalkingBeast]

Both. Hard to say which is better. Inclines definately bring up the upper chest more IMO, but really its hard to analyze that movement and seperate it from the rest of my training. Ive always done both incline and flat bench in my training. I wouldnt take either out of my routine though.

 

[tzan]

I don't see why it has to be an either/or choice. I prefer to do both exercises. When I'm not doing 5x5 I do something like

It doesn't. My only problem is I am training with the 5x5. For the longest time I have been doing the following:
5x5 flat barbell
2x6-8 incline db
2x8-10 dips

While my flat bench has increased nicely, my incline work hasn't really improved. The amount of weight that I flat press blows my incline weight away(315lb w/ 5x5 on flat to only 90lb db on incline for 10, of course it is done after flat). Since I haven't done incline barbells in a while I figured for a change of pace I would start off with them. When looking in the mirror it appears that my upper chest is lagging behind. Here is what I just changed my routine to:
5x5 incline barbell
2x6-8 flat barbell
2x8-10 dips

 

[Dial_tone]

I normally have about a 50-60 lb difference between flat & incline weights.

 

[anthrax]

I normally have about a 50-60 lb difference between flat & incline weights.

since I have almost stoped doing flat bench the difference is getting pretty low

 

[WalkingBeast]

My incline and flat are real close. 360 max incline and 370 max flat last I tested them.Reps are also close as you can see in the signature. Now with this injury, Im not sure how long it will be before I can even do those lifts again. Id be much stronger on Inclines if I made them a priority. I train them with the same amount of sets as flat, on thier own seperate day but dont give them as much rest and focus as my flat bench. I train by myself on incline day also, where as I work with someone on flat day. Makes a big difference.

 

[wtlftr]

Bossman, flat benchin over 400 with an inzer shirt. In the upper threes raw, but mainly going for hypertrophy these days.

 

[LeeJunFan]

how come only one person has mentioned decline, are these not very effective or something?

 

[majutsu]

Actually, I was just reading how declines dbs were most effective of all on EMG, and also how Ken Waller used to do primarily declines . . . .

 

[needsize]

The was I've always looked at it is that bodybuilding is all about range of motion, the longer the motion, the more fibres you're bringing into play. Decline is the shortest range of all, and doesnt do anything that flat wont do

 

[Bulldog_10]

I love declines, they really make you work your chest as opposed to the delts...which I'm sure 90% of people do too much because they don't squeeze their shoulder blades together during ANY of their presses (incline or flat).

 

[SlavikHavik]

Decline dumbells are great, if you push the dumbells as far down as you can youll get a rom equivilent to flat bench

 

[Dial_tone]

The was I've always looked at it is that bodybuilding is all about range of motion, the longer the motion, the more fibres you're bringing into play. Decline is the shortest range of all, and doesnt do anything that flat wont do

I found that declines gave me a really sharp edge at the bottom of the pecs. It's more noticeable the lower your bodyfat, which is why I don't do them at all now, LOL I have a real hard time doing dips without getting too much tricep out of it.

 

[WalkingBeast]

I do flat bench first because i love the increase in weight and EGO.Flat bench gives you a good ego booost. Incline gives you a good pump but who ask how much you incline?

I feel better inclining 360 then flat benching 370 personally. Dont see too many people exceeding 300lbs on incline. Both of my benches were around the same last I tested them. Due to this injury I havent had a chance in nearly 3 months. 405 unassisted on either bench will be nice though, hopefully Ill be able to hit it this year when I heal up.

 

[Forge]

I have two main exercises I do for chest: 20 deg incline barbell, and dips. I feel the dips do the work of decline presses only better for me, and the slight inclines take some of the benching pressure off of my rotator cuffs. This is the best combination for me. Every now and then I'll do flat barbells for a week or two, but I prefer the inclines.

 

[strongsmartsexy]

IMHO ....... Flat dumbell. More ROM.

But since I am not limited to one movement I do flat, inclines and dips.

Pump on .....

HERE HERE! *bowing* Absolutely!

 

[strongsmartsexy]

I found that declines gave me a really sharp edge at the bottom of the pecs. It's more noticeable the lower your bodyfat, which is why I don't do them at all now, LOL I have a real hard time doing dips without getting too much tricep out of it.

I've never done declines. I think primarily because I started lifting much later in life (32), and I had read somewhere or possibly several somewhere's that declines are not a good thing for olde' farte's.

 

[wtlftr]

Why the mention of decline? It is incline or flat. IMO, decline is an unneccesary lift. I agree with hitting the muscle in many angles but decline has not benefitted me or my clients.

 

[anthrax]

I have been advised to do incline rather than flat bench because it puts less strain on the shoulders

anyone ever heard it ?

 

[strongsmartsexy]

I have been advised to do incline rather than flat bench because it puts less strain on the shoulders

anyone ever heard it ?

I have heard it, and I even did that for about a year when I had some shoulder difficulties. Inclines are hell on the ego if you lift weights by ego.

 

[RIZZO]

I alternate the order of each,incline and decline, on each chest workout. Dumbells work great and give me a good burn but I always switch around to keep the muscles guessing.

 

[Dieharder]

I have two main exercises I do for chest: 20 deg incline barbell, and dips. I feel the dips do the work of decline presses only better for me, and the slight inclines take some of the benching pressure off of my rotator cuffs. This is the best combination for me. Every now and then I'll do flat barbells for a week or two, but I prefer the inclines.

exactly what i do, dips and slight inclines,

 

[wtlftr]

Flat bench puts on mass, but if you want basic definition, go low fat, hiit and avoid flat bench. Just my honest opinion.

 

[anthrax]

Flat inlcines puts on mass, but if you want basic definition, go low fat, hiit and avoid flat bench. Just my honest opinion.

Why should we avoid flat bench ?

 

[wtlftr]

ooooops, meant flat, not inlines. How do ya do a flat incline?

 

[jesse_01]

I just started this routine on my chest day. 5x5 working load. 2 weeks in and it has given me good pump and a little soreness.
Day 2 Chest
Bench
Incline
Decline
Pec Deck Flys
BB Pullover

 

[gotballs]

You need both flat bench and incline & a hell of alot of flys to build a chest.

 

[budro]

I agree 100percent, rotate these exercises with dumbbells every other workout just to hit the muscle at another angle

 

[budro]

Replace not rotate hahaha

 

[JohnRambo]

I have been advised to do incline rather than flat bench because it puts less strain on the shoulders

anyone ever heard it ?

This must be a switch? Incline is much worse on the shoulders than flat. If you want to isolate the pecs maximal without activating shouldermuscles, you will need to go decline.