kick start chest growth/ STOP doing flat bench!!

[punch]

I have not posted in months mainly due to increases in idiotic postings. As some of you may have remembered, I have been training for over 12 years. At the age of 31 I have fine tuned my body to a level I am very happy with. Even with owning my own business having a baby girl and another on the way I still train religiously 4 days per week case closed. Anyway heres my 2 cents regarding chest growth.

About 2 years ago I experimented with cutting out flat benching all together. Why? Because I simply couldnt get the Mass I wanted that I once had when I was in my early 20's. So, I began a program where I performed Incline specific movements. Heres what I do for chest.

Incline Dbl presses: 4 sets 100's-15reps
100's-12 reps
100's-10 reps
100's-6-8( or whatever I have left )
Incline Bbl presses 3 sets 225-8 reps
200-8 reps
180-as many as I can
Incline Dbl flyes: 4 sets 80's-8 reps
70's-8 reps
60s- 8-10 reps
40's- 15-20 reps
Dips w/ wieght belt usually w/60 lb wieght and decending down for 3sets total


Thats it!!! You may ask why I dont o up on dbl presses, the answer is my wieghts only go to the 100's ( I train exclusively at home now )

It is very important that you play with angles on the Incline. 45 degrees is NOT necessarily optimal. So change from time to time.
With flyes, I go heavy because I consider them one of the best Mass builders if done properly. I turn my pinkies in at the top to maxamize tension on my pecs and NEVER bring the dbls together completely, this simply gives you rest time.


I train my chest once per week, no need for anything more with this workout. My results by the way have been nothing short of extrodinary. I am ripped and the seperations in my chest are back and have been for some time. Do I miss flat bench? Not at all. I have learned from my own body whats best for me. For any of you who have hit a wall and would like to jump start your growth. Try this, it worked for me

 

[bigwillster]

Sounds like something I'll be trying. No matter what i do my chest just doesn't grow. Any recommendations for back. Thanks for the help punch.

 

[b fold the truth]

My chest actually gets a lot of work from my event training...BUT I also feel that saying that NOT doing the flat bench press is good...is a bad thing. I have a decently sized chest and it was built with flat bench press.

Variation is key though...it really is.

B True

 

[THE BOUNCER]

I to mostly do incline but about once every month I will still throw in a flat bench routine just for the strength.

 

[bigwillster]

Cool. Variation it is. thanks guys.

 

[NFG123]

Awesome

I want to congratulate you on doing something I don't need many people doing ...

REVERSE PYRAMIDING

Many people in my gym pyramid the weight and go up each set, week after week, year after year. No doubt this works, otherwise they wouldn't make progress, but so does REVERSE.

In the normal pyramid scheme, you keep adding weight until you get to your most intense, result-producing set, you barely have enough energy to hammer out many reps, because you have wasted your fatigue on lighter sets. This is where the question of intensity comes in. IF you do your heaviest set first, and drop the weight to still knock as many reps-you know you have given it your all. Use your strength for the heaviest sets when you are the most rested, not when you can barely breath after four sets of bench!

--NFG

 

[GenetiKing]

I've always felt that the flat bench press was overrated and overused.

I don't do any chest exercises from a flat bench either.

 

[TheGame23]

Dennis James said he eliminated flat bench out of his program as well (Too much stress on shoulder). Seems to work for him.

 

[gymtime]

But don't inclines put more stress on the shoulder?

 

[riskybizz007]

I've heard they do gymtime... but personally speaking I find my shoulders pretty wasted after bench too. There's no way i can do flat bench followed by incline bench, my shoulder wouldn't make it. I can however go for dumbells or a machine.

Punch that's a good point you present. Variation is the key definately. I do the same exercises till i stop growing. When i stop growing I either change 1 exercise or use a different style of training. And there's millions of choices. Like you I'll let go of a big mass builder every once in a while, the body gets used to it. So i'll stop squats, or bench, dips, w/e it may be i'll stop it for a month and return to it. When you return it feels great, and you start growing again.

 

[aurelius]

Rotator Cuff

Ask a bodybuilder about shoulders and he´ll (she´ll) wax poetic about deltoids anterior and prosterior and so on. If you don´t strengthen and stabilize the supporting muscles and tissues you will end up experiencing shoulder trouble. These tissues must be capable of supporting and stabilizing the arm and shoulder.

 

[riskybizz007]

Not doing flat bench for a month will make a significant change in your stabilizer muscles. And what i stated earlier also would not make changes in your stabilizers. That's not what we're talking about... we're talking about changing exercises and routines.

 

[blacker]

I think you should stop turning your pinkies against oneother at the top of the movement, due to it removes tension from the chest if done, try going hands in neutral position all the way instead! it works great!

 

[Island Son]

incline flyes are hard on my shoulders. Flat flyes and cables are better.

 

[needsize]

kick start chest growth/ STOP doing flat bench!!

I disagree, flat bench has always been the cornerstone of my chest routine and I have developed a thick and well balanced chest. I think its about individual genetics, some people can make great gains off flat bench, while others need to get more creative, it's all about finding what works for you.

 

[aurelius]

to RISKYBIZZ

Your post confused me.

"Not doing flat bench for a month will make a significant change in your stabilizer muscles."

How?

You said your shoulders were "wasted" after doing incline. No surprise there. Incline requires more of the shoulders than does flat bench.

"That's not what we're talking about... we're talking about changing exercises and routines."

Just offering a suggestion for improving the efficacy of the flat bench movement.

 

[punch]

Thanks for all the feedback!!!!

I especially like the fact that someone noticed that I start with the heaviest wieght first ( after good warmup of course ). Psychologically, this works better for me. If I can grind out some pretty good reps w/ max wieght first off it really gets me motivated to go all out.

One more point. I am NOT a pro BB, I love the sport with an unabashed passion. I am not shy about posting the poundage I use because it is what it is. The one thing I do have is a lot of years under my belt. I always learn alot from good quality posts and appreciate this board more than any because its the most usefull.

By the way, to clarify. I will do flat bench every other third week for variation however sticking with incline movements as the meat and potatoes.

Lastly, if your shoulders bother you while doing incline flyes start at a 45 degree angle and lower the incline 1 notch until you hit a flat level for your last set. This will ensure you work the pecs at all angles. I will be posting my back routine next as this is the best part of my body and somewhat non conventional.

 

[sysopt]

If you are saying that inclines are more efficient at working the pecs, well then you're wrong. Inclines simply take the load off the pecs and shifts them to the shoulders. If you are saying you can no longer progress on strength or size on flats and use inclines for variation, well that's dandy

 

[The Dude]

I've been doing a couple of pec dec sets to pre-exhaust with 10-20 reps before hitting incline or flat bench presses. My strength has gone up a little, but my chest size has improved dramatically. The best growth I've ever seen. Big benches aren't always the key to growth.

 

[The Dude]

However, I am considering give it a break and going back to BB first followed by DBs and then pec dec. Hmmm...I really don't know.

 

[punch]

At times I miss having a machine like a pec dec. However, because I train at home and have all free wieghts I feel I have improved my overall shape significantly. When I trained at the gym it was to easy to opt for a machine than picking up the iron.

Also I have been adding to my home gym over te years and now, it looks like an actual fitness club in my basement. I have 450lb in olympic plates and fixed dbls from 5-100lb. The one piece I dont have is a cable crossover machine but I do only dbl flyes now anyway for pecs so I dont miss it.

I am a very big advocate of heavy flyes. If your not doing them your missing out on a crucial mass builder.