My Chest

[JLo]

I was scheduled to work chest and tri's last night, but came down with a fever...100.1 - so, I didn't quite make it to the gym.

My sweetie nursed me back to health last night and I feel 100% today! So - I am ready for a badass chest workout! Ever since I saw Phem's pic of her chest seperation, it has motivated me to pump it hard!

I JUST started doing incline - to hopefully get that seperation - and I use the 45lb. bar with 2 - 45lb. plates (one on each side)..... 8-10 reps touching the collar bone EVERYTIME....

Should I increase the weight and do less reps to hurry and get that seperation? I can already tell a difference after 2 chest workouts, but want to maximize as much as possible. I also do the Pec Dec and cable cross-overs - but that's it on chest. Any other suggestions as to what will give my chest that "hard" look?

 

[JLo]

DEclines - where my feet are elevated higher than my head?

 

[ann]

yeppers.....and you can normally go quite heavy with the amount you lift on declines. Great headrush when you get back up to a sitting position

 

[JLo]

Well, interesting - I thought the incline worked your upper chest and decline worked your lower chest (haven't been working chest too long...). Never have done either up until a couple of weeks ago.....

VERY glad I asked!

 

[OTCbooty]

WOW--You're moving really good weight for a newbie. I can't incline press nearly as much as I can flat press but that's different for everyone....How does that compare to your flat bench? (more or less?)

I posted a similar Q not too long ago, and right about the same time, Lobo dug up some results plucked out of an Ex. Phys. text book that indicated that performing declines will activate more muscle fibers than other press movements. Most people that you will talk to will tell you inclines for upper, declines for lower...just know that declines will work your pectoralis major harder than the other movements, and will involve less delt work.

I'm going to do lots of declines now that I'm back in the gym, but I was able to make a pretty good progress just by switching to flat DB presses with a rotation and squeeze at the top, and flat DB flies. I'm starting to get the little 'ridges' along the sternum when I flex that let me know that I'm on the right track. Good luck, experiment, and give it time

 

[Phemomena]

Phem does declines

There isn't really an upper chest and a lower chest... declines work the pecs more than inclines (on inclines the point of failure is the anterior delts rather than the pecs...)

declines put more volume to the chest... i rarely do inclines... if i do, i do them light... heavy inclines would mess up my shoulders something awful...

 

[easton104]

if what you want is a distinctive line seperating your pecs, the best thing i can suggest differs from other opinions, but thats about par for the course...i like to set an incline bench with the smith machine and do close grip partial bench presses at an inclined angle, the partial rep being the lower third of the movement...high reps at about 15-20 per set...give that a try

 

[JLo]

WOW--You're moving really good weight for a newbie. I can't incline press nearly as much as I can flat press but that's different for everyone....How does that compare to your flat bench? (more or less?)

Well, I haven't attempted to flat bench at all. The most I have done is dumbbell press on the flat bench - so I am not sure as to how much I can bench press....but, with the dumbbells, I use 45's with only 6-8 reps. I have Xed those out of my workout now, and am going to replace those with DECLINES.

I am a newbie to the board, but not a newbie to the weights - been lifting for almost 4 years now - April of 98.... Hopefully I will learn tons more and make great progress with the advice of people on this board.

 

[ann]

I thought like you JLO....that decline would work the lower pec and incline the upper pec.

But.....Phem and Warlobo explained it all in a diferent post. I use to do declines all the time, but was told it was for the lower half, and I didnt need to concentrate much on that area.

Well, needless to say, I incorporate those into my routine now, and I will be damned if I am not getting all kinds of cool striations going

I can really see the lines when I am doing cable crossovers.....thats when I become a mirror hog...... I love to watch those muscles work.

 

[JLo]

I can really see the lines when I am doing cable crossovers.....thats when I become a mirror hog...... I love to watch those muscles work.

Ohhhh yeaaaaa !!
....and our cables are placed DIRECTLY in from of a mirrored wall!!