Targeting upper chest

[Six8]

Hey guys im new to the forum and pretty new to lifting in general. Just a little background info. I'm 22 years old 6'8" and currently floating around 200 to 205 pounds. I started lifting about 2 months ago and at the time i was 185.

So onto my question, I am noticably bigger all around and happy with the direction im headed except for the top of my chest. When i flex my chest the lower part of my pecs will touch but the top seems as flat as when i never lifted.

My brother is pretty enormous and on the boards also, he told me that basically it takes longer to build your upper chest and it will come with time. It's not at all that I dont trust his advice but I like to get many perspectives on the subject. So in a nutshell being 6'8" and around 8% bodyfat what would help me to get that split breast look in my upper chest other than the incline bench I currently do every chest day.

Thanks in advance for the help this board has helped me alot so far without ever even posting.

 

[enigma4dub]

your whole chest needs to get bigger, as does the rest of your body. concentrate on the heavy compounds: bench, incline, row overhead press squat dead lift etc. check out the sticky at the top of the forum. you need to put on some serious pounds before you worry about specialization.

 

[EZ_E]

Hey guys im new to the forum and pretty new to lifting in general. Just a little background info. I'm 22 years old 6'8" and currently floating around 200 to 205 pounds. I started lifting about 2 months ago and at the time i was 185.

So onto my question, I am noticably bigger all around and happy with the direction im headed except for the top of my chest. When i flex my chest the lower part of my pecs will touch but the top seems as flat as when i never lifted.

My brother is pretty enormous and on the boards also, he told me that basically it takes longer to build your upper chest and it will come with time. It's not at all that I dont trust his advice but I like to get many perspectives on the subject. So in a nutshell being 6'8" and around 8% bodyfat what would help me to get that split breast look in my upper chest other than the incline bench I currently do every chest day.

Thanks in advance for the help this board has helped me alot so far without ever even posting.

Your brother is right, patience. Gotta eat, train, repeat. You came to the right place to learn....

 

[automaticj5]

yup -- this stuff takes time -- nothing worth while takes place over night -- takes time and dedication -- its a lifestyle -- welcome bro

get big

 

[Six8]

thanks for the replies guys. i just wasnt sure if there was more i should be doing because thats the only area i havent seen grow yet but ill definately wait it out to get some tits hah. and as far as eating goes i just took down a porterhouse bag of rice n some broccoli. 240 here i come

 

[goku_kakarot77]

do all compund movements, and also heavy low incline db presses, about 30-35 degrees

 

[lookinfit75]

I have to agree with Goku about the angle of the incline. I used to do all the incline chest exercises at a higher angle and ended up working the crap out of my shoulders instead of my upper chest. Once I lowered the angle I was able to increase the poundage and then I actually started growing more in that region. You can always work on incline flies, incline dumbell, incline press, and incline chamagnes.

 

[SaiBoT]

Welcome to EF! And yes your bro is right as everybody else is.

 

[[CinnamonBuns]]

I have to agree with Goku about the angle of the incline. I used to do all the incline chest exercises at a higher angle and ended up working the crap out of my shoulders instead of my upper chest. Once I lowered the angle I was able to increase the poundage and then I actually started growing more in that region. You can always work on incline flies, incline dumbell, incline press, and incline chamagnes.

around 30degrees and no more than 45 degrees is best for inclines they say

 

[lookinfit75]

around 30degrees and no more than 45 degrees is best for inclines they say

For so many years I was doing them at slightly over 45 degrees. Oh well, at least blasted the chit out of my shoulders haha. I stick to 30 degrees now and the improvement is simply unbelievable.

 

[Seattleite]

What is the advantage of doing presses on an incline? The upper chest can not be trained seperately from the rest of the chest, and you move the most amount of weight from a flat bench position. It seems to me that the higher you raise the angle the more you involve the shoulders.

 

[[CinnamonBuns]]

What is the advantage of doing presses on an incline? The upper chest can not be trained seperately from the rest of the chest, and you move the most amount of weight from a flat bench position. It seems to me that the higher you raise the angle the more you involve the shoulders.

i dont think thats the case on a low incline
at least not enough to worry about anyways

 

[Blane]

What is the advantage of doing presses on an incline? The upper chest can not be trained seperately from the rest of the chest, and you move the most amount of weight from a flat bench position. It seems to me that the higher you raise the angle the more you involve the shoulders.

Yes if the agle is to great...shoulders.....the lower incline hits the upper chest. i can feel the diference as im doing the movement.

Unfortunatly the peeps using the unadjustable bb incline are way to high....thus shoulders...that movement hurts my shoulders..

 

[Seattleite]

Yes if the agle is to great...shoulders.....the lower incline hits the upper chest. i can feel the diference as im doing the movement

I still don't understand the need for inclines. The upper chest can not be trained apart from the rest of the pectoral. It seems that all an incline does is reduce the amount of weight that you can use.

 

[SaiBoT]

I still don't understand the need for inclines. The upper chest can not be trained apart from the rest of the pectoral. It seems that all an incline does is reduce the amount of weight that you can use.

Make some search on pecs anatomy and you will see how it is a great upperbody exercise. Declined presses and dips allow to move
greater poundages than the flat version, so supporting your idea... we shouldn't do flat bench press either...

Inclined bench press will put emphasis on the clavicular area of the chest, anterior delts and triceps. If you want a thick upper chest you should include this one as the first on your routine.

You will never see someone with too much upper pec, nevertheless having too much lower pecs looks disgusting...

 

[Seattleite]

Make some search on pecs anatomy and you will see how it is a great upperbody exercise. Declined presses and dips allow to move
greater poundages than the flat version, so supporting your idea... we shouldn't do flat bench press either...

No, I would have to disagree there. The only reason you can move more weight on a decline is because the lower angle shortens the distance that the bar has to travel. So all you're really doing is increasing the weight by making the exercise less difficult. I remember reading a while back (can't remember if it was from Bill Starr, Glenn Pendlay, or Mark Rippetoe) where they referred to declines as "masturbation" for guys on an ego trip. They said it was basically a worthless exercise and weren't even in the same ball park as weighted dips.

Inclined bench press will put emphasis on the clavicular area of the chest, anterior delts and triceps. If you want a thick upper chest you should include this one as the first on your routine.

You will never see someone with too much upper pec, nevertheless having too much lower pecs looks disgusting...

Honestly, I don't think I've ever seen a person with a massive upper chest and a lagging lower chest. If someone can post a pic of that I'd love to see it. The fact is that isn't possible to achieve because different parts of the chest can't be trained in isolation.

 

[the_alcatraz]

Incline barbell press
Incline dumbell press
Incline flys

Always start your exercise with priority training - upper chest.

 

[musketeer]

The pecs are attached to the humerus and then the rib cage and the clavicle. An incline press will require more effort on the clavicular portion of the pec and is therefore going to develop the upper chest more effectively than a flat press. Most people will find that a flat press will build and even chest and because of the mechanical advantage from flat pressing and because the sternal attachments of the chest are roughly twice the cross sectional area of the clavicular the flat press allows you to recruit more fibers and use more weight.

For a few years a shoulder injury stopped me from doing flat press, so I used a 25 deg incline press with great results. I now advocate a 5x5 type program so if I were to advise you to target your upper chest it would not really follow that methodology, however I'd say that if you were to do low inclines sometimes and flat bench sometimes, supplemented with overhead pressing and dips, then you'd have the best of everything.

 

[lookinfit75]

What is the advantage of doing presses on an incline? The upper chest can not be trained seperately from the rest of the chest, and you move the most amount of weight from a flat bench position. It seems to me that the higher you raise the angle the more you involve the shoulders.

No it can't but by changing the angle at which your work the muscle, you are emphasizing different regions of the pectoral muscle. Different width grips also have an effect on which region (from outter to inner) of the chest is targeted. If one exercise were need to work a specific muscle then we'd all be doing the same exercise with the relatively the same results. Obviously the pros go through different angles to target that particular muscle which they are working in a different region and in a different manner in order to stimulate growth in different areas.
Also, genetically we are all different in terms of musculature so an exercise or angle that might give you great results might not to squat for me so that is another reason why when we work out we do different angle and exercises. It's all about how you stimulate the muscle.

 

[SaiBoT]

No, I would have to disagree there. The only reason you can move more weight on a decline is because the lower angle shortens the distance that the bar has to travel. So all you're really doing is increasing the weight by making the exercise less difficult. I remember reading a while back (can't remember if it was from Bill Starr, Glenn Pendlay, or Mark Rippetoe) where they referred to declines as "masturbation" for guys on an ego trip. They said it was basically a worthless exercise and weren't even in the same ball park as weighted dips.


Personally I hate declines. I know for a fact Mr Bill Starr supports the inclined bench as a major upper-body real world strength exercise, the only reason he discusses more about the flat bench it's because flat is more popular... so he wouldn't wanna go against the ppl would you?


Honestly, I don't think I've ever seen a person with a massive upper chest and a lagging lower chest. If someone can post a pic of that I'd love to see it. The fact is that isn't possible to achieve because different parts of the chest can't be trained in isolation.

Maybe you don't understand what I said before, but i'll elaborate for you...

There is no way you will ever get bad critiques if you have a thick upper chest, upper chest thickness is never too much...

But you will have some bad comments if your lower chest is overdeveloped in relation to your upper chest!

Everybody does inclined presses, powerlifters, bodybuilders, strongman competitors, martial artists, oh yeah inclined presses really improves your punching power.

About isolation... I agree that certain exercises place more stress on certain areas than others and that's why it's done... But the terminology "isolation" is used (by us iron-heads) make a better understanding among us. Because it's impossible (just a e.g) to do pec flyes without involving biceps indirectly by isometric contraction.

No disrespects though, everybody can post his opinion, but also keep an open-mind for change it...

 

[Seattleite]

There is no way you will ever get bad critiques if you have a thick upper chest, upper chest thickness is never too much...

But you will have some bad comments if your lower chest is overdeveloped in relation to your upper chest!

And I'll say again that I believe it is impossible to develop one part of the chest more than the other. Even though inclines supposedly place more emphasis on the upper part of the chest, the pectoral muscle will still grow in proportion. It won't let one part get bigger while another part lags behind.

Now having said all that I have said in this thread, I don't won't it to seem like I'm anti-incline pressing. I think it's a great all-around exercise for developing the shoulder/chest area. However, it's not as effective as the flat bench for chest development, and it's not as effective as the military/overhead is for shoulders. The incline press is a happy medium between those 2 and it's a great variation from time to time. But that's what it is…an assistance exercise. Not a level 1 mass builder.

 

[enigma4dub]

No, I would have to disagree there. The only reason you can move more weight on a decline is because the lower angle shortens the distance that the bar has to travel. So all you're really doing is increasing the weight by making the exercise less difficult. I remember reading a while back (can't remember if it was from Bill Starr, Glenn Pendlay, or Mark Rippetoe) where they referred to declines as "masturbation" for guys on an ego trip. They said it was basically a worthless exercise and weren't even in the same ball park as weighted dips.

agreed!!

 

[SaiBoT]

And I'll say again that I believe it is impossible to develop one part of the chest more than the other. Even though inclines supposedly place more emphasis on the upper part of the chest, the pectoral muscle will still grow in proportion. It won't let one part get bigger while another part lags behind.

Now having said all that I have said in this thread, I don't won't it to seem like I'm anti-incline pressing. I think it's a great all-around exercise for developing the shoulder/chest area. However, it's not as effective as the flat bench for chest development, and it's not as effective as the military/overhead is for shoulders. The incline press is a happy medium between those 2 and it's a great variation from time to time. But that's what it is…an assistance exercise. Not a level 1 mass builder.

Hey bro you said it yourself right there... but i know what you meant to say. Anyway pleazz check this link it's about Bill Starr opinion on inclined presses. Bodybuilding.com - Bill Starr - Iron Man November 2007 Excerpt: Bench Press Under Fire: How To Keep The Flame Burning.

 

[dabuffguy]

The pectoral has 2 different muscles. Upper and lower. Not just one giant pec muscle. You CAN put greater emphasis on the upper pec by doing an inclined press, however this should be done AFTER doing heavy pressing on a flat bench. A flat bench will target the upper pectoral pretty good anyways, but adding inclines after flat bench will allow great upper pectoral development undoubtedly.

In fact, for 4 weeks I did incline DB bench first, and improved my flat bench weight as well as getting a considerably thicker upper chest.

 

[enigma4dub]

Hey bro you said it yourself right there... but i know what you meant to say. Anyway pleazz check this link it's about Bill Starr opinion on inclined presses. Bodybuilding.com - Bill Starr - Iron Man November 2007 Excerpt: Bench Press Under Fire: How To Keep The Flame Burning.

umm... starr isn't disagreeing with anything seattleite said. that was about athletic carryover and injury associated with poor benching. in that article he advocates standing ohp as superior anyhow. which has also been stated above. lol @ a starr reference for "upper chest" development.

 

[immebz]

Come on, of course incline helps thicken up the upper chest. Your chest DOES grow in proportion, however i used to have noi upper chest. Then incline came in to the picture and it has gotten thick. The lower has grown too but not as much as my upper has

 

[SaiBoT]

umm... starr isn't disagreeing with anything seattleite said. that was about athletic carryover and injury associated with poor benching. in that article he advocates standing ohp as superior anyhow. which has also been stated above. lol @ a starr reference for "upper chest" development.

If you read carefully Bill Starr prefers inclined over flat bench... Quoting

"As most readers know, I'm a big fan of the incline bench. I like it because it hits the target muscles very directly and because there's less opportunity to cheat on the incline. Also, the motion of the incline is closer to the actual movements made in nearly every sport, whereas the flat-bench press relates to only a few athletic activities. I'm not, however— by any stretch of the imagination— anti-bench. It was one of the first exercises I did when I found a weight room, and I include it in all of my routines"

 

[SaiBoT]

Come on, of course incline helps thicken up the upper chest. Your chest DOES grow in proportion, however i used to have noi upper chest. Then incline came in to the picture and it has gotten thick. The lower has grown too but not as much as my upper has

I totally agree with that post! K to you!

 

[Seattleite]

If you read carefully Bill Starr prefers inclined over flat bench... Quoting

"As most readers know, I'm a big fan of the incline bench. I like it because it hits the target muscles very directly and because there's less opportunity to cheat on the incline. Also, the motion of the incline is closer to the actual movements made in nearly every sport, whereas the flat-bench press relates to only a few athletic activities. I'm not, however— by any stretch of the imagination— anti-bench. It was one of the first exercises I did when I found a weight room, and I include it in all of my routines"

So I have a question….

In Bill Starr's 5x5 routine, why does he provide the option to do either military or inclines on Wednesdays? It seems that he is suggesting that inclines are for shoulder work rather than a chest exercise.

 

[enigma4dub]

If you read carefully Bill Starr prefers inclined over flat bench... Quoting

yes for athletic carryover not for bodybuilding bullshit. nothing he says is about bodybuilding. nice try using a strength coach to bolster your upper pec theories. lol i think in logic thats called a red herring.

 

[SaiBoT]

So I have a question….

In Bill Starr's 5x5 routine, why does he provide the option to do either military or inclines on Wednesdays? It seems that he is suggesting that inclines are for shoulder work rather than a chest exercise.

Bro you were wondering about the need of inclines on a chest routine and you got it, all answers are right there, like you said inclines work the chest and also the shoulders. You need strong shoulders if you wanna have great poundages on the flat bench.

I love flat benches but I prefer the inclined version even before knowing Mr Starr opinion, because it seems more natural for my joints particularly. Every now and then I do flats and actually lift more weight that on the inclined version.
All the best Bruno

 

[enigma4dub]

Come on, of course incline helps thicken up the upper chest. Your chest DOES grow in proportion, however i used to have noi upper chest. Then incline came in to the picture and it has gotten thick. The lower has grown too but not as much as my upper has

hate to break it to you but alas there is no upper chest. and to say that incorporating inclines is the only reason your "upper chest"has grown is a bit flawed. how much weight did you gain during this miraculous discovery. what other exercises were you doing? diet? cardio? body part split? theres a million variables that go into this. maybe your just better at training now then you were when you didn't incline. got any pics?

 

[SaiBoT]

yes for athletic carryover not for bodybuilding bullshit. nothing he says is about bodybuilding. nice try using a strength coach to bolster your upper pec theories. lol i think in logic thats called a red herring.

Look I prefer strength over bodybuilding anytime... but a nicely buid body to show it ain't bad... Is it? So don't go diminishing bodybuilding like that, it's not polite... Just because you made "bodybuilding mistakes".

And yes it's possible to place more emphasis on upper chest area because that's one of the pecs insertions points (clavicular area). By doing inclined moves like, inclined flyes and presses. Oh and it's not my theory... It's bodybuilding!

 

[enigma4dub]

i love to look good so don't confuse that. and i progressed with a bb routine fairly well. any stimulus causes growth for a while. the argument is about whats optimal. and what im refering to as b.s is not the getting ripped or huuuge part. its the split and fallacies. and i took issue with your involving a strength coach to bolster your argument. its clear he is not talking about developing a particular part of the chest. when he refers to carryover to all sports believe me, he is not talking about bb as a sport.

 

[AEKDB]

I would argue that, from a pure functional strength perspective, dips and standing overhead press are better lifts than both the flat and incline bench. That said, someone with a strong overhead press and dip will also have a strong bench press. As far as appearances, watch the replays of the 94kg, 85kg, and 77kg classes at the Olympics. I doubt anyone would say these athletes are underdeveloped and in fact, as a friend commented, they look more normal than bodybuilders. Of course, if you want the out of proportion chest look, I am sure others here will have better advice.

View attachment 38013

 

[enigma4dub]

I would argue that, from a pure functional strength perspective, dips and standing overhead press are better lifts than both the flat and incline bench. That said, someone with a strong overhead press and dip will also have a strong bench press. As far as appearances, watch the replays of the 94kg, 85kg, and 77kg classes at the Olympics. I doubt anyone would say these athletes are underdeveloped and in fact, as a friend commented, they look more normal than bodybuilders. Of course, if you want the out of proportion chest look, I am sure others here will have better advice.

great post!!

 

[Seattleite]

like you said inclines work the chest and also the shoulders. You need strong shoulders if you wanna have great poundages on the flat bench.

Yes, that is why I do standing barbell presses. Rather than work the shoulders a little and chest a little, I'd rather hit both hard with bench and overhead pressing.

Every now and then I do flats and actually lift more weight that on the inclined version.

I don't think there is anyone in the world who could lift more on an incline than they could on the flat bench. The more you inch toward 90 degrees, the less weight you can lift relative to a flat bench which is where you can lift the most (barring declines which are a pseudo-bench press).

 

[Seattleite]

And yes it's possible to place more emphasis on upper chest area because that's one of the pecs insertions points (clavicular area). By doing inclined moves like, inclined flyes and presses. Oh and it's not my theory... It's bodybuilding!

Flyes = worthless

 

[SaiBoT]

i love to look good so don't confuse that. and i progressed with a bb routine fairly well. any stimulus causes growth for a while. the argument is about whats optimal. and what im refering to as b.s is not the getting ripped or huuuge part. its the split and fallacies. and i took issue with your involving a strength coach to bolster your argument. its clear he is not talking about developing a particular part of the chest. when he refers to carryover to all sports believe me, he is not talking about bb as a sport.

Seattleite asked about the value of inclined overall! The inclined press has undeniable value on strength and bodybuilding routines and that's why I quoted Mr Bill Starr! It really does put more emphasis on the collar bone and clavicular area of the chest making it easier by saying "upper chest"... Of course it's impossible to isolate a particular area because a chest exercise is a chest exercise but it's possible to apply desirable stimulus thoughtout all chest exercises variety! Nevertheless a lower stimulus will be applied to the "undesired" area of the chest.

 

[SaiBoT]

Flyes = worthless

LOL! Elaborate please... You see the gimnastics doing flyes on the rings don't ya?

 

[SaiBoT]

By pushing something or someone forward which movement would be more helpful? Besides core and hip exercises.

A-overhead press?
B-Dips?
C-Bench Press?
D-Inclined BP?

Which one of this exercises suggested replicates more acurately the actual movement and line of force?

 

[Seattleite]

LOL! Elaborate please... You see the gimnastics doing flyes on the rings don't ya?

What's the first thing you do when you get ready for a set of flyes? You head over for the lighter dumbbells.

Flyes are wothless because they are an isolation movement. They remove the triceps and shoulders out of the exercise, which measn you will seriously drop the weight down. You're expending a ton of energy for a little bit of overload. Isolation = reduced overload and less overload = less muscle fiber stimulation.

A lot people do flyes because they think they are "sculpting" the muscle, but hopefully by now some people understand that you cannot change the genetic shape of your muscles. You can make them bigger, but that's it. SO what do you think will make the chest bigger? Pressing 315 pounds or doing flyes with 70-pound dumbbells?

 

[SaiBoT]

What's the first thing you do when you get ready for a set of flyes? You head over for the lighter dumbbells.

Flyes are wothless because they are an isolation movement. They remove the triceps and shoulders out of the exercise, which measn you will seriously drop the weight down. You're expending a ton of energy for a little bit of overload. Isolation = reduced overload and less overload = less muscle fiber stimulation.

A lot people do flyes because they think they are "sculpting" the muscle, but hopefully by now some people understand that you cannot change the genetic shape of your muscles. You can make them bigger, but that's it.

Flyes have their value as most of other exercises, sure they work less fybers, but they provide greater shoulder stabilization, in time, if done correctly.

It's like the rotator cuff exercises which don't allow you to lift great amount of weight, but every now and then there is a thread about shoulder pain, mostly because you fail to give attention to the "little" muscles and "isolation" exercises... which lead to structural inbalances.

 

[Seattleite]

Flyes have their value as most of other exercises, sure they work less fybers, but they provide greater shoulder stabilization, in time, if done correctly.

It's like the rotator cuff exercises which don't allow you to lift great amount of weight, but every now and then there is a thread about shoulder pain, mostly because you fail to give attention to the "little" muscles and "isolation" exercises... which lead to structural inbalances.

If the argument is that flyes may have value for injury prevention, then that may be something that I could accept (although I'm not sure about that one way or another). I know that some guys to arm curls to help prevent tearing their biceps when they deadlift. I just know that flyes will not offer anything in terms of gaining size or strength.

 

[SaiBoT]

If the argument is that flyes may have value for injury prevention, then that may be something that I could accept (although I'm not sure about that one way or another). I know that some guys to arm curls to help prevent tearing their biceps when they deadlift. I just know that flyes will not offer anything in terms of gaining size or strength.

I agree that if someone expect to see great progress on size and strength, flyes will only have to take a secondary role. Nothing beats the coumpounds. OMEGA'S routines include fly moves. Check the tread OMEGA chest workout you will know what I mean.

 

[enigma4dub]

. OMEGA'S routines include fly moves. Check the tread OMEGA chest workout you will know what I mean.

your joking right?

 

[SaiBoT]

your joking right?

LOL! Well they make sense to me. Even more if someones has a lagging chest.

 

[AEKDB]

By pushing something or someone forward which movement would be more helpful? Besides core and hip exercises.

A-overhead press?
B-Dips?
C-Bench Press?
D-Inclined BP?

Which one of this exercises suggested replicates more acurately the actual movement and line of force?

Overhead press but, you hit on the real truth when you excluded core and hips(legs). If your sole interest is improving pushing power for sports or general athletic ability then the ideal lifts are the clean and jerk and snatch.

Regarding flys, no lift is worthless, just less useful than others. I have seen Olympic weightlifting routines that include flys. Logically, these athletes are at the top of their sport and any weak point could be the difference between a gold and an early trip home.

 

[SaiBoT]

Overhead press but, you hit on the real truth when you excluded core and hips(legs). If your sole interest is improving pushing power for sports or general athletic ability then the ideal lifts are the clean and jerk and snatch.

I think the movement produced on the Inclined BP reproduces more acurately the forward pushing movement specially if you incline yourself toward the object and expect to succeed, but the overhead press directs your line of force upward, nevertheless it's still helpful.

Regarding flys, no lift is worthless, just less useful than others. I have seen Olympic weightlifting routines that include flys. Logically, these athletes are at the top of their sport and any weak point could be the difference between a gold and an early trip home.

Exactly my point there.

 

[immebz]

your joking right?

why would he be joking? supersetting your chest will get it big, look at omegas projects. how come my upper chest is always so sore after a workout the next day?

What if someone did decline b3nch and thats it, would it hit the upper chest? Wouild the upper chest be as sore the next day as someone doing all incline?

Dont think so.

 

[enigma4dub]

why would he be joking? supersetting your chest will get it big, look at omegas projects. how come my upper chest is always so sore after a workout the next day?

What if someone did decline b3nch and thats it, would it hit the upper chest? Wouild the upper chest be as sore the next day as someone doing all incline?

Dont think so.

thats a brilliant argument!

 

[[CinnamonBuns]]

What's the first thing you do when you get ready for a set of flyes? You head over for the lighter dumbbells.

youll find alot of bench pressers dont use as much of their chest as they think they are using while pressing. with a maximal load movement like bench the strongest muscles will lift the weight.

flys are not worthless, but i wouldnt do them without a solid pressing routine primarily

 

[Six8]

I think this thread just confused me a lil more now

 

[Blane]

I still don't understand the need for inclines. The upper chest can not be trained apart from the rest of the pectoral. It seems that all an incline does is reduce the amount of weight that you can use.

i do not view incline db press as isolating a particular part of the chest. i do feel the body position on the incline hits the pecks in a different way then the flat bench. Thus stimulating growth.

The resistance point is angled in a way where the load is coming through the chest from the upper region. All of the chest is envolved.... not just the upper.....i do feel the upper part of the chest is supporting a larger part of the load.

If im wrong then hey....The incline dumbell press allows me to change it up a bit so im not just flat pressing on chest day.

 

[immebz]

shut up and lift!!!!!

 

[SaiBoT]

shut up and lift!!!!!

lol