Chest Balance

[wpolo05]

Hi all!

I was just reading another post and chest balance came up. I am pretty consistent with my chest routine of going heavy sets, 4-6 reps for flat bench first, usally bb's, then medium sets of 7-8 for incline, usally with db's after.

I like this because on the flat bench I feel I can move more weight and increase my strength quicker than starting with inclines. Strength is my first priority, but I am a little concerned that aesthetically this approach might hurt me. On the other hand, incline sets of 7-8 seem like them should be sufficient, especially with dbells because I go real deep.

Again, I am more interested in strength so it is OK for a little imbalance but would anyone have a suggestion to address this issue, given my main priority is strength, if it might develop into a problem.

 

[zxe003]

If you say your main goal is strength, why are you lifting lighter on inclines than flats? You want to try and achieve balance aesthetically as well as in strength. Most people tend to think that your inclines should naturally be weaker than your flats....I don't agree. I personally incline and flat bench exactly the same weight. I did this by focusing on bringing up my strength on inclines. Every now and then maybe start your workout with inclines first, when you are still fresh and have the most energy. And don't pussy around with the weight. Start throwing it up like you would on flat (you may have to work up to it...but stay consistent). What you are doing currently (switching between Db's and Bb's for your presses) is great, but it's kinda hard to gauge the correlation between how much weight you should be using for each. For instance the amount of total weight in Db's that you can press, will usually not be as much as the total weight you can use on a Bb. I assume this is because you rely more heavily on you stabilizing muscles when using Db's. In my experience, I've found that if you can hit 225 for 8-10 reps on flat, you should be able to bang out the same amount of reps with 100 or 105lb Db's.

 

[psilo]

Flat bench is overrated...in many, many ways.

 

[BrokerOnce]

I only do inclines! naturally have a larger lower chest