Follow along with the video below to see how to install our site as a web app on your home screen.
Note: This feature may not be available in some browsers.
russianalex said:i cant even get the bar off of of the damn holders
Johnnny said:Mudge is right.
The incline presses work primarily the upper portion of your pecs that are below your front delts. But your shoulders greatly come into play.
The flat bench primarily works the middle area of your chest & decline works the lower area of the chest.
There are some ppl who would disagree with this & say that the chest develops as a whole, but it's very important to do all angles of the chest.
But it's also important not to train your chest & shoulders on the same day or on back to back days for the reason Mudge & I listed, that your shoulders play a huge part in your chest workout.
I also agree that power racks are very useful.
Some times I use the squatting cage racks & adjust the supports with a bench to the appropriate level.
Mudge is right, but your post contains misinformation. First of all, you cannot isolate a certain portion of the pectoralis major. It is one muscle. It contracts as a whole. Although you can stimulate different fibers via different movements, you cannot choose which fibers are stimulated as a result. In addition, the muscle will still grow as a whole.
Johnnny said:Here we go again
There are many who will disagree with you.
You can't expect to be able to incline bench 255lbs if you only do flat bench press plain & simple.
Your upper chest area will not develop by doing flat bench press or decline bench press alone.
I've even spoken to steroid users regarding this matter & they feel the same way even with steroids they still need to train their upper, middle, & lower pecs to develop everything.
Why is it that guys who only do flat bench that can do 275 or 315lbs one day decide that they should be doing incline presses & they can't even do 185lbs on incline bench compared to their flat bench?
It's simple you have to work all areas of your chest from all angles to make the entire chest grow.
The reason you can't expect "to incline bench 255lbs if you only do flat bench press" is because your central nervous system has to adapt to each movement before you reach a higher level of neuromuscular efficiency. Most of the time, any new movement you choose to do will improve more rapidly than a movement you have been using most of your training career.
When I first started parallel squatting with correct form, I couldn't do as much weight as I could going ass to grass with incorrect form. How does that make sense? Because my central nervous system had adapted to the incorrect movement. The same thing happened with my bench press. Now, both movements are catching up and surpassing my previous numbers.
You can develop an "upper chest" with only flat and decline movements, as long as your anterior delts are large and you have good genetics in terms of the shape of your chest muscle.
Johnnny said:cowpimp
Pure rubbish.
Then how come these guys who just do 5 sets have no upper chest what so ever, never mind a full cleavage.
Pure rubbish? I'm quoting doctors and informatoin based on scientific studies.
Also, how can you generalize that guys who do 5 sets have no upper chest? Did you travel all throughout the world, take a random sample of people with the most varied level of genetics you could possibly find, and put them through a battery of scientific studies. Or, again, are you pulling numbers out of your ass?
Johnnny said:Cowpimp
Yes pure rubbish.
Doctors? They hardly know a thing about bodybuilding or training in general.
I had a doctor who told me to stop doing weights b/c he thinks I was an unhealthy weight even though my BF% was around 15%. He told me I should only be doing cardio & that 170lbs would be a much better body weight for someone 5ft10.
So don't even start with doctors. They know family medicine, drugs, surgeries & so on, they don't know much at all about training unless of course they bodybuild or have played sports themselves that require training.
As for ppl who only do 5 sets of flat bench having no upper chest development or power, I've been to enough gyms in large cities to see how these guys train & seen their non existing shape that they try to show off in their tank tops.
Yes genetics plays an important role, but if you don't even train certain areas they won't develop.
Myself for instance my chest cleavage doesn't fill out completely near the very top, it never did & I was incline benching 265lbs for about 4-6 reps & I'm currently doing 245lbs for about 5-7 reps & using 95's for incline flies with a full upper pectoral stretch & it still doesn't fill out entirely in the cleavage area. The outer area of the upper portion of the pecs fills out & connects along with the area that connect with the front delts.
It's genetic.
But if you don't even do the movements, those areas will majorly be lacking nor will you have power for those movements.
rock4832 said:Johhhhny, you should just let people who know what they are talkind about answer these training questions. Stop trying and messing newbies up with your idiocy! Thank you and have a nice day
When it comes to incline, it's not that you should do less its that most people can't do as much as flat press. It is very rare to see someone who can do the same 1RM at flat and incline. Incorporating all three presses into your workout routine is the best way to achieve full pectoral balance. For full chest development you need a variety of exercises that target your upper, middle, lower, inner and outer pectorals. Decline works your lower chest, flat press targets your overall chest but doesn't isolate the upper chest enough to bring them into full development. Incline press targets the upper chest. Flyes are good for inner chest development and use a wider grip on flatpress for outer chest.russianalex said:so basically with an incline bench i should do less. and a decline, flat, and incline work diff parts of your chest?
russianalex said:so basically with an incline bench i should do less. and a decline, flat, and incline work diff parts of your chest?
gococksDJS said:When it comes to incline, it's not that you should do less its that most people can't do as much as flat press. It is very rare to see someone who can do the same 1RM at flat and incline. Incorporating all three presses into your workout routine is the best way to achieve full pectoral balance. For full chest development you need a variety of exercises that target your upper, middle, lower, inner and outer pectorals. Decline works your lower chest, flat press targets your overall chest but doesn't isolate the upper chest enough to bring them into full development. Incline press targets the upper chest. Flyes are good for inner chest development and use a wider grip on flatpress for outer chest.
gococksDJS said:When it comes to incline, it's not that you should do less its that most people can't do as much as flat press. It is very rare to see someone who can do the same 1RM at flat and incline. Incorporating all three presses into your workout routine is the best way to achieve full pectoral balance. For full chest development you need a variety of exercises that target your upper, middle, lower, inner and outer pectorals. Decline works your lower chest, flat press targets your overall chest but doesn't isolate the upper chest enough to bring them into full development. Incline press targets the upper chest. Flyes are good for inner chest development and use a wider grip on flatpress for outer chest.
rock4832 said:Johhhhny, you should just let people who know what they are talkind about answer these training questions. Stop trying and messing newbies up with your idiocy! Thank you and have a nice day
CowPimp said:A little tip to learning good information on IM forums: don't listen to anything Johnnny says. He may have some good information occasionally, but in general, ignore his posts.
P-funk said:
fianlly!!! Someone said it!!
Maybe I misworded my original post. I am aware that the pectoralis major is one muscle, but it is possible to exert more stress on different areas of your pectoralis major, which is what those exercises that i listed do. Read this caption concerning incline press from Dr. Richard Dryden, who used to be an anatomy professor at Guy's Hospital Medical School in London, England, and who is currently a Biology professor at the University of Plymouth.CowPimp said:No, they don't work different parts of your chest. A muscle contracts as a whole. You cannot contract different parts of a muscle.
russianalex said:Its Kinda Hard For Me Tho Becuase Some Ppl Are Saying There Is Notihng I Can Do About The Nipple Problem And That Only Surgery Can Remove It..