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I love doing decline barbell bench presses but when I do flat with dumbells (cant do barbell due to right chest difference) I dont get the same burn or positiveness from it so I was wondering if doing five sets with 8-12 reps of decline presses will work instead for chest hypertrophy. I also throw in five sets of dips along with maybe a few sets of inclines. Thanks.
I am a big fan of the decline.I think it allows you to press with less deltoid putting more emphisis on the pecs.
the reason u dont feel the same kind of burn from decline to flat is because they work diferent patrs of the pec now as for getting rid of flat all together and just doing decline i dont know if thats a great idea hopefully one of the experts here can help ya a lil more
Hmm. My shoulders dont get sore on decline. But does it work the middle chest too?
The way i have always interpretted it, decline for lower chest, flat for middle chest, incline for upper chest.
And decline is suppossed to be easier. It puts less stress and strain on the shoulders and i can usually do 30-35 lbs more on decline than i can on flat.
I would disagree with cutting out flat bench entirely, but that is just me.
yes
With dumbells on flat bench press I always go really wide like forearms exactly straight up and down - then instead of just pressing straight up n down , I come to a peak at the top where the dumbells almost meet together .
Also a strong flex of the chest at the peak of your press REALLY brings out the flat press .
Maybe only do the dumbell flat press bi-weekly , but definately do it right as laid out .
flat bb I dont like - flat db I do ..
Oh also when doing db I do flat and like a 10 degree incline and consider them both flat work
Dips done with a forward lean and (if necessary) a weight belt are not only a good substitute for flat benching, but they are superior by my experience. Combined with Incline dumbbell Bench Pressing, you have a very solid overall chest routine.
And to whoever said "flat bench for middle chest", there's no such thing as a mid-chest. You have a pectoralis major (lower pecs) and a pectoralis minor (upper pecs).
K thanks for all the responses. I appreciate it. Also how do I erase my profile? I got alot of neg hits when I first signed up in the gear section and Id like to start over.
The pectorals are all one muscle. The only difference is the activation of type II fibers and their fatigue (not recruitment) within. Chest development comes about through fatigue of all motor units within the chest.
Therefore, declines are optimal, and anyone who doesn't include them is braindead. That being said, flat bench covers more of the upper area. Incline work is usually covered by it, and many other exercises hit the top of the chest's MU and the anterior deltoid MU's.
But more importantly, don't care about negative rep here. A majority of the people here have inadequate backgrounds in the subject matter and get really offended when they are informed about studies and exercise physiology. They listen to their gurus who have earned their reputation through dogmatic expression of simply false constructions of human hypertrophy.
Take it as a badge of pride!
You can definately switch out flat bench for decline. Part of weightlifting is figuring out what works for you. And by the looks of it, you are doing just that.
I would, however, do 3 sets of dips and 3 sets of inclines (as opposed to 5 sets of dips and 'maybe a few sets of inclines'). Incline presses are very important for developing the clavicular portion of the chest. Don't leave them out. It's especially important as Declines don't work this area quite as much as flat. But do what you like.
K why do you say 3 sets of dips as opposed to 5? Is it cause I work my chest twice a week?
[QUOTE=Surfgod;101165771]K why do you say 3 sets of dips as opposed to 5? Is it cause I work my chest twice a week?[/QUOTE]
I just said that in order to keep with amount of sets that you do.
My point was that it will be more beneficial to spread the sets over Dips AND Incline (and not just Dips), so that you will be hitting the chest better.
Dips are great, but Dips AND Inclines is better.
So say you usually do about 11 sets for your Chest, and it looks like:
Decline Bench 4 sets
Dips 5 sets
'maybe some Inclines'.... ~1-2 sets
Instead, try
Decline Bench 4 sets
Dips 3 sets
Inclines 3 sets
Also because there are fewer sets in each exercise, when you do the exercise you will be subconsciously working harder trying to get as much as you can out of those sets, because there's fewer of them.