Help Me Build My Upper Chest!

[devo09]

Originally Posted by iliketojuggle

lol you are completely wrong. I can go in to the gym and do db incline bench at 15 degrees, and every single time I will get only my upper chest, outer and inner, sore the next day, normally it's even sore later that same day, unlike any other muscle I work. You can most definitely target your upper chest, if you do perfect reps with a weight you can totally control on the incline db bench..

Science would disagree with your boneheaded statement
http://journals.lww.com/nsca-jscr/Ab...toralis.6.aspx

It is concluded there are variations in the activation of the lower pectoralis major with regard to the angle of bench press, while the upper pectoral portion is unchanged

[iliketojuggle]

Originally Posted by devo09

Science would disagree with your boneheaded statement
http://journals.lww.com/nsca-jscr/Ab...toralis.6.aspx

The angle they used in that study was 30 degrees for the incline, and they don't even say whether they had the subjects use a barbell or dumb bells; however I would assume they used a barbell.. So that really does not say anything, and the study doesn't make my upper chest not sore compared to the lower part of it either.. I'm not saying you can work only the upper with no lower activation, but you can make the upper portion work harder than the rest if you target it right, at least I can.

Plus the deviation was r=.87 which is not that great of accuracy..

[dgault]

suprised no one has asked or suggested it, but whats your rep range? some fibers grow with different reps, so you might wanna try to go like 15 reps, or maybe real low like 3. I know that my chest didnt start fillin in good until i started using super heavy wieght. I did sets of 8, 10, 12, 15 on regular basis, but that wasnt making it grow. I often pre exhaust with DB flys, then superset using really heavy weight and only repping out 2 or 3 on flat bench. I have noticed a better fullness in my entire pec since i began using this low rep regime. And feelign the muscle contract is usually a good way to get it to grow, so i would suggest finding an exercise where u can really FEEL your upper pec working.

[devo09]

Originally Posted by iliketojuggle

The angle they used in that study was 30 degrees for the incline,

point being? thats a pretty common incline angle

and they don't even say whether they had the subjects use a barbell or dumb bells; however I would assume they used a barbell.. So that really does not say anything,

how does that not say anything? They still compared incline vs decline and found zero difference in upper pec activation

I'm not saying you can work only the upper with no lower activation, but you can make the upper portion work harder than the rest if you target it right, at least I can.

No you can't
I'm guessing your flat/decline pressing form sucks, and when you do incline work you have an arch in your back and retract your scapula better

Originally Posted by dgault

suprised no one has asked or suggested it, but whats your rep range? some fibers grow with different reps, so you might wanna try to go like 15 reps, or maybe real low like 3. I know that my chest didnt start fillin in good until i started using super heavy wieght. I did sets of 8, 10, 12, 15 on regular basis, but that wasnt making it grow. I often pre exhaust with DB flys, then superset using really heavy weight and only repping out 2 or 3 on flat bench. I have noticed a better fullness in my entire pec since i began using this low rep regime. And feelign the muscle contract is usually a good way to get it to grow, so i would suggest finding an exercise where u can really FEEL your upper pec working.

don't overthink rep ranges too much, the bottom line is you need to train progressively. By increasing the workload over time be it with volume, frequency, or intensity (intensity being the amount of weight being lifted, not how "intense" you work out lol)

[dgault]

I agree that you always need to progressively increase training capactiy, but when looking for GROWTH, rep range can make a very big difference. growth of the muscle fibers CAN occur without any increase in strength, hence why so many body builders stick to the high volume training and the 8-12 rep range. Even though this method CAN increase strength, it has been proven through time to elicit the most GROWTH in fibers. Also, many different muscles respond to different rep ranges; for exampled quads tend to respond better in terms of GROWTH to higher reps. On the other hand fibers can strengthen but not grow. We have different fibers and they are activated by different stresses. If this were not true we would never gain strength and only gain size or vice versa. Any top bodybuilder will tell you that they dont use 8-12 reps for every muscle group; they will agree that rep range does make a difference and that you have to listen to your body and pay attention to what does and doesnt make it grow. Many people ignore this truth and stick to a range their comfortable with or believe is best. There is no best universal range, it all depends on your own body.

Genetics also play an extremely large role in what fibers will and wont grow. Case in point are calves and forearms. If someone has naturally small forearms it is going to take an insane amount of work to get them to grow, and even then gains will be limited. If they are blessed with large forearms, growth will come easy. Many bodybuilders who have great forearms/calves have brothers/dads whos are also very muscular, yet never work them out. Frank McGrath(Animal Wrath), who sports one of the best pair of forearms of all time has said his dads are just like his yet he has never lifted weights.

[devo09]

Originally Posted by dgault

I agree that you always need to progressively increase training capactiy, but when looking for GROWTH, rep range can make a very big difference. growth of the muscle fibers CAN occur without any increase in strength,

no, growth occurs as a result of overload+sufficient building blocks (nutrients). You need to increase the overload over time to see growth

hence why so many body builders stick to the high volume training and the 8-12 rep range.

If you stick to one rep range (8-12) you are not going to get optimal results

Even though this method CAN increase strength, it has been proven through time to elicit the most GROWTH in fibers.

It's not that simple, overload can also be accomplished through low rep sets if the volume is high enough

Also, many different muscles respond to different rep ranges; for exampled quads tend to respond better in terms of GROWTH to higher reps.

got proof? because I strongly disagree

On the other hand fibers can strengthen but not grow.

no, they can't "strengthen" if your refering to gaining strength that is due to increased motor unit recruitment

If this were not true we would never gain strength and only gain size or vice versa.

No, there is a TON of overlap between rep ranges. Blanket statements like "Hypertrophy is reps 8-12" and "strength is reps 4-6" is complete crap since they will both give you benefits from several different areas

Any top bodybuilder will tell you that they dont use 8-12 reps for every muscle group;

if your refering to IFBB bodybuilders, I would never take their advice since it doesn't apply to someone not taking the substances they are.

Many people ignore this truth and stick to a range their comfortable with or believe is best. There is no best universal range, it all depends on your own body.

I'll agree with this, but over time you still need to increase the workload to result in musculoskeletal adaptations

Genetics also play an extremely large role in what fibers will and wont grow. Case in point are calves

people don't know how to train calves