Why all the hate on decline bench?

[chuck651]

I almost never see a chest workout that includes decline bench (BB or DB), and chest workouts almost always includes Incline. Is this because Incline presses generally produce more aesthetic results? Is the lack of decline variations because dips hit almost the same muscle group? Why no love for the decline bench brahs?

[chazzy1864]

flat, decline and chest dips all emphasize the same area (lower chest).

Incline is included because it emphasizes the upper chest.

Most hate on decline because they fear for their safety (), they think that flat bench is the be all end all chest exercise (), and/or they think they'll get man boobs ().

[JBisGod]

A lot of gyms don't have decline benches. Plus IMO, if your bench form resembles a power lifters (arched back, shoulders pulled in, your weight on your traps) its pretty much the same angle anyway

[Blowmahheadoff]

flat, decline and chest dips all emphasize the same area (lower chest).

Incline is included because it emphasizes the upper chest.

Most hate on decline because they fear for their safety (), they think that flat bench is the be all end all chest exercise (), and/or they think they'll get man boobs ().

I grow bewbs.

[kanis999]

Is this because Incline presses generally produce more aesthetic results? Is the lack of decline variations because dips hit almost the same muscle group?

Yes and yes. You answered your own questions lol.

[NZninja101]

Decline Bench Press isn't extremely popular for several reasons.


Flat barbell bench press is rooted into the lifting culture. It's the 'man lift', and most beginner's favorite lift. It's a compound lift that hits the front delt, tricep, but primarily the lower chest, which is basically what decline does as well. So out of default most people do flat instead, and add incline to hit the upper chest. If & when they reach a certain point in training where they need another chest exercise they could easily opt to do something else which offers a little more variation, ie flys, or flat incline, but with dumbbells, or machine work, or weighted body weight work, rather than simply adding another compound barbell free weight pressing exercise. Then you've got the myth that it gives you manboobs which doesn't help it.

[cjc651]

I don't get the whole manboob thing, Isn't the point of lifting in general to increase size and strength?

[blindspot13]

flat, decline and chest dips all emphasize the same area (lower chest).

Incline is included because it emphasizes the upper chest.

Most hate on decline because they fear for their safety (), they think that flat bench is the be all end all chest exercise (), and/or they think they'll get man boobs ().

dayum thats a lot of eye rollin

[JmanTheJuiceman]

The decline bench killed my father and raped my mother ...

Twice.



That's why nobody likes it, OP

[JewishSuperHero]

I prefer decline.

[fnares]

I personally feel like the decline bench is more effective than the flat for targeting the lower chest. Not sure where all the hate comes from, but it doesn't bother me much.

[MINDandBODY01]

your lower chest is the strongest portion of the three chest muscles, so working the lower portion before getting your mid and upper chest up to par wth the lower part is pointless. Building the mid and upper chest will give you more chest muscle mass and ultimately icrease your bench. thats why when you see people benching really heavy weight they tend to arch their back using thier lower chest, because thier mid and upper portions are not as developed. hope this answered our question.

[davisj3537]

your lower chest is the strongest portion of the three chest muscles, so working the lower portion before getting your mid and upper chest up to par wth the lower part is pointless. Building the mid and upper chest will give you more chest muscle mass and ultimately icrease your bench. thats why when you see people benching really heavy weight they tend to arch their back using thier lower chest, because thier mid and upper portions are not as developed. hope this answered our question.

No...just no.

[acrawlingchaos]

Most hate on decline because they fear for their safety (), they think that flat bench is the be all end all chest exercise (), and/or they think they'll get man boobs ().

My gym doesn't have a decline barbell bench.

And I'm a hater.

[chazzy1864]

your lower chest is the strongest portion of the three chest muscles, so working the lower portion before getting your mid and upper chest up to par wth the lower part is pointless. Building the mid and upper chest will give you more chest muscle mass and ultimately icrease your bench. thats why when you see people benching really heavy weight they tend to arch their back using thier lower chest, because thier mid and upper portions are not as developed. hope this answered our question.

Shut up.

[Xuaxace]

your lower chest is the strongest portion of the three chest muscles, so working the lower portion before getting your mid and upper chest up to par wth the lower part is pointless. Building the mid and upper chest will give you more chest muscle mass and ultimately icrease your bench. thats why when you see people benching really heavy weight they tend to arch their back using thier lower chest, because thier mid and upper portions are not as developed. hope this answered our question.

it really didn't answer anything.

[SkydogGinsberg]

your lower chest is the strongest portion of the three chest muscles ... thats why when you see people benching really heavy weight they tend to arch their back using thier lower chest, because thier mid and upper portions are not as developed. hope this answered our question.

I'm not sure who's getting the worst end of this deal:

a) The combined centuries of Kinesiology study
b) Powerlifting style development

or

c) The taxpayers of your local school district

[arkwok1209]

I heard somewhere that decline bench actually targets more upper chest than incline bench does
is it true?
btw,I personally can feel more my chest in decline than flat(maybe my flat form isnt that good lol)

[acrawlingchaos]

I heard somewhere that decline bench actually targets more upper chest than incline bench does
is it true?

No

btw,I personally can feel more my chest in decline than flat(maybe my flat form isnt that good lol)

Probably. Take form vid.

[Xuaxace]

I heard somewhere that decline bench actually targets more upper chest than incline bench does
is it true?
btw,I personally can feel more my chest in decline than flat(maybe my flat form isnt that good lol)

IT would probably come down to where the lifter brings the bar, and how flared out their elbows are. If you guilliotine press on decline, you are still going to hit the upper chest massively. I do not see the point on doing it on decline, flat makes more sense

Same deal with incline, a lot of lifters bring the bar to their mid/lower chest, taking emphasis away from the upper chest. THe main role of the clavicular head is trasverse flexion of the humerou. This means moving the arm medially towards the center of the body. By having the bar on a bench press come higher (close to the clavicle) the arm (the attachment point) moves the furthest away from the body, hence why this emphasizes the upper chest.

[EPMD]

I've never felt comfortable racking/unracking when working decline, and I feel the range of motion is too restricted for me. Also, like many people, I would rather target my upper chest when picking an accessory to flat bench.

[AlanApe]

Many pros recommend decline (slight decline) over flat bench. You can lift slightly more weight, it reduces stress on your shoulder joints and gives the same workout. It doesn't have the kudos of the flat bench but it certainly has its place.

Unless you are a powerlifter or training to be a powerlifter there is an argument that you could do without the flat BB bench - just sticking to decline an incline presses, but at the end of the day the difference between them isn't huge and as long as you have pressing movements in them and you work your lifting limits then you will still grow/ become stronger.

[darinaldi]

The decline bench killed my father and raped my mother ...

Twice.

That's why nobody likes it, OP

Actually, that's why I like decline bench. I hated your parents.

[ironwill2008]

dayum thats a lot of eye rollin

A lot? Yes.



Enough? Apparently not:

your lower chest is the strongest portion of the three chest muscles, so working the lower portion before getting your mid and upper chest up to par wth the lower part is pointless. Building the mid and upper chest will give you more chest muscle mass and ultimately icrease your bench. thats why when you see people benching really heavy weight they tend to arch their back using thier lower chest, because thier mid and upper portions are not as developed. hope this answered our question.

[alexanderberg]

All joking aside, it is because the exercise contains the word 'decline'. It plants a subconscious message in the average lifter that their lifting career will decline, hence they don't do it. Have you ever seen people do decline bench pressing? No. That's because they've left the gym a long time ago because they were failures.

notsrs

Most hate on decline because they fear for their safety (), they think that flat bench is the be all end all chest exercise (), and/or they think they'll get man boobs ().

This ()

[Fbomb1990]

Personally, I don't like decline, because it feels so unstable. Flat bench my feet are planted and I feel like if I needed to bail I could. Decline just feels sketchy to me. The reason behind this being that most gyms just have the decline benches that are used a million times over by ab warriors; this makes the decline benches kind of worn and wobbly. It's pretty scary holding 225-245 pounds above your neck and face on a wobbly decline bench. I'm sure a stable decline bench would remedy the problem for me.

Another reason is, if you do flat bench and dips hard, you could be over training by throwing in decline too.