Best Exercise For Upper Chest !!!!

[muscle_warrior]

Hi guys what would you say is the best exercise to work on the upper chest

[_Dominik_]

Incline DB press, by a mile.

[mike_d]

Incline barbell press, as a distant runner up

[Namee001]

I love incline db presses but shoulders and tris come into play also, so what I like to do is hit incline flys and superset presses right after the set with the same weight to add a full combination to really hit the upper chest.

[b0ngman]

try doing some incline presses with a BB. Bring the bar all the way down, and the n explode upwards about 3-4". This keeps the tension on the upper chest and anterior delts.

[B_Master_Flash]

Incline BB bench and incline cable flies works for me

[JR2204]

Originally Posted by _Dominik_

Incline DB press, by a mile.

hes got it..^

[gy1]

Now comes the question: whats the difference of doing incline BB or DB presses? And which one is better for upper chest?

[akaMarko]

Originally Posted by gy1

Now comes the question: whats the difference of doing incline BB or DB presses? And which one is better for upper chest?

Greater ROM.

[b.d.]

Originally Posted by gy1

Now comes the question: whats the difference of doing incline BB or DB presses? And which one is better for upper chest?

d.b.'s work the stabilizer muscles more each side works independantly.d.b.'s are better.

[TravisLehr]

My upper chest was always lagging. I made some changes to my workout and have made great gains. Here is the whole thing with the upper chest exercises in bold. This workout stresses upper chest while still hitting the rest of the chest as well. Its using the priority principle, so for each movement I am hitting the upper chest first, ie Incline BB before Flat BB, Incline Flys before flat flys, etc.

*Incline BB Press (12, 10, 8) Heavy, ramping up in weight each set
designed to build mass and power in the upper chest

*Flat BB Press (12, 10, 8) Moderate, ramping up weight in each set
for mass and power in upper and lower chest

*Incline Flys (12, 10, 8) Moderate, concentrate on form going slowly
designed to sculpt the upper chest

*Flat Bench Flys (12, 10, 8) Heavy, concentrate on form going slowly
designed to sculpt the entire chest

*Incline DB Press (12, 10, 8) Moderate Weight
upper chest mass builder, gives better range of motion than BB, lower weight until DB is touch your shoulders, then press up

*Flat DB Press (12, 10, 8) Moderate Weight
total chest mass builder, gives better range of motion than BB, lower weight until DB is touch your shoulders, then press up

*Cable Crossovers, pins set low (12, 10, 8) Light Weight, very slow
go very slowly, designed to hit those last remaining fibers and to finish off with a solid pump

*Cable Crossovers, pins set high (12, 10, 8) Light Weight, very slow
go very slowly, designed to hit those last remaining fibers and to finish off with a solid pump

Heavy - weight that allows you to complete the suggested reps, but acheiving total failure on the last rep
Moderate - weight that is challenging, but you could easily force out 1-2 more reps
Light - weight that offers just enough resistance for very slow movements

[deserusan]

Originally Posted by _Dominik_

Incline DB press, by a mile.

I concur. Next would come incline barbell as long as you can do it right.

[bigboy15]

Originally Posted by b.d.

d.b.'s work the stabilizer muscles more each side works independantly.d.b.'s are better.

I see this side of the argument, and agree that db's are better but i think people here bash bb too much. With a barbell you can use greater weight and therefore applying more overall stress on the body.

[RavensFan2k3]

Originally Posted by _Dominik_

Incline DB press, by a mile.

Yeah, with a slight incline. Anywhere from 15-30 degrees. Maybe even 35 degrees

[AnaerobicAndrew]

Originally Posted by b.d.

d.b.'s work the stabilizer muscles more each side works independantly.d.b.'s are better.

Ah, the mythical "stabilizers"....

[Tyrbolift]

Originally Posted by crazygerman

Ah, the mythical "stabilizers"....

haha. Love it! ^^^^

I'd give what works really well for me but people always argue and say it couldn't possibly work so I don't suggest it anymore--even though my experience proves it works great.

[DiamondDelts]

Originally Posted by muscle_warrior

Hi guys what would you say is the best exercise to work on the upper chest

Flat barbell bench by a mile.

[Tyrbolift]

Originally Posted by DiamondDelts

Flat barbell bench by a mile.

Haha. DD, I'm glad I know your sense of humor. You dork. LOL

[DiamondDelts]

Originally Posted by Tyrbolift

Haha. DD, I'm glad I know your sense of humor. You dork. LOL

Dork? What the hell! I'm the hershey Mr. Clean. I'm the JUGGERNAUT bitch!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!(my delts are made of laffy-taffy)

[dirtydean12]

Originally Posted by b.d.

d.b.'s work the stabilizer muscles more each side works independantly.d.b.'s are better.

you involve stabilizers on the bb a lot also, i like db's because they seem to allow a more complete contraction of the muscle. that doesnt mean i dont rotate the two though

[MantisShrimp]

For bodybuilding and not practical strength applications, my money is on Incline Lever Lying Fly, although I am not sure if there is a machine that can do that so my second vote would go to incline dumbell fly.

I do incline dumbell press because I like them and they are convenient, but I don't know why people get down on the fly motion, that's the way the pectorals are intended to activate and it mostly removes the tricep from the pectoral motion. Of course it does not remove the anterior deltoid because it's almost impossible to activate the chest without the shoulder. Now incline dumbell will allow you to load the chest the most, but they will not work the pecs the most specifically. So maybe it's a tie. I think both are important for BBers.

And some would argue that the Atrainer incline cable fly with the supinated grip is #1

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/attach...hmentid=101261

[alan aragon]

Originally Posted by MantisShrimp

And some would argue that the Atrainer incline cable fly with the supinated grip is #1

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/attach...hmentid=101261

I'd rather see either a neutral or even a prone grip rather than a supine grip. Why? Because the pecs not only adduct the shoulder joint, but they are also directly involved in internal shoulder rotation. Nother words, you can't achieve the hardest contraction possible in the externally rotated, or supine position. So, while you're attempting to remove front delt involvement, you're also compromising the maximal degree of pec fiber shortening (& thus crossbridging).

[FarEastBeast]

Originally Posted by Tyrbolift

Haha. DD, I'm glad I know your sense of humor. You dork. LOL

But if I know DD, I think what he's saying is "what's with all these best exercise" threads? If he is, I agree. The best upper chest exercise is a comprehensive approach to building the upper chest.

[Zensuji]

Originally Posted by muscle_warrior

Hi guys what would you say is the best exercise to work on the upper chest

inclines for me

[mightymouse37]

Originally Posted by TravisLehr

My upper chest was always lagging. I made some changes to my workout and have made great gains. Here is the whole thing with the upper chest exercises in bold. This workout stresses upper chest while still hitting the rest of the chest as well. Its using the priority principle, so for each movement I am hitting the upper chest first, ie Incline BB before Flat BB, Incline Flys before flat flys, etc.

*Incline BB Press (12, 10, 8) Heavy, ramping up in weight each set
designed to build mass and power in the upper chest

*Flat BB Press (12, 10, 8) Moderate, ramping up weight in each set
for mass and power in upper and lower chest

*Incline Flys (12, 10, 8) Moderate, concentrate on form going slowly
designed to sculpt the upper chest

*Flat Bench Flys (12, 10, 8) Heavy, concentrate on form going slowly
designed to sculpt the entire chest

*Incline DB Press (12, 10, 8) Moderate Weight
upper chest mass builder, gives better range of motion than BB, lower weight until DB is touch your shoulders, then press up

*Flat DB Press (12, 10, 8) Moderate Weight
total chest mass builder, gives better range of motion than BB, lower weight until DB is touch your shoulders, then press up

*Cable Crossovers, pins set low (12, 10, 8) Light Weight, very slow
go very slowly, designed to hit those last remaining fibers and to finish off with a solid pump

*Cable Crossovers, pins set high (12, 10, 8) Light Weight, very slow
go very slowly, designed to hit those last remaining fibers and to finish off with a solid pump

Heavy - weight that allows you to complete the suggested reps, but acheiving total failure on the last rep
Moderate - weight that is challenging, but you could easily force out 1-2 more reps
Light - weight that offers just enough resistance for very slow movements

This is more freakin' sets for chest than I do for my entire upper body.

[Never2cut]

Originally Posted by B_Master_Flash

Incline BB bench and incline cable flies works for me

Me too, me too!

[mightymouse37]

Also consider trying flat/incline bb bench press to the neck (w/a spot or in a smith machine), where you lower the bar to your clavicles. Helps me better target the upper pecs. Also, I will usually either do a few sets of low-cable cross-overs or reverse-grip front dumbbell raises. The key is really concentrating on squeezing the pecs at the top of those two exercises; I typically will hold the contracted position for a second or two before starting on the negative. This not only gives your upper pecs a good burn, but when done correctly, it helps to establish the mind/muscle connection so that you become really aware of the area you're trying to target during compound movements. Just make sure if you try the reverse-grip front raises that you keep a slight bend at the elbow and raise the dumbbells up and toward each other so you're able to squeeze them together at the top.

I also noticed some improvement in my upper pecs when I started doing overhead press directly after my chest exercises. I never used to do any kind of delt work - I was a coed cheerleader for 6 years and all the stunting we did w/the girls made my shoulders so huge already that I didn't want them to overshadow the rest of my upper body. It's funny now though because after reintroducing overhead press, I've noticed more size and definition in my upper pecs vs my delts.