How do you "feel" pecs on a bench?

I'm a pretty big gym noobie who maxes out at 40 for the bench. Tend to use dumbells more often because no spotter. But no matter how little or high my weight or reps, I can't feel the squeeze in my pecs (front of chest). I hold eccentric/concentric, keep elbows at 75 degrees, and pull shoulder blades back, but all I feel is a tension on the outer insertion near the armpit. I feel the pain after the sets and when pulling back shoulders, but never the same localized squeeze as a bicep curl or OHP.

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[url]https://bodyrecomposition.com/training/benching-with-the-pecs[/url]


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I like your name! Squooshy! Squooshy! Squooooooooshy!

[QUOTE=Squooshy;1661591173]I'm a pretty big gym noobie who maxes out at 40 for the bench. Tend to use dumbells more often because no spotter. But no matter how little or high my weight or reps, I can't feel the squeeze in my pecs (front of chest). I hold eccentric/concentric, keep elbows at 75 degrees, and pull shoulder blades back, but all I feel is a tension on the outer insertion near the armpit. I feel the pain after the sets and when pulling back shoulders, but never the same localized squeeze as a bicep curl or OHP.[/QUOTE]

I am not sure it's really important, unless you are already at like 80% of your natural potential and these details start to matter more. Based on your strength level all that matters is to get progressively stronger. All horizontal presses will involve your chest to some degree, otherwise you wouldn't be able to move the weights.

I never "felt" my chest during any pressing movement, but it still grew.

Lie on the bench and feel your chest starting from the nipples. Rub them and then grab the bar. As you bring the bar down breathe in and say 'boobies' works everytime...

Or just bench press knowing that it's impossible not to use your chest to some degree and focus on increasing your numbers

It doesn't matter when you're a noob and lack proficiency in a lift.

Practice your Johnny Bravo pec flex every day, hold the DBs at rest on your chest and make them slightly bounce

Mainly a stretch between my upper traps, the inside side of my elbow, and my pinky.

I actually have a hard time actually feeling my pecs on a bench press, even though I do get a pump from it so I know they're engaged. I actually get a much better feel for pec engagement doing a seated hammer strength incline/decline press than I can from doing a horizontal barbell press.

Bench isn’t a chest isolation, but if you’re maxing out at such low weight, do you ever really feel your pecs squeezing on anything?

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Personally, I don’t care for the whole retract and depress shenanigans you see and hear everywhere.

I just let my shoulders/scaps do their thing. A little retraction at the bottom and some protraction at the top (never forced)

Trying to hold that depressed and retracted scapula is actually going to limit the amount of force the pecs can put out (their main function is humeral adduction after all…)

This is a completely serious response, but I think this is mostly a matter of getting stronger. I felt the same way for a long time, but by the time I was pressing 225 for reps, I started to notice that I could feel it in my chest during the lift (as the DOMS ended up there beforehand, anyway), about the same time that I could individually flex each pec separately. I think it's a matter of mind-muscle connection which simply comes with more experience. Just keep doing the lift correctly and it should come with time.

[QUOTE=EliKoehn;1661830633]This is a completely serious response, but I think this is mostly a matter of getting stronger. I felt the same way for a long time, but by the time I was pressing 225 for reps, I started to notice that I could feel it in my chest during the lift (as the DOMS ended up there beforehand, anyway), about the same time that I could individually flex each pec separately. I think it's a matter of mind-muscle connection which simply comes with more experience. Just keep doing the lift correctly and it should come with time.[/QUOTE]

This.

MMC is just as useful for compounds as it is isolations, probably even more so.

i dont think you should expect to feel compound exercises the same way you feel isolation exercises, as there are many more muscles coming into play. just focus on getting your form right and increasing the reps/weight.

As a beginner you won't feel it as much. You especially won't feel the "pump" (tight, full, inflated muscle feeling). Your pec size isn't quite big enough yet.

Keep at it though. I didn't feel my chest much until I could rep over 185-200 on the barbell.

Be sure to use heavy and light weights. I get great chest connection now with both.

For example, this week I might do flat bench, 5 sets, 6-8 reps heavy (last few sets taken as close to fail as I can safely do). Next week I'll lighten the load, do 5 sets of 15-20 reps, but again taking the last few sets near fail.

I'll do the same with incline bench, and also assisted dips. I can chest dip unassisted but only for 4-5 reps right now, so hopping on the assisted dip machine really helps a lot.

And for what it's worth, leaning forward on chest dips give me the craziest pump and chest fatigue of any exercise.

I always do light weight high reps on cable crossover. Doing those on heavier weights gives me horrible tennis elbow. 12-20 reps always.

You feel it better with higher reps, as usual. It will work the chest, but I also think you'll never feel it like with cable flys or the machine flys. There's just not much resistance at peak contraction, and with the barbell you don't even get quite full range of motion.

Keep weight under 70%
No tng
No bounce
Pause reps
Control eccentric
Explode concentric
Don't go to wide

Buy why does it matter?
Bench is for chest, triceps and delts - its not chest isolation

Also it's possible to over exert other muscles, like around at the elbows or something.

All and all, I've always felt like I've had to think for a moment to make sense of the feeling in the chest by terms of the particular impact on it in lieu of the the whole operation and all the other impacted parts.

Mind-muscle connection, and also, have you got your form perfected?



That means lowering the weight if possible, and going bar-to-chest, all the way down. Let it rest for half a second, then do the negative phase slowly and squeeze at the top.


Because I noticed I had a similar issue with not feeling my chest, and the solution was to lower the weight and get perfect form. I was lifting too much and had a poor ROM, which is difficult to judge in the lying down position itself. I definitely felt my chest once I acquired proper form on all my chest exercises.

It took me years to really learn how to “feel”/ target the muscles I work out. You say you mostly use dumbbells with the bench press, this should help make it easier to feel as you will get a better stretch and isolation of the chest. If not already doing it, try bringing the elbows out instead of straight down as you lower the weight. This should put more focus on the chest vs triceps. When pushing the weight up imagine you are trying to squeeze your chest together, if using dumbbells you can bring them close together to help you do with this. Almost like they are meeting at the center on the way up. Do the whole move in a slow controlled fashion so you can really focus on the stretch down and squeeze up. Just keep at it and the mind muscle connection will come.