Cannot hit pectorals with pressing movements no matter what I try

[UMTerp22]

for years, i've had a shoulder-dominant bench and I can't seem to recruit my pecs on bench presses (and even flies). i've tried every bit of advice i could find online - tuck the elbows, arch the back, try dumbbells, squeeze the bar, etc - and none has really made much of a difference. after each bench set, it's my clavicular head / anterior delt that burns, not my pecs. ditto for soreness the next day.

as a result, my pecs lag my anterior delts, and my inner pec cleavage is nonexistent. will try to attach photos for reference.TRD0011 copy.png
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some basics:
-i am tall - 6'4", with long arms - i'm guessing that is part of my challenge
-about 215lb
-BB flat bench bests: 9 reps on 225, 265 1RM (but i rarely train below 4-5 reps)

i incorporate bench variations, such as guillotine press, closegrip bench, reverse grip bench, a ton. are these worth the time in terms of trying to recruit more pectoral on my chest days?

truly appreciate any advice on exercises and form, besides "get stronger on bench", that can help me here, thanks.

[SuicideGripMe]

If you are shoulder dominant and have spent years beefing that up... it will be hard to switch gears. A good way that I got people to feel their chest actually was pretty simple and somewhat counter-intuitive.

Drop the bench press and move to floor pressing or 1-board pressing. Work up to a top set of 5-8 reps. Yes, this will limit the ROM but also teach you how to flex the muscles differently and power the movement by breaking up the eccentric and concentric. Following this, hit a lot of strict cable fly movements (double, single-arm, low position, high position etc.) find what works for you (hard pauses, slow eccentrics, whatever). Lastly, hit some push ups on a medicine ball in various ways for high reps.

[InPhase]

Switch to dumbells, and always un-shrug your shoulders when you set up. Practise dragging your shoulders down when getting into position.

[TheShadowMan]

Are you doing any close grip benchpresses for triceps? Great for the inner area of the pec as well.

[air2fakie]

Post a form pic of your bench press.

Try a converging arm seated Hammer Strength chest press machine (the one where you put standard plates on).

[ChunkBuster]

Try ring dips.

[weiss1967]

i've tried every bit of advice i could find online - tuck the elbows, arch the back, try dumbbells, squeeze the bar, etc - and none has really made much of a difference.

I don't what you call "tuck", but in my language "tucking" is bringing elbows closer to body, thus would ensure complete chest dis-engagement. Quite opposite of what you are trying to achieve. On contrary, to engage chest, one has to "flare" elbows. This is, bring elbows out and wide. Bar trajectory in such case, is quite close to neck, way above nipples. Many people, me including, cannot bring the bar close to chest with flared elbows, shoulder joint wouldn't allow. But this is where gravity vector projects right across the chest muscle, just under shoulder joint.

In general, when I want to target certain muscle group, I do this trick. I try with light weight and go for many reps until lactic burn. This burning pain, like a litmus paper, shows which muscles were actually doing most of the work.

[StephenCGreen]

i incorporate bench variations, such as guillotine press, closegrip bench, reverse grip bench, a ton. are these worth the time in terms of trying to recruit more pectoral on my chest days?

truly appreciate any advice on exercises and form, besides "get stronger on bench", that can help me here, thanks.

Take heart. Some people would love to have your shoulder strength. Besides, a visible separation of the inner chest is one of the most challenging achievements for any bodybuilder; you can get pumped up and flex it, but it diminishes when you relax a whole day or when you do a lot of cardio type activities. It is one of the reasons why many people are so focused on upper body workouts.

You didn't mention the go-to method of pre-exhaustion. Since your shoulders are so strong, I would suggest dumbbell pullovers until you can manage a heavy weight and then switch to barbell bent-arm pullovers. Eventually, 3 or 4 sets of this exercise can become a heavy lift even at around 12 to 15 reps and will require warming up. Don't worry about that, it is definitely worth the investment. Do this before bench pressing or guillotine pressing.

[colontos]

Incline DB bench press
Flies
Paused rep bench press (lower the bar to your chest and hold it there for a sec, then press)

These work for me