Thread: best workout for the pecs

Dumbell flat press (isolates pecs much better then benching)
Dumbell incline press
Chest Flyes
Chest Dips-If you have access to a dip bar.

These should be your core exercies, you can add anything you want but remember these 4 exercises come first.

don't forget sweet sweet cables!

I hope you are kidding about the cables bro! Anyways I don't think it is accurate to say that dumbell pressing is BETTER than Bbell. I agree that it isolates the chest and mimicks the natural motion of the pecs moreso than a barbell, but you can use more weight with a barbell. they both have their advantages and they should both be used.

Anyone else here feel SAFER using dumbells for press?

Spots are hard to find around the gym I work out at. It's tiny - well equipped - but tiny, and since it's part of a local rec center, it's hardly ever used. I like that though.

But there's often no one to spot you as a result. So I don't want to suddenly find myself with 130 to 150 pounds on my chest that I can't lift, with no one to bail my ass out. heh.

At least I can drop the dumbells!

incline DB press is actually better than incline BB because it allows a stronger contraction of the pecs during the top of the movement... so technically you're wrong...

but in the real life gym world i agree with you... it's really hard to get dumb bells in position and move them around and stuff when you're doing a heavy weight, it's so much easier (and safer) to get under an incline bench and go to town...

the decline is so underrated, no one uses it anymore. It stimulates more fibers in the chest than any other of the presses. people should really use it more often IMO

I use declines!

before my injury 3 months ago it was the main exercise I used for chest. I hope to start doing them again within the next month or so.

Originally posted by HoldDaMayo
incline DB press is actually better than incline BB because it allows a stronger contraction of the pecs during the top of the movement... so technically you're wrong...

but in the real life gym world i agree with you... it's really hard to get dumb bells in position and move them around and stuff when you're doing a heavy weight, it's so much easier (and safer) to get under an incline bench and go to town...

i disagree that incline db is better than incline BB. they both have their ups and downs. with db's, once you start getting up there in weight you gotta worry about balancing those suckers so you don't hurt your shoulders, not to mention throwing the weights up there to start and bringing them down at the end. (i guess you already said that, i just read it at the bottom of your post)

if you contract your pecs hard like your supposed to when using a BB at the top of the movement, BB are just as good if not better.

declines are great and underrated for lower/outer pecs.

as a matter of fact, had a great chest wo today...........
BB incline
BB flat
machine incline
dips supersetted w/ cables
pullovers

Originally posted by gr81
the decline is so underrated, no one uses it anymore. It stimulates more fibers in the chest than any other of the presses. people should really use it more often IMO

Biomechanically it appears to best choice for maximal muscle fiber recruitment.

actually, gr81, decline bench is personally my favorite lift for chest.. I don't know what the "experts" say... but I love it and it's always a part of my chest day....

i dont really care for decline db's though...........

even though i concentrate hard as hell to onlly use my pecs, i find that tri's and shoulders often overwhelm the lift, esp. towards the later reps.......

love the decline BB though!

I see bb benching as a strength exercise, if you want to be stronger then bench, but if you want perfect pecs, stick to dumbbells.

decline BB is my fav... I have never tried DB decline bench press!!! OMG!! I'm such a newb!!

Originally posted by Lightman009
I see bb benching as a strength exercise, if you want to be stronger then bench, but if you want perfect pecs, stick to dumbbells.

disagree completely with that man.


(to use my man as an example), the most perfect pecs of all time undoubtably belong to Arnold, who developed them using only used Barbell flat and incline benching, not Db's.

Db's are a good supplement/change of pace, but BB's should be your main focus to develop your pecs.

Originally posted by Flex
disagree completely with that man.


(to use my man as an example), the most perfect pecs of all time undoubtably belong to Arnold, who developed them using only used Barbell flat and incline benching, not Db's.

Db's are a good supplement/change of pace, but BB's should be your main focus to develop your pecs.

I say that I agree with ya totally man, but just to play devils advocate here flex I have to say that it isn't fair to use teh most genetically gifted chest in history in Arnold's as your example. There were alot of thinks that arnold did that I would never reccommend to anyone. With that being said I think a focus should be in both over time but Bbell allow for more weight to be used which in turn means more mass potentially. I do agree with Flex

He did plenty of dip work as well. I would say Lee Haney had the "best" pecs of all time.

you get my point though.......i'm just responding to how he said use db's to develop perfect pecs thats all, and Arnold was the best and easiest example there is

(by the way, Arnold owns teh 2nd most genectically gifted chest in history, i have #1 haha)

Originally posted by Mudge
He did plenty of dip work as well. I would say Lee Haney had the "best" pecs of all time.

Lee had great pecs, dont get me wrong. But i don't think there's any question that Arnold's were the best ever.

His upper chest literallyl rose like a loaf of freakin bread out of his trap/chest tie-ins (collar bone), combined with the "perfectly" round shape, they are the best.

Lee's chest didn't have to rise anywhere, it was so f#cking big it practically was hitting him in the face, and striated to hell.

Originally posted by Lightman009
I see bb benching as a strength exercise...

depends on how you perform it.

Originally posted by gr81
I hope you are kidding about the cables bro! Anyways I don't think it is accurate to say that dumbell pressing is BETTER than Bbell. I agree that it isolates the chest and mimicks the natural motion of the pecs moreso than a barbell, but you can use more weight with a barbell. they both have their advantages and they should both be used.

What's wrong with the cables for chest isolation Gr81? I was under the impression that's better than flyes.

there is nothing "wrong" with the cables necessarily, put the title of the thread is the BEST exercise for the chest and the guy before me posted for us to "not forget about the cables' like they are an important mass builder which they are not. The db flys are much better of a heavy movement then cables b/c of several factors. 1 being that it is a free weight movement where lots of stabilization is necessary to perform the lift correctly rigt. 2nd is the fly motion is more similar to the actual function of the pec than anything, including the press. at a certain point in your press movement, towards the bottom, more stress is placed on the shoulders and tris as well s the chest but the function of teh pecs is to spread teh arms apart. so if you can go heavy on the db flys then it is a better exercise than the cable crossover which you can only go so heavy on and your motion is restricted moreso than the fy. The cables are definately useful in a chest program sometimes. Make sense?

Gotcha man. Thanks for the clarification. I have trouble with DB Flyes sometimes so I stick mainly to Cables for the iso movement.

I have not used cables for chest in about 5 years.

I only recommend what I have tried and found results with myself. After spending almost 2 years entirely on bench and never using dumbbells I found that I was able to bench a lot more, but I still wasn't getting the pecs that Ive seen in magazines. I started using dumbbells as recommended by a few older guys on this very board, I believe it was that guy Eric Wright, aka GoPro, an actual professional bodybuilder, oh yeah and he didnt juice, he was in natural competitions. I dont know if he's even still here, but he was the one that told me that Dumbbells are most important if you want sculpted pecs and that are symmetrical. I believe it was the consensus in the thread I started some year or so ago.

Anyhow, I started using dumbbells and thats when my pecs started to actually form and after the workouts I would be sore all over my pecs, not just the outsides, as is usually seen in benching. Anyways, I have found that they have benefited me greatly in that I have been able to hit the entire pec muscle with little or no strain on my arms and shoulders. Just try dumbbells and u will feel the strain completely in your pecs and nowhere else and thats what I call effective weight training, you hit only the muscles you're targeting.

But lets face it. Guys love to bench. So bench on, if you want to be able to tell people that you bench alot, just dont necessarily expect to look like a bodybuilder.

Prince- Is that why the pics in your gallery look so small and puny?!?

J/K, you definately overshadow me.

actually I do not even have any "recent" pics in my gallery!

Bottom line: JUST SHUT UP AND LIFT.