Thread: bench press and incline ?

First off make sure u are using good form. Also when i first started working out, my triceps and delts depending on the type of bench would fatigue before i could get my chest fatigued. How Long HAve You been Training for?

not that long, id say im still a beginner, but i do waits that my parnter has 2 help me with, and he helps barely so i really feel it and it gets my arms sore, but i do feel alot of improvments in my chest.

Your triceps are involved significantly in the movement. However, you are probably using improper form. Pull your shoulder blades together. Your back should make a natural arch. As well, try using a wider grip and making sure that your arms are perpendicular to your torso instead of parallel.

ok i got it, thanx for the input guys

Im like this also, but a guy at the gym gave me this tip that has really worked for me. Do around 50 push-ups (or whatever works for you) before your bench that way your chest is already hot and torn up a little. then your chest should fail before your arms do. Works for me try giving it a shot.

You can pre-exaust numerous ways, I just stick to normal warmups. If your arms are tiring out first, you are probably not benching correctly.

I realised i have the same "improper form" too. My upper chest( the small area connecting to the armpits) is the area that gets worked only. I know i should let it down all the way to make contact with the body but when i press up, should the bar be in line with my throat or nipple-line? What warmups should i be doing before i begin? Please advise.

Im doing:
-Benchpresses
-Wide-grip bench
-Non-peak DB Flys, &
-DB Pullovers

-all utilising a swissball instead of a bench.

Improper form according to whom?

When I incline press I am way above the nipple, when I flat press I am below about 2 inches.

I dont pre-exaust, when I warmup that is all I do, I warmup. I do a few reps with 225 and 1-2 with 315, then I hit my first set after a break.

If you barbell press on a swiss ball I dont know what to tell you, I dont utilize that at all. Some people like dumbell pressing off of them, but for a whole routine? Not for me.

Thanks.... i THINK i have improper form becoz the mid/lower chest dont feel strained at all plus the arms(triceps esp) feels like they get work work than the chest.

Ok- so when i flat press, it should be 2-inches below nipple-line? I have been pressing right up against the neck; maybe thats why im working my triceps so much instead... ?

Warmup: Should i hit the load off immediately or light weights to start off a sweat?

Thanks for all your advice!

How do you know how much weight to warm up with? And about how often do you increase the weight, and about how much weight do you add?

I just use whats comfortable, for safetys sake I warmed up with 135 tonight, 225, then 3 plates.

I hit 390 tonight so:

135/390 = 35% 10 reps
225/390 = 57% 5 reps
315/390 = 81% 1 rep

Originally Posted by gumshoe

Ok- so when i flat press, it should be 2-inches below nipple-line? I have been pressing right up against the neck; maybe thats why im working my triceps so much instead... ?

Well thats how it works for my arm length/body stats yada yada. I defintely hit low on the chest, not nipple line. On incline its a totally different story. Just do it how its comfortable and how your arms are brought in, like I've said I feel I'm still perfecting my technique but I really had 90% of it down in the first week of practice with 135.

im sure its also a problem with the synergist muscles. id recommend using dumbbells for a while to get your stabilizing muscles up to snuff. i pretty much only work with dumbbells for my chest anyway, it feels like they isolate my pecs a lot better.

Dumbells hit my arms way too hard.

heh, everybody's different

True indeed. I used to really like incline dumbells but dropped those some time ago, now that I have a spotter I could do them but without a spotter failure could be really a serious thing. I've had my left arm wander backwards before, and on flat presses I dropped one at complete failure on my chest (no big deal but it could have been my face). I just find my arm (triceps) doing a huge amount of work, so they fail before my chest. My tris have greatly improved since those days but I dunno, I like the barbell right now for nearly everything.

Those guys who can barbell curl 400+ wont be doing dumbell only thats for sure

Hey whats up,

Dumbells Definately Feel like they isolate my chest more, I feel like when Im finished doing flat or Incline presses my chest is ripped. Its a tradeoff though, You gotta develope (or have) the tricept strenght to do it , When I first made the switch to dumbells about a year and a half ago, I couldn't do much but I stuck with it, as my strength in my tricepts and stablizing muscles grew, so did my gains in my presses. I gotta tell you thought my bigest gains came when I had a workout partner to spot me, or at least to give me a first to get it off my chest,
Another thing too is last week I pushed the most weight I ever had with dumbells (110lbs in each hand) I got 4reps!!! wonder what my max could be??? bad thing is: I only had the oportunity to try it because ther was someone arround that looked qualified to help me, trust me it sucks when you ask someone "hey can I get a spot" and there like "I got ya" and they have no Idea what there doing!!!
As happy as I am with the gains Ive made with dumbells, I think at my current gym Im gonna have to switch to Barbells because theres never anyone arround I trust to spot me and the dumbell at my gym go 100, 110, 120, 130, I cant post 20 gains every week......

Well Incline really hits your delts, so that may make it feel as if your arm are gonna fall off. Also, Triceps are getting pretty well on these barbell movements.