Cable Bench Press

Training
21

[quote]twojarslave wrote:

[quote]GetBigs wrote:
I have one question: Could anyone tell me what people mean by the cue “row the bar to your chest when bench pressing” or something along those lines…

Because if I take that word by word, I should literally pull the weight down, so that would be the eccentric portion of the rep? Thanks![/quote]

I use this cue and focus on two things.

  1. Using the same motion of the arms that I use for a bent over barbell row.

  2. Engage my back muscles and keep them tight.

THIS is exactly the type of stuff you should be directing your mental energy to at your stage, IMO.

Well done.[/quote]
Thanks sir!

Do you guys know of one chest exercise that trains the whole chest? Maybe a low incline? Because people say flat bench works the lower and mid chest, while upper chest trains mainly the upper chest, right?

I’ve only been doing Guillotine Press for chest and it’s been awesome, I feel it’s not only my upper chest that gets worked but also my lower and mid chest.

What I’d like to ask is, for you guys, does a low incline bench target the whole chest? Thanks!

22

[quote]GetBigs wrote:

[quote]twojarslave wrote:

[quote]GetBigs wrote:
I have one question: Could anyone tell me what people mean by the cue “row the bar to your chest when bench pressing” or something along those lines…

Because if I take that word by word, I should literally pull the weight down, so that would be the eccentric portion of the rep? Thanks![/quote]

I use this cue and focus on two things.

  1. Using the same motion of the arms that I use for a bent over barbell row.

  2. Engage my back muscles and keep them tight.

THIS is exactly the type of stuff you should be directing your mental energy to at your stage, IMO.

Well done.[/quote]
Thanks sir!

Do you guys know of one chest exercise that trains the whole chest? Maybe a low incline? Because people say flat bench works the lower and mid chest, while upper chest trains mainly the upper chest, right?

I’ve only been doing Guillotine Press for chest and it’s been awesome, I feel it’s not only my upper chest that gets worked but also my lower and mid chest.

What I’d like to ask is, for you guys, does a low incline bench target the whole chest? Thanks![/quote]

LOL.

Also, how many people need to tell you that the gullotine press will be terrible for your shoulders once you get to a heavy enough weight to see prominant physique changes?

Why not just do both flat and incline and use the gullotine press as a high rep finisher?

23

[quote]GetBigs wrote:

[quote]twojarslave wrote:

[quote]GetBigs wrote:
I have one question: Could anyone tell me what people mean by the cue “row the bar to your chest when bench pressing” or something along those lines…

Because if I take that word by word, I should literally pull the weight down, so that would be the eccentric portion of the rep? Thanks![/quote]

I use this cue and focus on two things.

  1. Using the same motion of the arms that I use for a bent over barbell row.

  2. Engage my back muscles and keep them tight.

THIS is exactly the type of stuff you should be directing your mental energy to at your stage, IMO.

Well done.[/quote]
Thanks sir!

Do you guys know of one chest exercise that trains the whole chest? Maybe a low incline? Because people say flat bench works the lower and mid chest, while upper chest trains mainly the upper chest, right?

I’ve only been doing Guillotine Press for chest and it’s been awesome, I feel it’s not only my upper chest that gets worked but also my lower and mid chest.

What I’d like to ask is, for you guys, does a low incline bench target the whole chest? Thanks![/quote]

The exercise you are looking for is the plain-old flat bench.

24

[quote]dt79 wrote:

[quote]GetBigs wrote:

[quote]twojarslave wrote:

[quote]GetBigs wrote:
I have one question: Could anyone tell me what people mean by the cue “row the bar to your chest when bench pressing” or something along those lines…

Because if I take that word by word, I should literally pull the weight down, so that would be the eccentric portion of the rep? Thanks![/quote]

I use this cue and focus on two things.

  1. Using the same motion of the arms that I use for a bent over barbell row.

  2. Engage my back muscles and keep them tight.

THIS is exactly the type of stuff you should be directing your mental energy to at your stage, IMO.

Well done.[/quote]
Thanks sir!

Do you guys know of one chest exercise that trains the whole chest? Maybe a low incline? Because people say flat bench works the lower and mid chest, while upper chest trains mainly the upper chest, right?

I’ve only been doing Guillotine Press for chest and it’s been awesome, I feel it’s not only my upper chest that gets worked but also my lower and mid chest.

What I’d like to ask is, for you guys, does a low incline bench target the whole chest? Thanks![/quote]

LOL.

Also, how many people need to tell you that the gullotine press will be terrible for your shoulders once you get to a heavy enough weight to see prominant physique changes?

Why not just do both flat and incline and use the gullotine press as a high rep finisher?
[/quote]

“Why not just do both flat and incline and use the gullotine press as a high rep finisher?” LOL I’ve read that if you use high reps on these compound exercises, you’ll “pre-exhaust” your stabilizer muscles, and that’s supposed to fuck you up really bad… but that’s just what I read, feel free to correct me if I’m wrong

Look, I understand, but I want to try… I get a phenomenal pump from it… BUT IF I do fuck up my shoulders then I WILL NOT CRY, I promise

I feel I don’t need to do flat bench, I know I’m a beginner but I feel the guillotine press also works my lower and mid chest, but mainly my upper chest

Thanks for the comment though!

[quote]twojarslave wrote:

[quote]GetBigs wrote:

[quote]twojarslave wrote:

[quote]GetBigs wrote:
I have one question: Could anyone tell me what people mean by the cue “row the bar to your chest when bench pressing” or something along those lines…

Because if I take that word by word, I should literally pull the weight down, so that would be the eccentric portion of the rep? Thanks![/quote]

I use this cue and focus on two things.

  1. Using the same motion of the arms that I use for a bent over barbell row.

  2. Engage my back muscles and keep them tight.

THIS is exactly the type of stuff you should be directing your mental energy to at your stage, IMO.

Well done.[/quote]
Thanks sir!

Do you guys know of one chest exercise that trains the whole chest? Maybe a low incline? Because people say flat bench works the lower and mid chest, while upper chest trains mainly the upper chest, right?

I’ve only been doing Guillotine Press for chest and it’s been awesome, I feel it’s not only my upper chest that gets worked but also my lower and mid chest.

What I’d like to ask is, for you guys, does a low incline bench target the whole chest? Thanks![/quote]

The exercise you are looking for is the plain-old flat bench.
[/quote]
Thanks for the comment! I just want to ask, isn’t the flat bench supposed to give you a drooly chest, that is, upper chest lagging while dominant lower and mid chest? I was only talking about doing one exercise that effective targets the whole chest

25

You sure you won’t cry? Not even a whimper? Haha.

Ok seriously, where are you getting your info from? I’ve trained with the most bro science spouting stereotypical meatheads in existance and i’ve never heard things like that.

Do you have a link?

26

You mean, a link to a site whose author says you shouldn’t use high reps on compound movements?

27

No, eating hotdogs and drinking beer will give you a drooly chest. Benching does the opposite.

Don’t take this the wrong way, because I really would like for you to succeed.

I think you are taking a lot of information you read out-of-context. Keep in mind the audience for various material you read. Stay away from information geared for advanced lifters. The guillotine press and cable bench press may have a very good place in the routine of an advanced bodybuilder, but I cannot think of any beginner routine I’ve read that prescribes these movements.

You need to think about your specific goal and then pick a sensible beginner routine that will get you there. You also need to realize that you are NOT smarter than the people who designed these routines, nor are you a specially gifted lifter who should skip straight to the advanced stuff.

Stay humble. Work hard. Be consistent. Learn the basics.

You can do it.

28

Yes, sir, absolutely, I do agree. I never said and I never meant to imply that I’m smarter than any of those who wrote those articles or are posting in this thread, I’m really grateful for your help, seriously

That exercise is just what I feel the most in my pecs, really, it targets my whole chest, and I don’t go wide on the grip, I use a medium grip, probably that’s why I haven’t felt my shoulders hurting…

29

The one that allegedly wrote about pre-fatigue of stabilizers through high reps on compound exercises.

30

[quote]dt79 wrote:
The one that allegedly wrote about pre-fatigue of stabilizers through high reps on compound exercises.[/quote]
That’d be it, are you sure you have read the whole article? I’ll read it again too

31

[quote]GetBigs wrote:

[quote]dt79 wrote:
The one that allegedly wrote about pre-fatigue of stabilizers through high reps on compound exercises.[/quote]
That’d be it, are you sure you have read the whole article? I’ll read it again too[/quote]

No i don’t know which article you are referring to. I quoted what you wrote on the previous page. Can you post the title and author if you can’t post a link?

32

[quote]dt79 wrote:

[quote]GetBigs wrote:

[quote]dt79 wrote:
The one that allegedly wrote about pre-fatigue of stabilizers through high reps on compound exercises.[/quote]
That’d be it, are you sure you have read the whole article? I’ll read it again too[/quote]

No i don’t know which article you are referring to. I quoted what you wrote on the previous page. Can you post the title and author if you can’t post a link?[/quote]

Funny, I did post a link, but I believe you too at the same time, probably a moderator removed it, looks like I’ll have to quote him

Jason Ferrugia: Are you Sabotaging Your Gains With The Wrong Rep Range?

"If youâ??re a genetically average, steroid-free dude whoâ??s struggling to gain muscle you should forget about doing anything above eight reps for a while.
All the magic, for guys like you, occurs in the 5-8 range.
Lower reps are far superior to the typical 12-15 prescriptions you get from pro bodybuilders. Especially if you have less than two years of proper training experience.
Heavy training targets the muscle fibers with the greatest potential for growth and builds size and strength more effectively than light training will for the typical so called â??hardgainerâ?? or skinny guy.
Shocking info, I know.
When youâ??re a skinny, weak maggot you need some serious overload to kick your body into an anabolic state.
Low reps provide that much needed overload. Simply pumping out sets of 12-15 on a pulldown or dumbbell press wonâ??t cut it. You need to load up the bar for a heavy set of 5-8.
If you must use dumbbells for daily training, use heavy ones with fewer repetitions rather than light bells with numerous repetitions. â?? â?? Arthur Saxon, 1906
In the Golden Era of Physical Culture real men trained with low reps and heavy weight (like my Muscle Gaining Secrets program) to build incredible size and strength. They felt that high reps tired them out and were all but worthless.
Mass monster, Captain Kirk Karwoski seemed to live on a diet of 5â??s in his workouts.
Olympic lifters like David Rigert (pictured below) have developed awe inspiring levels of muscle mass with nothing but six reps and under.
The Negatives of High Rep Training

Low reps, performed explosively have a very beneficial effect on the CNS. They energize you and keep you fresh while high rep training, done to excess, can drain you.
When you have less than a few years of serious training under your belt your work capacity will be fairly low. In that case, higher reps cause more overall systemic fatigue and lead to greater levels of soreness. They also cause more localized inflammation.
Thatâ??s why when you embark on a high rep program you may look a bit bigger but most of the initial size you put on is intracellular fluid, increased glycogen storage, edema and just overall swelling from the trauma inflicted.
This systemic fatigue and soreness limits your ability to train more frequently in a fresher state, which limits your ability to build muscle faster.
People get confused and claim that they shrink when they abandon high reps. They are actually right; you will shrink. But itâ??s not real muscle that youâ??re losing. Itâ??s just swelling.
â??Movements or exercises that do not give the muscles the required resistance, but are the kind that involve a great number of repetitions, never break down any tissue, to speak of. These movements involve a forcing process that cause the blood to swell up the muscles, and simply pump them up.â??
-George F. Jowett, The Key to Might and Muscle, 1926
Why Lower Rep Training is Actually Safer

Lower reps come with a lower injury risk when training the big lifts. I donâ??t believe in doing any of the traditional powerlifting or Olympic lifting exercises for more than six reps unless you are a master of technique with years of experience.
Even in that case Iâ??d only do it on a squat or press; never a deadlift or Olympic lifting variation. Both of those would be better suited for sets of 1-3 reps most of the time.
When you go higher than that on the big lifts the injury risk increases exponentially with each rep as form starts to deteriorate. Youâ??d be far safer doing triples with a weight you could handle five or six times.
Remember that one of the keys to developing strength is the ability to maximize tension. You can only maximize tension for 5-6 reps, tops.
That is why numerous strength coaches have always advocated limiting reps to six and under for anyone interested in boosting performance.

An example of the muscle building power of low rep training.
Can You Ever Go Above 8 Reps?

Sure. On exercises like kettlebell swings and snatches I wouldnâ??t advise going under eight reps. If youâ??re doing direct neck work youâ??d want to stay above eight as well, just purely for safety. Things like sledgehammer swings will be done for higher reps and any type of drag or carry can be done for a longer duration than it would take you to complete eight reps.
When youâ??re injured and rehabbing something you can also do higher reps. In fact, youâ??d be wise to do so.
And after youâ??ve gotten strong and have been training for several years you may actually never go LOWER than eight reps. If youâ??re over 35 and pretty well experienced you may find that sticking with the 8-10 range works best for you.
But, in general, if youâ??re after high-performance muscle and want to avoid excessive fatigue and soreness Iâ??d keep it eight and under on most of your other exercises.
If youâ??re struggling to gain size and strength, have average genetics and are drug-free Iâ??d be willing to bet the farm that youâ??ll get far superior results with low rep training."

33

[quote]GetBigs wrote:

[quote]dt79 wrote:
The one that allegedly wrote about pre-fatigue of stabilizers through high reps on compound exercises.[/quote]
That’d be it, are you sure you have read the whole article? I’ll read it again too
[/quote]

Where did he write that high reps on compounds pre-fatigues your stabilizers and “fucks you up”?

All he said was do each rep with maximal acceleration/ explosively, which is common knowlege.

34

And for Christ’s sake, are you saying you do sets of 3 with maximal acceleration on the GULLOTINE PRESS???

35

[quote]GetBigs wrote:
Do you guys know of one chest exercise that trains the whole chest?[/quote]
If we want to get technical, and really, it’s not even that technical, every press or flye will train the “whole chest”. Focusing on upper vs lower vs mid vs inner or outer is not something beginners need to panic about. At all.

If you fuck up your shoulders at 17 years old, you’ll most likely have lingering problems for years to come, which will interrupt, if not halt, your progress in the future. But hey, as long as you get a phenomenal pump. That’s what lifting’s all about, right broski?

36

[quote]dt79 wrote:
And for Christ’s sake, are you saying you do sets of 3 with maximal acceleration on the GULLOTINE PRESS??? [/quote]
Hehe, no, I don’t, I TRY TO, but eventually I don’t, BUT I do take heed of his advice in that I do 3 reps as fast as I can (and safely!) within 10 seconds
so I do 3 reps per set, and a set lasts 10 seconds.

[quote]Chris Colucci wrote:

[quote]GetBigs wrote:
Do you guys know of one chest exercise that trains the whole chest?[/quote]
If we want to get technical, and really, it’s not even that technical, every press or flye will train the “whole chest”. Focusing on upper vs lower vs mid vs inner or outer is not something beginners need to panic about. At all.

If you fuck up your shoulders at 17 years old, you’ll most likely have lingering problems for years to come, which will interrupt, if not halt, your progress in the future. But hey, as long as you get a phenomenal pump. That’s what lifting’s all about, right broski?[/quote]
No, sir, it’s not, you should lift with a brain, I don’t want to get injured after all. When I said: “If I end up with fucked up shoulders, I won’t cry, I promise!”, I actually meant to say I will not fuck up my shoulders because I promise I will pay A LOT of attention to the condition of my shoulders, and by this, I’m trying to say that when I feel discomfort, I will stop

37

[quote]GetBigs wrote:
Yes, sir, absolutely, I do agree. I never said and I never meant to imply that I’m smarter than any of those who wrote those articles or are posting in this thread, I’m really grateful for your help, seriously

That exercise is just what I feel the most in my pecs, really, it targets my whole chest, and I don’t go wide on the grip, I use a medium grip, probably that’s why I haven’t felt my shoulders hurting…[/quote]

The issue isn’t the grip width. The issue is that your elbows are heavily “flared” rather than “tucked”. Flared = perpendicular to your body.

I’m not sure if I’ll regret telling you this or not, but… if you stick to the top part of the ROM, don’t let your elbows drop below your torso, and keep the bar in the same path as a neck/guillotine press, there’s minimal stress on your shoulders. Once you lower the bar further than that, the stress on the shoulders increases significantly.

You won’t feel your shoulders hurting immediately. Shoulder pain very rarely hurts that way… it builds up over time, and then once it’s hurt, it can take a very long time to heal.

Most importantly, make sure you’re getting a lot of upper back work in, no matter how you’re benching. Facepulls, pullaparts, rows to the chest, etc.

38

[quote]GetBigs wrote:
Look, I understand, but I want to try… I get a phenomenal pump from it… BUT IF I do fuck up my shoulders then I WILL NOT CRY, I promise
[/quote]

You actually said this… You are an idiot, sir.

39

[quote]LoRez wrote:
You won’t feel your shoulders hurting immediately. Shoulder pain very rarely hurts that way… it builds up over time, and then once it’s hurt, it can take a very long time to heal.[/quote]

Quoting myself so you actually see this part.

IF you want to do a movement that hits your whole chest pretty well, that can give a decent pump, and is much less likely to screw up your shoulders… stick with a low incline, and lower the bar to right about the nipple line.

If you want to focus on overall chest size, decline benches (and dips) work very well. Again, you can get a good pump with minimal risk to your shoulders.

40

[quote]Claudan wrote:

[quote]GetBigs wrote:
Look, I understand, but I want to try… I get a phenomenal pump from it… BUT IF I do fuck up my shoulders then I WILL NOT CRY, I promise
[/quote]

You actually said this… You are an idiot, sir. [/quote]
"When I said: “If I end up with fucked up shoulders, I won’t cry, I promise!”, I actually meant to say I will not fuck up my shoulders because I promise I will pay A LOT of attention to the condition of my shoulders, and by this, I’m trying to say that when I feel discomfort, I will stop "

But I agree in that freedom of speech is a good thing that exists, so no hard feelings.

[quote]LoRez wrote:

[quote]GetBigs wrote:
Yes, sir, absolutely, I do agree. I never said and I never meant to imply that I’m smarter than any of those who wrote those articles or are posting in this thread, I’m really grateful for your help, seriously

That exercise is just what I feel the most in my pecs, really, it targets my whole chest, and I don’t go wide on the grip, I use a medium grip, probably that’s why I haven’t felt my shoulders hurting…[/quote]

The issue isn’t the grip width. The issue is that your elbows are heavily “flared” rather than “tucked”. Flared = perpendicular to your body.

I’m not sure if I’ll regret telling you this or not, but… if you stick to the top part of the ROM, don’t let your elbows drop below your torso, and keep the bar in the same path as a neck/guillotine press, there’s minimal stress on your shoulders. Once you lower the bar further than that, the stress on the shoulders increases significantly.

You won’t feel your shoulders hurting immediately. Shoulder pain very rarely hurts that way… it builds up over time, and then once it’s hurt, it can take a very long time to heal.

Most importantly, make sure you’re getting a lot of upper back work in, no matter how you’re benching. Facepulls, pullaparts, rows to the chest, etc.[/quote]
Yes, sir, I’ll make sure to keep on training my back heavy, not neglecting the upper back area. Facepulls will be a good place to start, I think. Thanks!

[quote]LoRez wrote:

[quote]LoRez wrote:
You won’t feel your shoulders hurting immediately. Shoulder pain very rarely hurts that way… it builds up over time, and then once it’s hurt, it can take a very long time to heal.[/quote]

Quoting myself so you actually see this part.

IF you want to do a movement that hits your whole chest pretty well, that can give a decent pump, and is much less likely to screw up your shoulders… stick with a low incline, and lower the bar to right about the nipple line.

If you want to focus on overall chest size, decline benches (and dips) work very well. Again, you can get a good pump with minimal risk to your shoulders.[/quote]

Alright, thank you sir, I’ll switch guillotine presses up with the low incline to just above nipple level when I feel my shoulders have had enough of the neck press, BUT yes, I HAVE read what you said about shoulder pain and will keep that in mind!

^Again, this statement is NOT to imply that I think I’m starter than you guys and will take heed of your advice, so thanks very much again!