Is there a difference between having you elbows flared out or having you elbows in a neutral position? Thanks
elbows flared will be more pec. elbows neutral will be more triceps. I believe…
[quote]FightingScott wrote:
elbows flared will be more pec. elbows neutral will be more triceps. I believe…[/quote]
Isn’t it the opposite way for barbell bench, though?
I think the best way is to just try both, and see where it’s sore.
What FS said…
[quote]bulldogtor wrote:
FightingScott wrote:
elbows flared will be more pec. elbows neutral will be more triceps. I believe…
Isn’t it the opposite way for barbell bench, though?
I think the best way is to just try both, and see where it’s sore.[/quote]
I don’t agree with the first thing you said, but I do with the second.
[quote]bulldogtor wrote:
FightingScott wrote:
elbows flared will be more pec. elbows neutral will be more triceps. I believe…
Isn’t it the opposite way for barbell bench, though?
I think the best way is to just try both, and see where it’s sore.[/quote]
How could it be the opposite. And how could it be possible at all? You can’t take a neutral grip without a swiss-bar, a football-bar, or a strongman log. And trust me, if you have one of those neutral grip bars, it’s all triceps. The Lats and Pecs are completely taken out.
[quote]FightingScott wrote:
bulldogtor wrote:
FightingScott wrote:
elbows flared will be more pec. elbows neutral will be more triceps. I believe…
Isn’t it the opposite way for barbell bench, though?
I think the best way is to just try both, and see where it’s sore.
How could it be the opposite. And how could it be possible at all? You can’t take a neutral grip without a swiss-bar, a football-bar, or a strongman log. And trust me, if you have one of those neutral grip bars, it’s all triceps. The Lats and Pecs are completely taken out.[/quote]
Yeah, my bad, I was visualizing the wrong thing. Elbows flared on close-grip barbell bench is usually said to be for triceps, while regular bench with elbows kind of tucked in a bit more is for chest. I confused the “tucked in” for neutral.
elbows out will serve you better
[quote]bulldogtor wrote:
FightingScott wrote:
bulldogtor wrote:
FightingScott wrote:
elbows flared will be more pec. elbows neutral will be more triceps. I believe…
Isn’t it the opposite way for barbell bench, though?
I think the best way is to just try both, and see where it’s sore.
How could it be the opposite. And how could it be possible at all? You can’t take a neutral grip without a swiss-bar, a football-bar, or a strongman log. And trust me, if you have one of those neutral grip bars, it’s all triceps. The Lats and Pecs are completely taken out.
Yeah, my bad, I was visualizing the wrong thing. Elbows flared on close-grip barbell bench is usually said to be for triceps, while regular bench with elbows kind of tucked in a bit more is for chest. I confused the “tucked in” for neutral.[/quote]
Elbows tucked will also be more triceps no matter the grip. Closer the grip, more triceps. Elbows tucked, Close-Grip Bench is about as triceps dominant as you can get without adding boards, a shirt, or chains.
[quote]slimthugger wrote:
elbows out will serve you better[/quote]
Why?
[quote]FightingScott wrote:
slimthugger wrote:
elbows out will serve you better
Why?[/quote]
That angle put more tension on the pecs and recruits more fiber. I’m assuming the OP is doing db press to stimulate the chest.
I was just wondering, since I have a prior shoulder injury and doing them with my elbows tucked seem to feel better then doing them flared for my shoulder. Food for thought I guess, thanks for the replies.
Oh!! Well you should have mentioned your shoulder pain in your first post!
elbows out has a much greater strain on the shoulder joint. I do dumbbell presses with elbows in and don’t get any shoulder pain.
You can do the dumbbell presses with neutral grip and it will be much easier on your shoulders, and you can focus on squeezing your chest together at the top to help with chest. I do them this way much of the time and my shoulders thank me–no pain.
I would also search around here for the “squeeze press” which should help a bit with your chest. It’s also easy on the shoulders. Basically what you have is a neutral grip db press where you put the dumbbells together so they’re touching each other on your chest, and as you press the dumbbells up you also squeeze them together as much as possible. A bit awkward at first, but you get used to it and it works pretty well. It’s easier to do with hex dumbbells because of the flat sides, but you can do it with round dumbbells, just more awkward.
And a last note-- I disagree with the poster that said neutral grip db presses don’t activate your lats. I get a very strong lat activation out of them. In fact it’s much easier to fire them.