I have been doing decline benchpress for a number of years and recently i have been going heavy and seem to be getting awesome gains from it. The problem is i keep hearing that heavy weight on decline could result in a quicker injury. Any truth to this? Also will i gain uneven muscle development if i concentrate to much on decline? I hit all areas of my chest but i seem to be pushing more weight on decline.
Most people can use more weight on decline. If you start noticing uneven development, change your training accordingly.
I’m not sure about the injury question though. What sort of injury?
Shoulders seem to be what a few people say that they have injured, more frequently.
I do the same thing with decline. I go very heavy, seems to really hit the pecs well. I’m sure to hit flat DB presses as well as inclines with the bar or smith afterwards though to keep balance. I’ve also noticed less strain on the shoulders personally, so I was surprised to hear you mention that.
I’ve had recurring shoulder bursitis, but I feel the decline aggravates my shoulders very little.
Sometimes flat and overhead pressing aggravate it and sometimes they don’t, and incline pressing almost always aggravates it. Decline pressing almost never aggravates it.
Go figure.
Mostly everyone will bench more weight in decline because of the leverage and shorter ROM. You should try weighted dips, since adding them to my routine a year ago, my lower pecs have grown significantly.
As soon as you don’t have any pain different than soreness I don’t think it’s bad to rely on the decline.
Regarding muscle development, if you develop an area too much, wouldn’t it be a good reason to put more effort on the others to catch up?
You should hit the trinity on chest day: flat, incline, decline for complete stimulation. If usually pretty toast by the time the incline comes so I alternate between weighted “Warren” dips and the the press. The dips give a greater pump, IMO.
The shoulder injury warning surprises me. The decline Bench has a smaller range of motion, which results in less stress on the shoulders and should also result in less chance of an injury.
[quote]RossDB wrote:
The shoulder injury warning surprises me. The decline Bench has a smaller range of motion, which results in less stress on the shoulders and should also result in less chance of an injury.[/quote]
I believe you are right, i personally do not feel any shoulder strain after decline. Some of the guys i work out with seemed to just think that my recent shoulder pain had something to do with my recent increase in weight in that area. I recently changed up my workouts a little by increasing weight and dropping my number of reps. I just needed a change, been doing the same routine for way too long. But thanks to all for the advice.