[quote]kingbeef323 wrote:
It’s not about lifting the absolute most weight possible, it’s about lifting the heaviest weights you can handle under the aforementioned parameters… IME
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QFT! This one statement is absolutely crucial to muscular development and every newb should study it and commit it to memory!
If someone had explained this to me when I first started out it would have saved me a year of messing around chasing weights and getting injured
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me too[/quote]
Me three. It can be a hard habit to break though! When all thats drummed into you as a newb is “progressive overload”, you hear that and assume every work out has to be more weight.
[quote]kingbeef323 wrote:
Nothing has worked better for me (as well as my clients and training partners) for chest than all angles of dumbbell presses with elbows tucked coming all the way down until the dumbbells touch the sides of my chest, then pushing all the way up and getting a squeeze at the top. Most people that don’t see much success with dumbbells go too wide and use too much shoulder. People are always surprised by how much harder it is and how much they have to lower their weights when they press the way I describe but in every case it’s resulted in better chest growth for the people that adhere to it for an extended period of time.
I’ve tried mixing barbells/machines back in from time to time and it just doesn’t make sense to me considering I feel those movements so much less in my chest.
Do the exercises that you feel the most in the target muscle group, get as strong as possible on them using good technique conducive to feeling that muscle work and that muscle will get big. It’s not about lifting the absolute most weight possible, it’s about lifting the heaviest weights you can handle under the aforementioned parameters… IME
KB, I’m trying unsuccessfully to imagine your variation of DB pressing, would you be able to make a quick vid and throw it up? I really struggle with MMC on DB presses so wanna give this a shot.
Developing worthwhile pecs was definitely an issue for me. My naturally strong arms and delts always seemed to take over pressing movements, and despite being able to move respectable weights after a relatively short time training, my chest seriously lagged. What I found helped was focusing on more chest focused movements, instead of hoping it would simply get enough stress from increasing poundages, and concentrating on MMC.
An intelligent approach to ordering my exercises that allowed for isolation work before compounds, as well as a focus on weaker areas (ie. upper chest) first, really allowed me to pack on some good thickness the last few years. This was done without trying to increase my working weights. Not that progressive overload doesn’t have it’s place, but it’s just one small piece of the puzzle IMO.
Also, understanding the ‘line of pull’, and the correct angles to perform movements at to target your intended muscle is invaluable. If I see one more gym-rat doing low cable crossovers, pulling his hands a good foot over his head and thinking he’s nailing his upper chest, I’m gonna lose it -lol.
Those dumbbells worked until I started using a weight that it helped to have a good spotter on…then I started focusing more on the weight used and less on the muscle working. It was about that time I started using more machines and that really allowed me to feel my pecs working and literally added inches on my upper pecs (that incline HS machine is the shit for overall added size assuming you are actually moving some weight).
One of the techniques that really caused my upper chest to get thick enough to lay a cup on was when I started doing chest twice a week focusing on “upper chest/triceps” one day and “lower chest” the next. I did that for at least two years and my upper chest is still big from it.
[quote]Spidey22 wrote:
I think Decline Bench is underrated. I know in the last few months, since focusing on it, my chest has made improvements (I’ve gotten multiple comments on it). I think it’s best for those with long arms or who are naturally delt dominant. It’s one of the few movements that I feel EXCLUSIVELY in my chest. [/quote]
This is interesting. I have long arms and am delt dominant in most presses, but I’ve found dips with a lot of forward lean helps my chest. Essentially, those are declines. I’m going to hop on a bench this weekend and try out some decline presses.
[quote]The Mighty Stu wrote:
Developing worthwhile pecs was definitely an issue for me. My naturally strong arms and delts always seemed to take over pressing movements, and despite being able to move respectable weights after a relatively short time training, my chest seriously lagged. What I found helped was focusing on more chest focused movements, instead of hoping it would simply get enough stress from increasing poundages, and concentrating on MMC.
An intelligent approach to ordering my exercises that allowed for isolation work before compounds, as well as a focus on weaker areas (ie. upper chest) first, really allowed me to pack on some good thickness the last few years. This was done without trying to increase my working weights. Not that progressive overload doesn’t have it’s place, but it’s just one small piece of the puzzle IMO.
Also, understanding the ‘line of pull’, and the correct angles to perform movements at to target your intended muscle is invaluable. If I see one more gym-rat doing low cable crossovers, pulling his hands a good foot over his head and thinking he’s nailing his upper chest, I’m gonna lose it -lol.
S[/quote]
Stu,
Could you elaborate a bit on the “line of pull” please? I think I get what you’re talking about, not positive though.
my gym’s got this wicked cable press station thing which is basically set up like a bench between two cables. The handles are spaced really far apart so you pull forward and in, mimicking the direction your pecs work. It’s great! You can load it up pretty heavy seeing as the bench is part of the machine, making it stable (unlike when you try and put a bench in a normal cable station and it sucks…).
Only problem with it is because it’s stack loaded bigger, stronger dudes will struggle to get a challenging weight.
Don’t care how much hate the exercise gets. Nothing has built my chest better than flat bench press. My chest is definitely one of my better body parts.
[quote]austin_bicep wrote:
Don’t care how much hate the exercise gets. Nothing has built my chest better than flat bench press. My chest is definitely one of my better body parts.[/quote]
The bench press will likely get you to a certain level (just like it did with most of us)…but if you want pecs that hang because of the sheer amount of mass and pecs big enough to qualify as “really big”, you may need to move beyond it eventually.
[quote]rds63799 wrote:
my gym’s got this wicked cable press station thing which is basically set up like a bench between two cables. The handles are spaced really far apart so you pull forward and in, mimicking the direction your pecs work. It’s great! You can load it up pretty heavy seeing as the bench is part of the machine, making it stable (unlike when you try and put a bench in a normal cable station and it sucks…).
Only problem with it is because it’s stack loaded bigger, stronger dudes will struggle to get a challenging weight.
Thankfully, I’m a pansy.[/quote]
I used to lift at this shitty little 24/7 gym that actually had one of those. That set up is perfect.
[quote]kingbeef323 wrote:
Nothing has worked better for me (as well as my clients and training partners) for chest than all angles of dumbbell presses with elbows tucked coming all the way down until the dumbbells touch the sides of my chest, then pushing all the way up and getting a squeeze at the top.[/quote]
Sorry guy, was too busy noticing how fucking big your arm was to see your chest lol.
Thread does make me want to do incline DB presses now though. I would like to build my upper chest up a lot better. I’ve got a 50" chest at 5’9" 200lbs, which is nothing compared to X or KB, but it’s probably still the best thing I’ve got goin for me personally. I think my chest is pretty big, but it’s not well developed if that makes sense.
[quote]rds63799 wrote:
my gym’s got this wicked cable press station thing which is basically set up like a bench between two cables. The handles are spaced really far apart so you pull forward and in, mimicking the direction your pecs work. It’s great! You can load it up pretty heavy seeing as the bench is part of the machine, making it stable (unlike when you try and put a bench in a normal cable station and it sucks…).
Only problem with it is because it’s stack loaded bigger, stronger dudes will struggle to get a challenging weight.
Thankfully, I’m a pansy.[/quote]
Sounds awesome, my gym is quite deprived in general. I have attempted a makeshift dip bars between two exercise bikes before (not joking) It wasn’t fun
[quote]rds63799 wrote:
my gym’s got this wicked cable press station thing which is basically set up like a bench between two cables. The handles are spaced really far apart so you pull forward and in, mimicking the direction your pecs work. It’s great! You can load it up pretty heavy seeing as the bench is part of the machine, making it stable (unlike when you try and put a bench in a normal cable station and it sucks…).
Only problem with it is because it’s stack loaded bigger, stronger dudes will struggle to get a challenging weight.
Thankfully, I’m a pansy.[/quote]
I used to lift at this shitty little 24/7 gym that actually had one of those. That set up is perfect.[/quote]
yeah it’s a really good find. I used it on a whim and was really impressed
[quote]lemony2j wrote:
[quote]rds63799 wrote:
my gym’s got this wicked cable press station thing which is basically set up like a bench between two cables. The handles are spaced really far apart so you pull forward and in, mimicking the direction your pecs work. It’s great! You can load it up pretty heavy seeing as the bench is part of the machine, making it stable (unlike when you try and put a bench in a normal cable station and it sucks…).
Only problem with it is because it’s stack loaded bigger, stronger dudes will struggle to get a challenging weight.
Thankfully, I’m a pansy.[/quote]
Sounds awesome, my gym is quite deprived in general. I have attempted a makeshift dip bars between two exercise bikes before (not joking) It wasn’t fun
What gym do you train at?[/quote]
Strathclyde Uni gym in Glasgow. It’s got some good stuff but it’s really crowded. Queues out the door most days, especially this time of year when all the new years resolution turds are clogging it up.
[quote]austin_bicep wrote:
Don’t care how much hate the exercise gets. Nothing has built my chest better than flat bench press. My chest is definitely one of my better body parts.[/quote]
The bench press will likely get you to a certain level (just like it did with most of us)…but if you want pecs that hang because of the sheer amount of mass and pecs big enough to qualify as “really big”, you may need to move beyond it eventually.
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Definitely. I do a lot more than flat bench. 4-5 exercises and I only bench every 2-3 workouts now, but if I were to attribute one exercise to the bulk of my size getting my bench press over 400 pounds definitely did it.
[quote]austin_bicep wrote:
Don’t care how much hate the exercise gets. Nothing has built my chest better than flat bench press. My chest is definitely one of my better body parts.[/quote]
I think it has to do with a natural tendency to chase numbers. The technique to push your max isn’t always the best for pec hypertrophy
[quote]austin_bicep wrote:
Don’t care how much hate the exercise gets. Nothing has built my chest better than flat bench press. My chest is definitely one of my better body parts.[/quote]
I think it has to do with a natural tendency to chase numbers. The technique to push your max isn’t always the best for pec hypertrophy[/quote]
Definitely to a point. Building up the base of strength and then cutting weight and working on form and TUT has helped a lot. If you’re not strong I don’t think it works that well starting off that way.
Could you elaborate a bit on the “line of pull” please? I think I get what you’re talking about, not positive though.[/quote]
In simplified terms, it refers to the direction the resistance is actually being applied to a muscle from. With most basic free weight movements, the line is pointed down, thanks to our good old friend Mr. Gravity.
When you’re using low cables to target your upper pecs, and you’re standing slightly in front of the cable station, the line is not simply downward, but also backward slightly. So by correctly allowing your hands to find the position where you get a full stretch at the bottom, and then moving along the ‘line’ to where the contraction in the greatest (not straight up, which will actually transfer the stress to the front delts!), you can truly get the most out of the movement.