Triceps and delts steal all the work!

[200wannabe]

When trying to work chest my triceps and front delts seem to get hit a lot more and make it difficult for me to get a decent chest workout.

I tried dumbell incline presses and these seemed to work for a while but left me with a sore right shoulder (now 95% healed, thanks to cissus).

I have tried flat benching and stopping slightly short of full extension, but again my triceps seem to bare the brunt of the work.

The next day (or day after that) its always my triceps and front delts which are sore, they are also incidently my best muscle groups!

Was thinking of trying declines or dips (always seemed weak at dips so this may be the place to start??)

 

[Beelzebub]

might wanna try reducing the weight and concentrating more on chest. i know for me, the heavier i get, the harder it seems to actually focus on working chest. you could try a preexhaust method as well, which i've seen a few guys swear by. basically, doing cable crossovers first, then go to the pressing movements.

 

[200wannabe]

Cheers beelz, ive tried flys followed immediatley by press, may need to look into that more.

Incedently one exercise that i always considered more for the back (and that i do on back day) pullovers do seem to give me some soreness in the pecs the next day, do you think perhaps i should move it to chest day?

 

[200wannabe]

Incidently i really try and focus on good form on the bench, with a good slow negative.

 

[Beelzebub]

i've tried dumbell pullovers before and didn't really see much point to it. did it on chest day too, just gave me a big ass stretch in my serratus (sp?). you could try widening your grip up as well, on barbell flat i mean.

 

[rippednick]

You are probably going to have to pre exhaust your chest through dumbell flys on incline and flat then move into an extremely wide bench press. You cant change your genetics but there is always room for improvement.

 

[jonny21]

You are probably going to have to pre exhaust your chest through dumbell flys on incline and flat then move into an extremely wide bench press. You cant change your genetics but there is always room for improvement.

I was thinking along similar lines, except pre-exhaust your triceps & delts so you take them out of the picture. You'll probably be putting up less weight but more emphasis on chest.

 

[WittyName]

When you bench do you use a more so narrow grip or a wider grip? When I go with a bit wider grip I can really feel it in my chest especially on incline.

 

[diminuendo]

I find that 3 sets of max repitition dips (unweighted) before chest workout K.O.'s my delts and tris enough to really focus on my chest without overworking the delts and tris so I can still hit them another day.

 

[200wannabe]

When you bench do you use a more so narrow grip or a wider grip? When I go with a bit wider grip I can really feel it in my chest especially on incline.

On the flat bench i use a slightly wider than shoulder width grip. I always thought that a very wide grip was bad for the shoulders, although have never tried it. Will give this a go.:thumbsup:

I have tried preexhausting triceps before now and yes i obviously have to drop the bench wieght but then my triceps seem to fail before i get a good chest workout!

 

[FLY]

On the flat bench i use a slightly wider than shoulder width grip. I always thought that a very wide grip was bad for the shoulders, although have never tried it. Will give this a go.:thumbsup:

Using a grip that narrow would cause more activation of the triceps than you probably want. Make that grip wider and you will feel it in your chest more.

This might be tougher to do with incline db press, but have someone spot your form to make sure when you release into the eccentric part of the exercise that your are coming out wide also instead of dropping the db's into your arm pits. When I first started incline db press that was a big mistake that I was making. Don't be afraid to go wide. Wider is better. lol.

 

[The Paper Route]

you could try a preexhaust method as well, which i've seen a few guys swear by. basically, doing cable crossovers first, then go to the pressing movements.

Thats what solved this problem for me. know my chest has made graet gains since i started this.:dance:

 

[hypo]

On the flat bench i use a slightly wider than shoulder width grip.

Bingo, there's your problem right there. Remember your upper arms are going to want to be perpendicular to the centerline of your body during the press. And upper arms should be about parallel about halfway through the movement.

For dips, grip the handholds very hard and rotate your body so it is more of at a 45 degree angle rather than straight up and down (or as much as you can hold, ideally your body would be parallel to the ground but you'd need to be an Olympic gymnast to be able to do this). Also make sure you really go down all the way, you should feel a definite stretch at the bottom in the pec itself. Almost nobody in my gym actually does a full range dip rep, it is a common problem.

 

[Beowulf]

I also agree with Beelz' first reccommendation. Use less wait and squeeze the hell out of your chest on every repetition. Feel your chest on every rep of every set. Part of the problem could be muscle memory. I think this strategy will help. I know it worked for me.

 

[200wannabe]

Bingo, there's your problem right there. Remember your upper arms are going to want to be perpendicular to the centerline of your body during the press. And upper arms should be about parallel about halfway through the movement.

For dips, grip the handholds very hard and rotate your body so it is more of at a 45 degree angle rather than straight up and down (or as much as you can hold, ideally your body would be parallel to the ground but you'd need to be an Olympic gymnast to be able to do this). Also make sure you really go down all the way, you should feel a definite stretch at the bottom in the pec itself. Almost nobody in my gym actually does a full range dip rep, it is a common problem.

Did a chest workout wednesday. Dropped the wieght considerably and went much wider with the grip. Did feel it more in the chest but also at the bicep insertion into the shoulder??
Perhaps just as this is a new movement for me. Think i will stick with it and focus on good form.

Not got round to trying the dips yet, i tried them back when i was a beginner and didnt have enough strength to do them which i think kinda put me off. Will give em a try next chest night.:thumbsup: