decline bench

[Panther06]

is there an exercise that could be subsituted for decline bench? Ive tried the past three weeks and just dont like it. i know of decline dumbell press, but wondering of any others?

 

[Bone]

I dont bother myself with decline bench. A waste IMHO. Try dips instead.

Peace

Bone

 

[Draven]

Dips


EDIT: DOH! You beat me Bone by like 1 second.

 

[Nelson]

dips leaning forward

 

[Nelson]

You guys beat me to it.
3 replies at the same time - `Great minds think alike` eh?

 

[Draven]

lol, dips it is, eh?!?

 

[dez/null]

i did it today...good if your doing a barbell only workout...dips mainly hit my triceps for me...

 

[Bone]

Originally posted by dez/null
i did it today...good if your doing a barbell only workout...dips mainly hit my triceps for me...

Lean forward bro............. The wider apart the handles the more it is concentrated on your chest, less on your tris.

Peace

Bone

 

[Biggs]

decline = meh, dips = good, weighted dips = best...

IMO

 

[sage]

obviously weighted dips is superior to any other lower pec developement. however i think decline db's is a great one as well. not a strong fan of decline barbell (mostly due to the range of motion). Sage

 

[Nicolai]

i hear ya dez.. i do dips on arm day cuz they are like 80% tri's for me

as for decline.. i do decline dumbbell sometimes but usually i just leave it out. for me i find that it has little to offer. my advise for ya is just to do a couple extra flat sets.

 

[Sir Foxx]

When I do Decline Barbell Press I use that funny U-shaped olympic bar so I can get real low as far as the stretch is concerned. Can't remember what the name of the bar is, but I see a lot of guys use if for barbell shrugs.

 

[Zen_Lifter]

if you are leaning forward and still only feel it in your tris, that would lead me to believe your not going down far enough, its the bottom part of the dip that really hits the chest hard (at least for me).

Also if you can find dip bars that are sloped upwards sort of like this / but not that steep, they make it a lot easier to hit the chest as well.

 

[Bean]

skullcrushers fo me with negative reps

absolute murder on my tri's....

best chest dev i can find is 3 sets of flyes after my bench sets

 

[Havok]

When you guys do weighted Dips, What kind of weighs do you use, how much, and where do you put them?

 

[Zen_Lifter]

The best way is to use one of those lifting belts that has a chain on the end,, with that wrapped around your waist you feed the chain through the plate and connect to the belt, so the plate will rest between your legs. At my gym, we have some octogon shaped plates that have holes near the outer edge so I just hook em through there.

 

[sage]

When you guys do weighted Dips, What kind of weighs do you use, how much, and where do you put them?

when done towards the beginnning of my workout, i use 50 for 8 to 10. when doing sets towards the end, i need to drop to 40 for the same 8-10. Sage

 

[BigVrunga]

When you guys do weighted Dips, What kind of weighs do you use, how much, and where do you put them?

(3)45's,135lbs for 6, the weight belt with the chain.

With dips for your chest, keep your elbows out and lean foward.

For emphasis on your tris, keep your elbows at your sides, and stay straight up and down.

Decline bench works great, you just have to find the right groove. Try lowering the bar to your upper abs. Close grip decline with the bar is awesome for the inner part of the lower chest, definately a hard area to isolate.

BigVrunga

 

[dez/null]

Oh i used weighted dips and leaned forward. not a fan of doing dips.

 

[LakeMountD]

yeah dips are only good if you have the v-bars and when leaning forward, i must say it makes a good lower chest/tri combo..

 

[Tamacracker]

Finally I knw how to work out my lower inner chest! Thank you!!!
Close grip decline bench right?

 

[motleybreu]

best chest dev i can find is 3 sets of flyes after my bench sets

flyes are very bad for you and can cause injury...they're overrated IMO

 

[NPursuit]

Originally posted by motleybreu


flyes are very bad for you and can cause injury...they're overrated IMO

 

I believe they are only bad if you use the more common palms facing each other form.  I use a bench press form with thumbs facing each other.  I love flyes.  I'll never stop doing them.

 

[TheCSWFighter]

Yea The bars I do dips on are usaully pretty close together so What I've done before as an alternative are use a couple of chairs or something of that sort if hand and make them wider apart. But thats not going to be a usaul accesory in the gym. So a couple of time I have turns my fingers into my body instead of having my fingers go away from my body because it forces your elbows outward more. Where as keeping the grip with fingers outwards keep you elbows closer to your bopdy. But yea leaning foward is one of the big things i have a problem doing when doing dips but after awhile of doing them i got a hang of it i just felt unbalanced before. After dips I'll never go back to declines again. Work like a charm

 

[TheCSWFighter]

Yea my chest seems to respond the best to flyes than anything else. I get that good stratch when doing them on a flat bench and i use them alot for pre-exaustion. I can;t really see myself not using flyes as they work so well for me. But I do sometimes use them of course because I don;t want my chest to get used to doing them

 

[institutional]

i never have any of my client do decline bench. there have been a few studies done on decline bench vs. flat bench. and in actuallity flat bench recruits more lower pec muscle fibers than decline bench does, this was all gauged by muscle stimulation devices i believe called emg. not sure. im not to good at pulling things off the web, but im sure you could do a search on google and get the exact studies. but as far as decline i think its ok, for something different, but i still think risk outweigh benefits on it.

 

[sage]

also been studies which put the decline as recruiting most muscle fiber (by %), over both the flat and incline..... again, had read this in the past. however, i think more along your long institution. i feel strongly that to emphasize the lower pectoral, dips is far superior over a declein pressing motion.....the reason why i choose dips over decline bench, and not b/c flat presses statistically incorporates more muscle fiber.
Sage

 

[mit]

flyes are very bad for you and can cause injury...they're overrated IMO

Only if done incorrectly. This week, look around at the guys, or the one or two girls, doing them and notice that most use the wrong technique. The motion should be as if you were hugging a barrel; arms always bend. At the apex of the motion, if done correctly, you should feel the inner pecs working to maintain stability. That's when you know you're doing them correctly.

I could never stop doing them. They have been the cornerstone of my chest workouts for years. There is such an incredible feeling of accomplishment to manhandle a pair of 100 pounds dumbells when doing flies - correctly. Dips are okay but there are too many opportunities to cheat and just because a guy, or incredibly strong girl, can strap 135 to a chain and do dips is bullshit for making this a good lower chest exercise. Most of the lift is generated by the triceps, which in and of itself is not bad; just not a pec workout.

Regardless, the best workout for the lower chest remains the overhead pullover. Nautilus used to make a machine that replicated the motion perfectly. Most gyms do not have the machine so do the exercise with a dumbell with your shoulders on a flat bench. Lift the dumbell up and over your head to your chest and return over your head. For a better explanation, here's a link off MAX-OT's site.

http://www.ast-ss.com/training/exercises/chest/dumbbell_pull_overs.asp

Cheers

 

[Flavor]

Finally I knw how to work out my lower inner chest! Thank you!!!
Close grip decline bench right?

...No, you don't. There is no inner or outer chest, and the upper/lower delineation is negligible. The pecs contract as one. You can't 'isolate' any region of the chest, especially one that doesn't exist.

i never have any of my client do decline bench. there have been a few studies done on decline bench vs. flat bench. and in actuallity flat bench recruits more lower pec muscle fibers than decline bench does

Err... declines involve the delts to a much lesser degree, leaving more work for the other muscles used.

Regardless, the best workout for the lower chest remains the overhead pullover.

You're joking, right? Pullovers work the pectoralis minor, the muscle involved in taking a big chest expanding breath, and in pulling the shoulder girdle downwards (a conunterpart to the traps). The pectoralis major's only involvement would be when you're holding the weight in front of you... static hold single DB press... w00t.

 

[institutional]

"Err... declines involve the delts to a much lesser degree, leaving more work for the other muscles used."


errr whats your point? i just pointed out many people think decline is a way of targeting your lower pec region better than flat bench press, and its not. im not arguing any points about the delts.

 

[Flavor]

My point is that, as less work is being done by the delts, more work is being done by the other primary movers. This I already stated. Now, quite logically, because they're doing more work.........................

they're doing more work.................

wait, what am I trying to say...................

the pecs are doing more work.

Because the delts are doing less.

So it's recruiting more fibers.

Weeeeeee.

 

[institutional]

not neccessarily guy. decline recruits much more lats than flat bench also. study some kinesiology, you'll see what i mean.

 

[Flavor]

Well thanks for the subtle implication to my lack of knowledge on the subject. However, your vague statements about the studies you read and, what's it called... emg... (teehee) kind of obviate your attempts at appearing erudite.

Anyway, as sage pointed out, there are many studies showing just the opposite of your remembrance.

Don't take it personally. I'm in a vicious mood.

 

[institutional]

bro, get off line if your in a vicious mood. your posting style is obnoxious and rude. i dont got time for it. i agree with sage , that it goes both ways, fine. nevermind,

 

[Flavor]

Eh, like I said, don't take it personally. I don't disagree. =)

Fair enough.