[jjm]

My chest is lagging really bad. I can tell my triceps do most of the work when I bench.

I read about the pre exhaustion method, and it says you should try and isolation exercise before you bench.

So lets say: 3 sets of dumbbell fly's and then 3 sets of bench.

The thing is I read that it could tire out your chest more, and you'd have to rely more on your triceps and shoulders.

Anyone have any good luck with this?

Also, what if I did tricep exercises before i benched? Wouldn't my triceps be tired and then I'd have to rely on my chest more for the benching?

Thanks for any help.

[NYhomeboy]

To me, pre-exhaustion isn't necessary. What you NEED to do is figure out how to use your chest more when you bench via methods of scapular retraction, expanding your chest, etc. Also, switch to dumbbells instead of barbell benching, and you should get much better results. Do a search on bodybuilding.com for scapular retraction... I think there's a good article there on it.

I used to get DOMS all the time in my shoulders and tris after chest day. Now, the only thing that hurts is my chest.

[Markio]

Exactly what homeboy said, focus on using the muscle rather than lifting the weight.

If you have a spare 15mins or so (forget how long it lasts) have a look at this video of Milos Sarcev giving a demo on proper chest exercises: The fit show interface ver 2

[jjm]

So I tried it out on my last bench day. I know when I bench my triceps do all the work. They get more tight than my chest does. So I figured maybe it would be good to try out, but it was anything but good. It just made me use my tri's even more.

The next day my chest is still sore, but I am seeing no progress. I know DOMS has nothing to do with progress, but my chest is definitely sore the next day.

I really have no idea what I should do from here.

Should I drop weight and really focus on using the chest?

I read about another method where you bring the bar down to your chest, go half way up, go back down again, and go fully back up. That counts as 1 rep. Should I try that out?

It really sucks because my chest looks like total crap.

[jjm]

Originally Posted by Markio

Exactly what homeboy said, focus on using the muscle rather than lifting the weight.

If you have a spare 15mins or so (forget how long it lasts) have a look at this video of Milos Sarcev giving a demo on proper chest exercises: The fit show interface ver 2

I've seen that vid before and that's a good vid. I noticed that he said to sometimes use those iso machines. Does anyone here do those? Something doesn't sit right with me about using machines like that. I thought it's best to stay strictly to free weights?

[maximus79]

hit the dumbells. whenever i do flat bench my shoulders take over, even when i concentrate on pinching my shoulder blades together. I could never seem to fully fatigue my chest. For some people, bench is what works best for them. Others, however, would benefit from doing away with bench press altogether and hitting the dumbells instead.

[Gumbo]

I have certain days when I just don't feel the muscle working the way I want it to. An example is with dumbell presses...When this happens, I just turn the press into a combination press/fly.

Gumbo

[Markio]

Originally Posted by jjm

I've seen that vid before and that's a good vid. I noticed that he said to sometimes use those iso machines. Does anyone here do those? Something doesn't sit right with me about using machines like that. I thought it's best to stay strictly to free weights?

Depends at what stage of your development you are at. Isolating muscle groups is great if are have a lagging part and you are a Pro bodybuilder - but for average joes like myself and the majority of people who just want to be healthy and fit then I'd stick to free weights if possible.

[BLANE]

Originally Posted by jjm

I've seen that vid before and that's a good vid. I noticed that he said to sometimes use those iso machines. Does anyone here do those? Something doesn't sit right with me about using machines like that. I thought it's best to stay strictly to free weights?

i like using the iso incline to do unilateral training. i throw it in 1-2 a month. but yea, i usually stick with free weights for my presses, maybe pec dec, or cables to finish it off.