[bmur]

sorry if this has been posted, but today at the gym i was DB pressin and a guy came up to me and told me i wasnt goin down far enough. Now i usually go to about a 90 degree angle with my elbows..never touch my chest with the DB, which is what he told me i "need" to do.
question is..am i not preforming this exersize correctly or is it ok?

cheers

[drivehard]

for sure I go low enough to touch my chest with the DB...actually I usually go lower, but am wide enough to not touch.

[ITHURTZ]

Barbell touches chest, dumbells touch chest.

[bmur]

aight, thx guys, ill start touchin my chest

[Distilled Water]

Just be sure to warm up your shoulder joint. Going that low puts alot of stress on your labrium and Rotator Cuff. On inclines I go to 90 no lower.

As a baseball player I never touch my chest. I got 90 or maybe a little lower. With Dumbbells I usually always go just below 90

[Dave0660]

Going down until you touch your chest is way too far for most people. From Paul Chek at the Chekinstitute-

THE PROBLEM WITH TRADITIONAL TECHNIQUE

The bar is lowered until it touches the chest and then pressed back up to the start position. Everyone is expected to lower the bar to the chest; anything less is considered poor form, sub-standard, and even wimpy by fellow lifters. However, to perform the exercise under such guidelines requires a greater range of motion (ROM) than is found in the shoulder joint of most people - particularly male athletes. Why is it so important to work within the ROM of your shoulder joint? Some simple anatomy will help to explain this.

The movement-restricting factor during a bench press is not the muscles of the shoulder; it is the special connective tissue casing around the shoulder joint called the "joint capsule." This highly specialized structure is anatomically designed to not only allow just the right amount of motion to prevent joint damage, but also contains thousands of specialized nerve endings called "proprioceptors." Proprioceptors are special nerve endings that communicate with the brain to inform it of joint position and speed of movement, as well as pressure, tension and pain in and around the joint. Loading the shoulder and forcing it beyond the functional ROM limit will stretch the shoulder joint capsule. In most people this will occur by letting the bench-press bar travel until it touches the chest.

Additionally, because the bench press is performed on a flat weight lifting bench, normal movement of the shoulder blades (scapulae) is disrupted. This demands that more movement must occur in the shoulder joint itself. As the bar is loaded with heavier and heavier weights, the shoulder blades are pressed into the bench harder and harder, further disrupting the normal mechanics of the shoulder girdle joints and overloading the shoulder.

Also, when you go down that far, you lose tension and give the muscle a rest between reps. You would be much better served stopping when your upper arm is parallel to the floor.

[haiz69]

Inclines don't go to my chest, but flat does.

[Dave0660]

It would make more sense to go down to your chest on inclines, as your shoulder is capable of a greater range of motion at that angle.

[bmur]

Originally Posted by haiz69

Inclines don't go to my chest, but flat does.

same here bro, i tend to go way further down on incline then flat..

but imma try touchin my chest from now on..gonna have to drop the weight..wich sucks..lol

[Gixxer82]

I don't go to my chest, It is more than uncomfortable to do so, and it even bothers my shoulders too. I go low enough as I feel comfortable. Not worth the injury.

[msucurt]

Originally Posted by bmur

same here bro, i tend to go way further down on incline then flat..

but imma try touchin my chest from now on..gonna have to drop the weight..wich sucks..lol

there is your answer. I try and touch the tips of the db to the edges of my chest, but without losing tension, if that makes sense. Also, try and squeeze your shoulder blades together, which in turn makes your chest utilized more and less work on your shoulders. Same applies to regular flat BB.

thanks

[Gixxer82]

Originally Posted by bmur

same here bro, i tend to go way further down on incline then flat..

but imma try touchin my chest from now on..gonna have to drop the weight..wich sucks..lol

I think that you are taking the wrong approach. If it is not comfortable, don't do it.

[BIGG DOGG]

I NEVER touch my chest even on bench press. It is horrible for your shoulder joint. bad idea in my opinion, if you feel a good work out then sounds like your doing just fine.when you go beyond the 90 degrees you are recruiting othe rmuscle fibers to help push it back up....just my opinion

[PumpingIron]

wow, some interesting responses in this thread, i have to say...

...think about it this way fellas. The DB allows for a better range of motion, recruiting stabilizer muscles and isolating your pectorals. imagine there being an imaginary bar connecting the two DB's, just as if you are using a barbell. Is that imaginary bar coming to your chest. if it is, then you are completing the exercise correctly, if it isn't then you are pretty much half-assing it.

furthermore, going beyond parallel with stretch the fascia even more and give your pecs a better workout. be careful doing this though because it can cause injury with excessive weights.

basically, does the db have to touch your chest? no...should the imaginary barbell? yes.

[Reaper329]

Originally Posted by Distilled Water

Just be sure to warm up your shoulder joint. Going that low puts alot of stress on your labrium and Rotator Cuff. On inclines I go to 90 no lower.

As a baseball player I never touch my chest. I got 90 or maybe a little lower. With Dumbbells I usually always go just below 90

I agree as well. Especially if I go heavy for me, I do not go all the way, 90 here too

[BIGG DOGG]

Bad Rotator... It Kills To Attempt To Go Beyond That...