Neck Presses for Upper Chest

[Type O Hero]

I've never been a big fan of barbell bench presses because even when I was pressing a fairly respectable weight, I still wasn't getting the development I wanted. Lately I've been using neck presses as my main chest exercise and I've been getting a lot of stimulation in the upper areas of my chest (upper chest being an especially weak point for me). My whole chest gets pumped but I can really feel that the upper areas have been stressed. Noticeably different than incline presses. I still do incline DB presses because I like how you can change the range of motion slightly to suit your needs and the stretch you get, but neck presses give me a feeling that I've really stressed that upper area of the chest, along with the rest of the chest. I've already noticed a difference in the way my chest looks; it's starting to have some better shape and it's looking fuller.

So if you're like me and you're looking for different ways to stimulate your chest, I recommend looking into it for sure.

As far as form goes, it's pretty similar to a normal bench pressing motion. Foot position stays the same, keep your back on the bench and grip the bar about how you would grip one for regular bench presses. The difference is that when you bring the bar down to your chest, you bring the bar to where the neck meets the upper chest. Keep your elbows under the bar and keep them from flaring out. You get a really good stretch in the upper part of the chest and you get a great pump. If you feel pain you're doing something wrong. Tweak it however you need to suit your build. After your set, flex your chest some to increase the pump you get. This forces more blood into the muscles which in turn enhances your performance and mind-muscle connection and allows you to keep your workout intensity high. Works great.

Peace

 

[SOUTHCAR27]

do you do this at 30 or 45 degrees?

 

[Type O Hero]

I mostly do these on a flat bench. I just make sure to keep my elbows under and in line with my shoulders and at the bottom of the lift the elbows are in line with the clavicle. So far it's been working well with no problems. I've done these some on an incline bench using a smith machine and I always do a 30 degree angle for anything incline. Most of the time I'm not using very heavy weight, but if I do I make sure to get a spotter. Tonight for instance, I did some neck presses (4 sets) followed by incline DB presses (3 sets) and had a great chest workout.

 

[Ricky5145]

flex wheeler did these instead of regular bench.

*There called guillotine press

 

[Ricky5145]

also, the reason you prob feel it more is because you said you upper chest was lacking and thats the area guillotine presses hit. on a flat bench you can hit all three areas of your chest depending on where you bring the bar. neck for upper, mid chest for mid, lower chest for lower.

 

[Type O Hero]

Yeah, I had messed around with these a little in the past but when I actually started incorporating them on a regular basis and really concentrating on my form is when I started getting more and more response.