No pectoral contraction or tension

[dbrodrive1211]

At this point I'm out of ideas and strategies to fix this but basically, my pectoral does not contract..at least it does not shorten and lengthen with any form of feeling..on any exercise ,even on pectoral stretches,I feel no tension on them and the concentric part of any exercise the contraction is not there..I've done everything from trying different grips,stances,etc..I worked T few months on letting my arms for down a little so they weren't so dominant in the lifts as well as correcting my scapular retraction problem which is way better down but I'm stumped at this point..is there something that could be keeping my pecs from contraction??could one muscle before overlapping another?the worst part is when I ask anyone to look at my form everything looks fairly good..my chest can even be seen going through the motion like its working but I feel nothing..any advice or research tips would be extremely appreciated

 

[Lhns2]

How is your shoulder rotation externally and what do you do specific serratus exercises?

Sent from my super duper VS920 4G using Am.com app!

 

[dbrodrive1211]

I don't do any serratus exercises because I had a really tight pec minor and my shoulders went down and forward so that's why I took some time off and really focused on getting my scapula in good shape.As far as shoulder rotation I don't really do anything for it..would those two things be a big help??

 

[Lhns2]

With out good external rotation it puts intense stress on your AC and even your SC joint. Picture benching and your shoulders roll forward the more you lower the weight. Your anterior protracts and stabilizes your scapula. But your scapula and AC work together along with external and internal rotation of your humerous. Your SC joint attaches to your AC as well. A lot of muscles and joints to work range of motion.

Sent from my super duper VS920 4G using Am.com app!

 

[ZiR RED]

With out good external rotation it puts intense stress on your AC and even your SC joint. Picture benching and your shoulders roll forward the more you lower the weight. Your anterior protracts and stabilizes your scapula. But your scapula and AC work together along with external and internal rotation of your humerous. Your SC joint attaches to your AC as well. A lot of muscles and joints to work range of motion.

Sent from my super duper VS920 4G using Am.com app!

This is good advice, and I second the need to work the serratus to improve scapular rotation and movement at the shoulder joint.

Somewhere in the exercise science section i have a thread of video's on "Scapular activations" or something to that extent with at least 4-5 ways to work the serratus.

I can look later if you cannot find it.

Br

 

[ZiR RED]

Here:

http://anabolicminds.com/forum/exercise-science/220965-scapular-activations.html

 

[dbrodrive1211]

So I'm more of a visual guy..Are you guys saying that (in bench press form) on the eccentric part the shoulders should pivot and squeeze the scapula together and on the concentric part the shoulder should pivot and squeeze the pecs??i know for a fact that my shoulders or pretty tight..would the lack of mobility in my shoulders cause a decrease in pec activation??and thankyou for the link..I'm going to start doing those..would dumbbell pullovers be a good exercise to to strengthen up the serratus??im thinking what could be happening is when the bar is coming down,my tight shoulders won't let my pecs stretch..does that sound possible??

 

[ZiR RED]

If your scapula are abducted/protracted that is a major issue.

Read and look (Part 1 and part 2):

http://jasoncholewa.com/2012/07/22/give-me-that-glenoid-health/
http://jasoncholewa.com/2012/07/22/toward-healthy-shoulders-in-2012/

 

[dbrodrive1211]

Great find ZiR Red..it was actually you who helped me out with my scapula a few months ago and it worked wonders for me..so help me to understand this..if the rotator cuff is not as strong as the front delt then it will cause the shoulder to become loose and unstable and therefore your pectoral wont work the way it should??Does your shoulder have to stay "in place" the entire time for the pec to perform an exercise?i just feel like even guys who don't have strong rotator cuffs still are able to hit their pecs whether or not they mess up their shoulders or not is a different story lol

 

[ZiR RED]

The RC muscles play a role in stabilizing the head of the humerus (upper arm bone) in the socket during pressing activities.

The scapula fixators and rotators are what rotate the scapula into position such that you can accomplish the movement efficiently.

The pecs attach the ribs to the humerus, and it is the scapular muscles that retract and rotate the scapula such that you can get the most out of your pressing movements. If they are not strong enough to resist the protraction of the pecs, the shoulders come forward, the length tension relationship is minimized, and compensation occurs. At the same time, the head of the humerus changes position in the socket (for lack of a better word) and starts grinding tendons and nerves against the acromium (boney process at the top outside of your shoulder) causing major problems.

Are you anterior delts over developed compared to the pecs? This is often a tell tale sign of upper cross syndrome.

 

[Lhns2]

Might also have lengthened muscles in the back, I'd assume the rhomboids are fairly weak

Sent from my super duper VS920 4G using Am.com app!

 

[dbrodrive1211]

My anterior delts are developed more than my chest and every time I try to do a chest stretch,it's those that have the tension in them

 

[ZiR RED]

My anterior delts are developed more than my chest and every time I try to do a chest stretch,it's those that have the tension in them

So there is your issue. Pec major/minor is short. Muscles that retract and depress the shoulder blades are elongated and weak.

Take 2-3 weeks off from any chest work. Stop doing front raises (if you do them). Focus heavily on scapula retraction and depression work. Stretch the hell out of your pec major and minor. Set up two foam rollers, put them shoulder width, and lie face down with your anterior delts on them. Your palms should be supinated (i.e.: facing away from you). Do this stretch for 2 min 3 times a day. Have someone apply pressure to your upper back to increase it.

 

[dbrodrive1211]

Awesome..so I have scap retractor and depressor exercises..I found the rotator cuff ones..what are some scap rotator exercise and are there any others..maybe some to loosen my shoulders up??

 

[ZiR RED]

Serratus anterior and lower traps rotate the scapula upwards. Focus on exercises that work those.

 

[dbrodrive1211]

Something serious like a pullover or more subtle exercises likes the other ones?ive been trying to do scap dips but I really don't get much feeling from my lower traps during the exercise

 

[ZiR RED]

Pullovers won't help your situation much. You need to train the muscles in movement specific manners that place little load on the large movers (pecs, lats, delts etc). Try scapula depressed pull ups and downs. I have a video of them w a heavy band in my thread