Decliines anyone?

J

jhj

New Member
I was wondering if anyone performs decline bench presses? Before I started HST I would try and hit all 3, but in my last HST cycle I alternated between Flat and Incline.

I would have done all incline but the incline bench in our gym has a angle > 30 degrees, I think it is more like 45 to 50.

I start my next HST cycle on Monday, Sep. 1st and am wondering if I should rotate all 3...so my 2 weeks will have 2 of each: flat, Incline and decline.

P.S. can't do dips as it aggravates my elbow problem
 
decline bench is awesome. you can move more weight and build confidence. not saying they should be part of your regular program, but it is an excellent exercise.

as an aside: In my opinion, decline bench and shrugs are pretty much all a smith machine is good for.
 
declines all the way, dispite what many think they are a far better chest building exercise than incline bench, they work much more of the chest muscle ,including upper chest. weighted dips is another good one.
 
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(lcars @ Aug. 21 2008,10:45)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">they work much more of the chest muscle ,including upper chest. weighted dips is another good one.</div>
Really!?? im not gonna argue with you...you obviously know from experience how to build muscle icars..its just contrast to what i have read..

I suppose they are similar in motion to dips and resemble the same growth characteristics as they do..

My questions to you icars..because i cant do many dips..i think about 6-8 last time i did them..would it be more beneficial to include decline bench for my chest work or alternate with incline to work lower and upper chest?? what you think...
 
Decline are better at hitting my pecs than regular or incline bench. I think part of it is my own unique anatomy...my pecs get more involved pushing 'down' like in dips and declines than in pushing 'up'.

Actually I have been doing all my benching on a slightly declined bench as it feels much better than flat-benching....less impingement on my shoulder.
 
I am thinking of alternating incline and decline only for my next cycle. Want to see if the decline make my chest look fuller, I have great upper chest but I think I do not have a fuller look. Will hit flat again in the third cycle.
 
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(ratty @ Aug. 21 2008,12:37)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE"><div>
(lcars @ Aug. 21 2008,10:45)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">they work much more of the chest muscle ,including upper chest. weighted dips is another good one.</div>
Really!?? im not gonna argue with you...you obviously know from experience how to build muscle icars..its just contrast to what i have read..

I suppose they are similar in motion to dips and resemble the same growth characteristics as they do..

My questions to you icars..because i cant do many dips..i think about 6-8 last time i did them..would it be more beneficial to include decline bench for my chest work or alternate with incline to work lower and upper chest?? what you think...</div>
im not saying they hit the upper chest more than incline, but they certainly do hit the entire chest muscle more.

not sure about your chest developement but try this cheesy experimient: as you are sat at your desk push your left hand down into your inner right thigh, and with your right hand feel the upper/inner part of your chest, you will notice that tense's up too not just the lower part, its just to show you that more of the chest muscle is worked.

as the shoulder is quite useful at pushing up above your head, the chest muscle is well suited to pushing you up by forcing the arms downward, hence dips/decline being the best overall exercise imo.

if you cant do dips so well then i think decline dumbell is your best bet, less strain on the shoulders than barbell plus you can get a good stretch.

and yes you could alternate the incline and decline work. i also like to do my incline work with a close grip on the barbell more so than i would do with standard bench. gives a better stretch imo.
 
Amen to the declines! Some of fuller figured guys and gals have some trouble with dips... (Not that I cant do em. My partners dipping station is only rated for 300 pounds and at 325# I gots no room to add any weight to the darn things without worrying about busting his rig! I use bench dips instead. Not so good for chest but the tris get a good pounding.) Some people just do not have the wrist strength to start using them and need to work up to it. I would think that declines would make a darn fine replacement movement for dips. I agree that dumbell work might just have the edge over the barbell if using the declines to replace or to even train up to the dips. I know I get a better stretch out of the dumbells because I can get around the old barrel chest to the outside when the barbell would have stopped inches ago. I would think that this would more closely mimic the diping movement and stretch. I do decline flys as well as barbell presses declined. This should be a staple position to add to anyones arsenal of training. I notice a greater activation of the lower pec complex doing these and I believe that they are a big part of the fullness I have gotten in that region of the chest over the years although I have always used dips as well for an isolation exercise.
 
Just don't get stuck under the bar if you do declines with a bb - that's not going to be a whole lot of fun.
 
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(Lol @ Aug. 23 2008,10:36)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">Just don't get stuck under the bar if you do declines with a bb - that's not going to be a whole lot of fun.</div>
hahahaha

this is one of my biggest reasons for using DBs over BB, though I've been growing a pair lately and just going for it.

this is gonna get annoying, another exercise technique question...

do you guys flare your elbows when you do dips for chest?

analogous to bench almost.

elbows in, triceps exercise


elbows out + lean forward, chest
 
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(beingisbeing @ Aug. 24 2008,4:38)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">but you lean forward I assume for pec activation, lcars?</div>
ofcourse
wink.gif
 
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