Forms of Bench

T

TheSeeker07

New Member
Incline, Decline, Flat.

Most of us know about these three basic variations. What I would like to know is, which variation is most effective in developing the chest. I know we are told to do a 15 degree incline bench for HST. My question is, why. Why is it that? Should I be more focused on my needs as the operator of my body, since it's unique it won't have the same needs billy joe might need. I might need more development in the lower pectoral area and billy joe might need in the upper. Help would be appreciated.
 
You're going to find that flat bench will give you the best overall chest development of the three. To your point - there are some that will find either of the other two to be helpful in terms of defining a particular part of the chest that may be lagging in strength, or out of pure vanity. The best idea, from my perspective, is to develop your traditional bench as a primary focus and as you gain more size and strength use the mirror and/or other lifts to determine if you need to add (yes - ADD) inclines or declines into the mix. Incline bench tends to nail your anterior delts nicely, so if you are lagging in the delt trio, inclines are nice assistance to add with compound benefits. Decline bench transitions nicely to dips, so if you find that you really want to develop that lift, or if you just really like the base of your chest to be more defined than the rest, have at it.

Never, ever discount the benefit flat bench offers you for overall strength and chest development. There's a reason why it's a standard in many lifting circles, and it's not just bragging rights.
 
Thanks for the help _tim, my next question next would be proper lifting technique. I know you are supposed to arc your back and how to lift, but why arc your back? I don't understand why you would wanna limit the range of motion?
 
Having a large arc in your back is a powerlifting technique that translates very well to competition, but not necessarily to developing your chest. What you want to do is have a good base to press from - so a small arch to your back is appropriate. You want to feel as though your traps are a platform on the bench; that's how you'll know the proper position of your back. You want to pull your shoulder blades together (contract your scaps) prior to lifting the bar off the rack; this further develops the base that I'm speaking of. It will feel very strange the first few times you do it - even awkward - but trust me, it will become second nature soon enough. Keep your feet flat on the floor - this is important.

Hand position is vital; if it's too close, you'll compromise your ability to press, and may end up relying on bad form to get the bar off your chest. You want to find a hand position that allows a natural 90-degree angle (or close to it) to form in your elbows - this will allow for not only full chest contraction, but also the most power to press the bar.

Rep speed should be methodical and controlled. If you really want to develop the chest, consider pausing your reps; when the bar gets to the chest, stop the rep for a two count and then press it up. If pausing isn't right for you, just be sure that you're not bouncing the bar off your chest.

I'm starting to ramble a bit, so I'll leave it at that. Let me know what other questions you might have. No matter what Seeker, if you invest time in benching, it will become addictive. Enjoy it!
 
I have heard that doing the bench like this way: http://images.military.com/pics/20-minute-movement-3.jpg tears up your shoulders, correct or incorrect? The way I do it is with arms in towards the body, that's what a coach from this area told me to do. He has sent people to state for weightlifting, is that the way I should do it or what?

I've also never done the pause at chest, I will incoporate that into the work out, thanks.

Also, if you want to ramble, I welcome it. I'll read anything you would like to tell me, seriously.
 
TheSeeker07 said:
Incline, Decline, Flat.

Most of us know about these three basic variations. What I would like to know is, which variation is most effective in developing the chest. I know we are told to do a 15 degree incline bench for HST. My question is, why. Why is it that? Should I be more focused on my needs as the operator of my body, since it's unique it won't have the same needs billy joe might need. I might need more development in the lower pectoral area and billy joe might need in the upper. Help would be appreciated.
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dont know where you got the 15% incline in HST from,as far as i know there are no true recomendations for exercises in HST,maybe you have just read some of the guys on here recomending it.
also the pecs are joined at the humeros(shoulder) and the sternum (mid chest) there are no attachments inbetween so when you contract the chest the whole chest upper/lower contracts,in any of those three exercises,and dips,so just pick one that you are comfortable with.
 
My fave form is regular flat bench. I use as much torso arch as I can (which isn't that much) while keeping butt firmly on the bench and adducting my scapulas fairly hard; grip is not wide which works best for me. This way I can keep my elbows in a little more which seems to help with my AC joint soreness problem (since benching like this it has gone away). I'm also briefly pausing most of my reps as the bar touches my chest while maintaining tightness throughout. I have to use a little less load when pausing but I really feel it in my pecs at the time and the following day.

Back arch effectively takes the lift from flat into a slight decline, where pecs are worked through a slightly stronger range of motion.
 
Lol said:
My fave form is regular flat bench. I use as much torso arch as I can (which isn't that much) while keeping butt firmly on the bench and adducting my scapulas fairly hard; grip is not wide which works best for me. This way I can keep my elbows in a little more which seems to help with my AC joint soreness problem (since benching like this it has gone away). I'm also briefly pausing most of my reps as the bar touches my chest while maintaining tightness throughout. I have to use a little less load when pausing but I really feel it in my pecs at the time and the following day.

Back arch effectively takes the lift from flat into a slight decline, where pecs are worked through a slightly stronger range of motion.
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It would seem like the back arch would only help relieve some of the weight because you don't have to push it as far. Also, you seem to tuck your arms toward your body like I do. Which prevents the joint pain, which is why I was asking whether that was not as effective as the other way around or if they are both the same.

faz said:
dont know where you got the 15% incline in HST from,as far as i know there are no true recomendations for exercises in HST,maybe you have just read some of the guys on here recomending it.
also the pecs are joined at the humeros(shoulder) and the sternum (mid chest) there are no attachments inbetween so when you contract the chest the whole chest upper/lower contracts,in any of those three exercises,and dips,so just pick one that you are comfortable with.
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But, don't they work the top, mid, and bottom chest more heavily depending upon your variation?
 
TheSeeker07 said:
But, don't they work the top, mid, and bottom chest more heavily depending upon your variation?
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from what i have read no,inline works the clavicle area and delts slightly more so it might give the impresion of being fuller at the top,but as far as i know any chest exercise works the whole chest.
 
TheSeeker07 said:
It would seem like the back arch would only help relieve some of the weight because you don't have to push it as far. Also, you seem to tuck your arms toward your body like I do. Which prevents the joint pain, which is why I was asking whether that was not as effective as the other way around or if they are both the same.
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It doesn't relieve (reduce?) the weight it just reduces the ROM slightly.

Here's the thing as I see it: most folks are a mile away from maximising pec development to the point where they need to worry about upper/lower pec imbalances. These will largely be determined by genetics anyway (as will how much mass you naturally have in your pecs prior to training).

I'm fairly confident that if you can get to the point where you can flat bench and dip ~2 x bw that you won't be bothered with your pec situation anymore. If you are then still worried about some sort of imbalance then you can try focussing your efforts on whichever part you think needs sorting. Do it for a couple of cycles and see if it makes any difference. Once the loads are heavy, all your pec fibres (upper/mid/lower) are going to be working their little socks off to help get the bar up.

Of course, if you get some sort of discomfort when benching, you will have to try changing angles/form etc. until you find a comfortable range of motion. If you get discomfort when dipping, try reducing your ROM a little to see if that helps. Good shoulder mobility will help with both lifts so it's a good idea to do plenty of shoulder dislocates and other stretching exercises.
 
I stick to DBs for bench as it isolates the chest better.

I do flat DB bench with arms down to torso level or a bit lower, not all the way down as this stresses the shoulders.
I keep a slight arc in the DBs and keep my arms about 85 degrees to my torso to minimize tricep activity.

This hits both my upper and lower pec well.

If I had a proper decline bench though I would do decline and incline, 2 sets of decline and 1 set of incline. Decline hits the lower portion of the chest better and also includes lats hence the ability to add more weight.

Incline at a 25-30 degree angle hits the upper pecs best, better than flat or cables or pec deck or barbells, I dont do these though because it is not the best for shoulder health.
 
MaFi0s0 said:
Incline at a 25-30 degree angle hits the upper pecs best, better than flat or cables or pec deck or barbells, I dont do these though because it is not the best for shoulder health.
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Again, I doubt it hits them best. I can't see how it could. You will be using less weight than for flat bench and if you use dbs you will be using less weight than with a bb. Stabilisers are working more with db but prime movers are not working as hard. If you use a heavier weight through the same ROM then, as long as someone isn't helping you lift the bar, you are actually performing more work than any method that does not allow you to lift as much weight. Greater force output = higher fibre activation.

Now, if you mean that incline bench throws more load on upper pecs and anterior delts while reducing the load applied to the lower pecs, then that makes some sense, but I still don't think it's the optimal way to train for a bigger chest. If you already have a big chest and perhaps need to do a bit of sculpting then, sure, mess about with angles. Same is true if you find flat bench is uncomfortable in some way.
 
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If it reduces the ROM then wouldn't be best to keep the ROM at max? Or does the increase in weight make it better to slightly change the ROM?

How would you do double your BW with dips?
 
TheSeeker07 said:
If it reduces the ROM then wouldn't be best to keep the ROM at max? Or does the increase in weight make it better to slightly change the ROM?

How would you do double your BW with dips?
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It depends on how you find yourself better able to make progress. For me, reducing ROM a little was a consequence of benching in a way that produced a much more stable base to press from; because of that I am now pushing my loads higher than I have been able to before without the shoulder joint issues that I used to get. YMMV.

Although it's often a good idea to use a full ROM (your muscles spend as much time as possible stretching under load), sometimes increasing ROM puts a lot more strain on a joint rather than adding any great beneficial muscle stretch. Take dips, for example: dropping really low when doing heavy weighted dips can force the shoulders past their normal ROM and lead to strain injuries. For upright rows, attempting to lift the bar as high as possible can cause impingement in some folks. Keeping the ROM in a sensible range and that allows you to progressively load the bar and keep your joints as happy as possible makes the most sense.

Double bw for dips just means dipping with your bw loaded on a weight belt. You might think that sounds like a tall order but there are folks who can do multiple reps with bw+bw. Sadly, I am not one of them. Last time I tried, I could only manage bw+1/2 bw, so I have a long way to go.
 
I understand, now that I think about it, having a slight arc does help balance and I believe lats come into play with the arc.

Although this is off top, I find myself having trouble with the pull-ups. I can't even do 15 straight, it's quite pathetic. Any suggestions in doing the 15s, 10s a different way until I gain my strength?
 
Getting enough strength and endurance to get through 15 pullups takes time. Try clustering the reps within each set to get to a total of 15. So - do as many as you can, rest, go again, rest, etc. until you hit 15 reps. You very likely will incur pretty intense muscle fatigue - so do plenty of stretching afterward.
 
That brings up after question, should I stretch before and after workouts? I currently just stretch before, and if you want could you tell me all the one's that are useful.
 
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