Incline vs. Flat vs. Decline Bench Press

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teppum42
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Incline vs. Flat vs. Decline Bench Press

Post by teppum42 »

Is it common to have to decrease the weight when I do incline bench press? The weight I can bench flat, I seem to be able to do on the decline, but when I go to incline I just can't keep up the weight. Should I work to get incline and flat benches to be the same, or is that just natural the incline would be a little lower?

Also, any recommendations between regular grip and hammer grip? I imagine they work the muscles a little differently.

Thanks!
pedd0r
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Post by pedd0r »

I'm no expert, but I think it's normal. At least it is the same for me. And I suppose you also use some other muscles when doing incline more than when doing flat. The shoulders for example.
RK19
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Re: Incline vs. Flat vs. Decline Bench Press

Post by RK19 »

teppum42 wrote: Also, any recommendations between regular grip and hammer grip? I imagine they work the muscles a little differently.
i assume your using dumbells then? if you hold the dumbells with a "hammer grip" (neutral grip) then it will target more the outer chest at the armpit area, especially if you do decline with neutral grip as it replicates dips.
Packard
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Post by Packard »

From experience no one I know can incline bench with as much poundage as they can on the flat bench. Decline bench is even lower.

The flat bench utilizes the largest section of the pectorals and allows you to generate the greatest amount of power.
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Post by ctorok »

personally i think incline is a waste of time because it puts so much strain on your rotator cuffs
your flat bench should be the most weight.
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swanso5
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Post by swanso5 »

why is flat bench good then?

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Packard
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Post by Packard »

Chest exercises:

Primary: Flat bench (Medium and wide grip)
Secondary: Incline bench; flies
Tertiary: Decline bench, Dips

Your basic workout should include the primary exercises.

A full workout would add one or more secondary exercises.

A emphasis workout would include one or more tertiary exercises.

The flat bench is the core of the chest workout. I think that there is nothing wrong with incline benches and they are required for developing the upper chest.
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Post by Heelus »

Packard wrote:Chest exercises:

Primary: Flat bench (Medium and wide grip)
Secondary: Incline bench; flies
Tertiary: Decline bench, Dips

Your basic workout should include the primary exercises.

A full workout would add one or more secondary exercises.

A emphasis workout would include one or more tertiary exercises.

The flat bench is the core of the chest workout. I think that there is nothing wrong with incline benches and they are required for developing the upper chest.
For one time I'll have to say that I agree, I don't ever say that I trained that part of a muscle except for upper chest, where it's almost totally separated from the rest of the chest.
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Kevsworld
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Post by Kevsworld »

As others have mentioned, you're not going to be able to do quite as much on incline bench press--that's normal. I usually do flat bench first then incline as a follow-up. I also prefer dumbbells for incline--seems to put less stress on shoulders.

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Packard
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Post by Packard »

Kevsworld wrote:As others have mentioned, you're not going to be able to do quite as much on incline bench press--that's normal. I usually do flat bench first then incline as a follow-up. I also prefer dumbbells for incline--seems to put less stress on shoulders.

Kevin
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I also prefer DB for incline benches. I finish off the bench by reaching the shoulders forward off the bench. This really isolates on the upper pecs.
BigBoySonny
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Post by BigBoySonny »

incline benching puts alot of stress on your cuffs,i use dumbells for this
it seems to put less stress and dont worry i dont think anyone can incline more then they can bench.
swanso5
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Post by swanso5 »

every movement involving your arms stresses the cuffs, so i don't see why that's an issue and db's will stress them even more form stabilisation requirements

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BigBoySonny
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Post by BigBoySonny »

yeah true swanso i dont have a clue why dumbells feel better for me tho.
evan with benchress when i done cuff in if i used dumbell the pain was near enough gone :S.
swanso5
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Post by swanso5 »

db's do "feel" better for me these days, ecspecially the higher i go ffrom flat bench to shoulder press

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Packard
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Post by Packard »

swanso5 wrote:db's do "feel" better for me these days, ecspecially the higher i go ffrom flat bench to shoulder press

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I agree. I think it has to do with the position of your wrists. With a barbell your wrists are fixed. With dumb bells I find that I rotate wrists about 60 degrees. I think this puts less strain on the rotator cuffs as a result.
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