Ripped2153
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Do something different with training and diet.No matter what I do I can’t fill in my upper chest enough...I hit it 4 times a week minimum just can’t seem to gain the size I’m looking for....any suggestions ?
This i concur. I like cable flyes better tho cause easier on my shit shoulders. I assume it's the line of pull difference.I have a really flat upper chest but the single exercise that has really started to make a difference that I never used to do is Incline Flyes. Yes, that single exercise is a game changer for me atleast and now I totally understand why all the pros do them so much. I don't do a deep stretch bc that is bad for my shoulders, but even so my chest gets stimulated and I can really squeeze my inner/upper pec on the positive. 3-4 sets for 10-12 reps
I see people all the time with no upper chest so for some years now I’ve been starting my chest workout with an incline movement always. And it’s made a big difference in my upper chest.
And finish with incline flys is good.
Stop training it 4 times a week. Less frequency and more intensity. You have to recover.
This i concur. I like cable flyes better tho cause easier on my shit shoulders. I assume it's the line of pull difference.
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That tooCable Flyes would probably be even better with the constant tension. I know Jay Cutler likes those.
I kept reading incline press incline press for upper chest. So that's what i did always toast my delts. Finally I discovered a Ben pakulski video wheres he's discussing flat pressing hits upper pecs instead of delts for alot of dudes. So I switched and it made a huge difference. I save incline for cable and dumbel flies. Try it out.
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I agree I shoulda mentioned focus on that muscle contraction. Dropping weight and realy focusing on theind muscle contraction helped me alot as welll.Yeah it's weird like that for me too, inclines barbell never give me a pump in my chest. Besides the outer chest by the armpit which I have enough of and for me flat bench or Flyes/pec deck works that part enough. So far for me incline flyes are valuable because I can really squeeze my upper chest at the top of the movement. I think the chest really needs that squeeze to get that full look.
if u r training your upper pecs 4times a week i would have to bet u Over training them severely.
r your front delts dominant over upper pecs?
On this note -Low incline bench press barbell and dumbell, as well as overhead press.
Good stuff Monte...On this note -
The high ass incline most guys use and, most fixed benches are in, isn't doing you any good unless you want more strain on the delts.
A very slight incline or decline is plenty to shift load. Just a single plate under an adjustable bench will be sufficient.
To elaborate and to give a quick review of anatomy for those who are interested. The muscles of the chest are made up of two primary muscles- the pec major and minor. The pec minor is NOT a "mover." It is a fixating muscle whose only action is fixate and stabilize the scapula by drawing it inferiorly and anteriorly against the thoracicwall. In other words, it wont gain significant hypertrophy from bench pressing, because that is not what it does- it fixates and helps keeps the shoulder joint in place; it doesn't move and contract the way that the pec major does.You cant target your upper chest. Your entire chest contracts as a whole with pressing. Its all genetics unfortunately.
To elaborate and to give a quick review of anatomy for those who are interested. The muscles of the chest are made up of two primary muscles- the pec major and minor. The pec minor is NOT a "mover." It is a fixating muscle whose only action is fixate and stabilize the scapula by drawing it inferiorly and anteriorly against the thoracicwall. In other words, it wont gain significant hypertrophy from bench pressing, because that is not what it does- it fixates and helps keeps the shoulder joint in place; it doesn't move and contract the way that the pec major does.
Next, the pec major- the large muscle that fans our from the sternum to the shoulder joint, with fibers running out in that direction. Muscles, as we all know, can only contract in the following ways- one, either completely or not at all (like a light switch), so there's no way to work only a portion of the muscle; in other words, you can't cause a nerve impulse to contract from one portion of the muscle without contracting the entire thing- just doesn't work that way. Two, they only contract in the direction that the fibers run (which is why pullovers are not a "chest" movement- they cause the chest to move up-and-down, not in and out).
Finally, Electromyography (EMG) is a technique for evaluating and recording the electrical activity produced by skeletal muscles. It actually measures where and how hard a muscle contracts. Basically, when a muscle contracts it produces electrical energy. The higher the electrical energy the more work the actual muscle is producing. By attaching electrodes to the skin over the bellies of each of these muscles this electrical energy can be measured and read using an electromyograph (EMG).
OK, now that that's out of the way, some logic should dictate my next point- if you can only contract a muscle entirely or not at all, significant changes in how that muscle contracts shouldn't be caused by changing the angle of a pressing movement. This is why inclines do not cause significant growth in the "upper pecs"- first, there are no upper pecs, just pecs; second, moving the angle will not increase greater contraction across this gradient.
When applying EMG activity to the chest, what do the results say? Rather than citing each of the several studies that say this, I'll direct you to the following meta-analysis, which has done just that, and quote some of the particulars. Have a read of the entire thing if it interests you:
https://thesportjournal.org/article/optimizing-development-of-the-pectoralis-major/
The first noteworthy piece here, states, "It has been perceived that by performing the bench press at the incline position the clavicular head is targeted while the horizontal position targets the sternocostal head. Barnett, C., et al. (1995) showed that the clavicular head showed no significant difference in EMG activity from the horizontal to the incline position but was least active during the decline bench press. "
Barnett, C., et al (1995), also found this to be true, noting "The incline press does not result in greater activation of the clavicular head of the pectoralis major than the horizontal bench press." (http://www.daveywaveyfitness.com/wp...the-EMG-Activity-of-Five-Shoulder-Muscles.pdf)
Glass, S. C., & Armstrong, T. also found this to be true, concluding that, "there was no significant difference in activation of the upper pectoral portion during either the incline or decline bench press."
All of the the emg studies I know of said the same thing- isolation of the upper pecs, or even noticeably greater development of them is not going to happen from doing inclines.
I don't believe that inclines are bad, they are great because they offer variation to your workouts and and certainly have their place. It's just that they aren't going to hit the clavicular head of the pecs much more than flat benching, and thus, offer no advantage over a supine bench press in terms of that. Just my 2 cents, feel free to do which ever exercise that works for you.
Yate and meadows will be opposed to this, these guys swear by it, and Yates often talks about how guys do then wrong by going to much on a incline, you simply dont need much, and John said he hardly does flat.. they don't get down to the brass of it all and simply keep it simple by saying, its works, give a shot if you like..To elaborate and to give a quick review of anatomy for those who are interested. The muscles of the chest are made up of two primary muscles- the pec major and minor. The pec minor is NOT a "mover." It is a fixating muscle whose only action is fixate and stabilize the scapula by drawing it inferiorly and anteriorly against the thoracicwall. In other words, it wont gain significant hypertrophy from bench pressing, because that is not what it does- it fixates and helps keeps the shoulder joint in place; it doesn't move and contract the way that the pec major does.
Next, the pec major- the large muscle that fans our from the sternum to the shoulder joint, with fibers running out in that direction. Muscles, as we all know, can only contract in the following ways- one, either completely or not at all (like a light switch), so there's no way to work only a portion of the muscle; in other words, you can't cause a nerve impulse to contract from one portion of the muscle without contracting the entire thing- just doesn't work that way. Two, they only contract in the direction that the fibers run (which is why pullovers are not a "chest" movement- they cause the chest to move up-and-down, not in and out).
Finally, Electromyography (EMG) is a technique for evaluating and recording the electrical activity produced by skeletal muscles. It actually measures where and how hard a muscle contracts. Basically, when a muscle contracts it produces electrical energy. The higher the electrical energy the more work the actual muscle is producing. By attaching electrodes to the skin over the bellies of each of these muscles this electrical energy can be measured and read using an electromyograph (EMG).
OK, now that that's out of the way, some logic should dictate my next point- if you can only contract a muscle entirely or not at all, significant changes in how that muscle contracts shouldn't be caused by changing the angle of a pressing movement. This is why inclines do not cause significant growth in the "upper pecs"- first, there are no upper pecs, just pecs; second, moving the angle will not increase greater contraction across this gradient.
When applying EMG activity to the chest, what do the results say? Rather than citing each of the several studies that say this, I'll direct you to the following meta-analysis, which has done just that, and quote some of the particulars. Have a read of the entire thing if it interests you:
https://thesportjournal.org/article/optimizing-development-of-the-pectoralis-major/
The first noteworthy piece here, states, "It has been perceived that by performing the bench press at the incline position the clavicular head is targeted while the horizontal position targets the sternocostal head. Barnett, C., et al. (1995) showed that the clavicular head showed no significant difference in EMG activity from the horizontal to the incline position but was least active during the decline bench press. "
Barnett, C., et al (1995), also found this to be true, noting "The incline press does not result in greater activation of the clavicular head of the pectoralis major than the horizontal bench press." (http://www.daveywaveyfitness.com/wp...the-EMG-Activity-of-Five-Shoulder-Muscles.pdf)
Glass, S. C., & Armstrong, T. also found this to be true, concluding that, "there was no significant difference in activation of the upper pectoral portion during either the incline or decline bench press."
All of the the emg studies I know of said the same thing- isolation of the upper pecs, or even noticeably greater development of them is not going to happen from doing inclines.
I don't believe that inclines are bad, they are great because they offer variation to your workouts and and certainly have their place. It's just that they aren't going to hit the clavicular head of the pecs much more than flat benching, and thus, offer no advantage over a supine bench press in terms of that. Just my 2 cents, feel free to do which ever exercise that works for you.