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Incline vs Flat

Incline or Flat?

  • Incine

    Votes: 15 46.9%
  • Flat

    Votes: 14 43.8%
  • [SIZE="1"][COLOR="grey"]exercize ball[/COLOR][/SIZE]

    Votes: 3 9.4%

  • Total voters
    32
dilatedmuscle

dilatedmuscle

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What do you preffer? which has the most benefits? and why.

I know that one doesnt really replace the other but.. u know...

EDIT: i just realized that this is my 100th thread LOL :headbang:
 
MrChewiebitums

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i assume your talking about benching.... so... flat! like yooo moma......... jk :D
 
tim290280

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What do you preffer? which has the most benefits? and why.
Flat.

Flat. Because you can use the most weight and it is easier to get your setup correct.

I know that one doesnt really replace the other but.. u know...

From a recruitment standpoint they aren't different. Close grip makes more of a change than going to a 45 degree bench (in terms of pec, delts and tricep involvement).
 
philosopher

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I prefer flat although I can feel the muscle better (which is gay I know) on the incline BP.
 
dilatedmuscle

dilatedmuscle

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I Preffer incline. I cant do as much weight but i like working on upper chest more. Too many people neglect upper pecs
 
dilatedmuscle

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kid of a side note- I cant do close grip, i dont feel it on my triceps as much as i would like to. Ive tried different variations and different ranges of motion but i just cant get the hang of it. I keep hearing about how good they are for building mass and it sux coz i feel like im missing out.
 
Hypocrisy86

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What about Incline close grip? no difference still?

EDIT: LOL Exercise ball..
 
Braaq

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I can't pick, I love both. I do, however, think Decline is BS and a waste of time.
Incline is easier on my shoulders than flat, but I love flat press regardless.
 
Hypocrisy86

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I can't pick, I love both. I do, however, think Decline is BS and a waste of time.
Incline is easier on my shoulders than flat, but I love flat press regardless.

I agree on the decline, i never saw any noticeable changes in chest size, or anything rather. flat and incline i like, im going to try out incline close grip for triceps for now on though.
 
M

mvsf1

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Good ol' FLAT.

I agree with you guys about decline, I never do that shit.
 

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Natzo

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hey i use them both..

but am I the only one that can put more weight on the incline?
 
dilatedmuscle

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What about Incline close grip? no difference still?
QUOTE]

Hmm, never thought about it. Ill give it a try :D

100 threads too many?

:bullwhip:

hey i use them both..

but am I the only one that can put more weight on the incline?

Well, Im usually stronger in the incline because i do it more often but as soon as i start doing flat regularly, i pass my incline max fairly quickly.... but then i go back to doing incline more often
 
The Creator

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Honestly, I think too much emphasis is placed on targeting different areas of the pectoralis. I always laugh when I see the scrawn balls tell me they are doing incline so they can really work on that upper chest when all I am thinking is "you just need to work your chest in general". Honestly I dont think there is much difference in recruitment until you are very well trained. So with that being said, I prefer the one where you can produce the most force, flat ftw.
 
dilatedmuscle

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^ cool. i should probably do more flat then

EDIT: My upper pecs are lacking... I think its due to my structure because i can bring out a decent shelf on my collar bone but when im relaxed it looks flat from the side.... Either way, if my upper pecs are lacking do you think i should continue to put more emphasis on incline, do equal ammount of bothe incline and flat, or more flat?
 
tim290280

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I agree with Creator. I've posted this little piece of data a lot of times. Every single time someone wants to argue "what they feel" or talk about what they read in Muscle and Fiction.

The summary of this paper is that there is no difference in the activity of the clavicular and sternal heads of the pecs during the incline and flat press. Using a close grip actually raises the stimulation of the clavicular head.

The graphs in the paper itself are interesting as decline is basically shown to suck, incline is more about shoulders doing the work, and flat is just plain superior.

/discussion.

Effects of Variations of the Bench Press Exercise on the EMG Activity of Five Shoulder Muscles
Barnett, Chris; Kippers, Vaughan; Turner, Peter
The Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research November 1995 - Volume 9 - Issue 4

Abstract
This experiment investigated the effects of varying bench inclination and hand spacing on the EMG activity of five muscles acting at the shoulder joint. Six male weight trainers performed presses under four conditions of trunk inclination and two of hand spacing at 80% of their predetermined max. Preamplified surface EMG electrodes were placed over the five muscles in question. The EMG signals during the 2-sec lift indicated some significant effects of trunk inclination and hand spacing. The sternocostal head of the pectoralis major was more active during the press from a horizontal bench than from a decline bench. Also, the clavicular head of the pectoralis major was no more active during the incline bench press than during the horizontal one, but it was less active during the decline bench press. The clavicular head of the pectoralis major was more active with a narrow hand spacing. Anterior deltoid activity tended to increase as trunk inclination increased. The long head of the triceps brachii was more active during the decline and flat bench presses than the other two conditions, and was also more active with a narrow hand spacing. Latissimus dorsi exhibited low activity in all conditions.
 
dilatedmuscle

dilatedmuscle

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I agree with Creator. I've posted this little piece of data a lot of times. Every single time someone wants to argue "what they feel" or talk about what they read in Muscle and Fiction.

The summary of this paper is that there is no difference in the activity of the clavicular and sternal heads of the pecs during the incline and flat press. Using a close grip actually raises the stimulation of the clavicular head.

The graphs in the paper itself are interesting as decline is basically shown to suck, incline is more about shoulders doing the work, and flat is just plain superior.

/discussion.

Ive never heard of that. Good Info... now i really need to get the hang of close grip LOL
 

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