Incline vs Flat

[miamiracing]

What would be an ideal Basic chest routine (exercize wise) ?

train chest 3 times a week with 10 sets of flat bench. just take your time and keep resting 2-3 minutes between each set...

 

[dilatedmuscle]

3 times a week ?

 

[tim290280]

I agree with Braaq, ElFreako and Line.

You train a pressing movement, then you do an accessory or two. The accessory is to help your progress and strength on the pressing movement. So you may want a higher rep movement, like pushups, or you may want a closed kinetic chain movement, like pushups or dips, or you may want to work on your triceps, say close grip or lockouts or dips, or you may want to work sticking points, pin presses, lockouts, board presses.

 

[El Freako]

^This.

 

[cereal]

I do flat, but I prefer incline because it is easier on my shoulders and feels like a more natural movement that flat.

same thing here

 

[MrChewiebitums]

so your basically saying that every bodybuilder out there is wasting his time with cable cross-overs, incline and decline presses?

 

[mvsf1]

I agree with Braaq, ElFreako and Line.

You train a pressing movement, then you do an accessory or two. The accessory is to help your progress and strength on the pressing movement. So you may want a higher rep movement, like pushups, or you may want a closed kinetic chain movement, like pushups or dips, or you may want to work on your triceps, say close grip or lockouts or dips, or you may want to work sticking points, pin presses, lockouts, board presses.

My chest routine looks like (

1-Barbell flat bench press (progressive overload, heavy weights)
2-Barbell incline bench press (progressive overload, heavy weights)
3-Dumbell flat bench press (progressive overload, heavy weights)
4-Dumbell (incline and/or flat) flyes (moderate intensity)
5-Cable crosses (moderate intensity, min. rest)

Exercices 1-4: 6-8 reps per set
Exercice 5: 12-15 reps

My question here is next one: why would you add so many, IMO, accesory movements to the hardcore ones?

 

[tim290280]

so your basically saying that every bodybuilder out there is wasting his time with cable cross-overs, incline and decline presses?

Not exactly. But mostly yes.

If you are doing a body part split you need to overdo every session. Several exercises is a way that you can do this without overtraining (for want of a better word) any single movement pattern.

Cable cross overs are mostly junk. They are better than dumbell flye and pec decs, but that isn't saying much. They are basically a finisher or warmup. Lot of strain on the sternal attachments and on the shoulder and elbow joint. So not a great exercise, but not terrible to use occassionally.

Decline presses are not great for the shoulders, and are just rubbish for your chest. Dips are far better, although even these are for healthy shoulders only.

Incline presses are fine, just they aren't really different from flat presses. If I was doing more than one press in a session I'd make sure they differed. So Flat Barbell bench, incline dumbbell press. But ask why you would do several of essentially the same exercise in one session. As by way of example, I did my flat bench yesterday following Wendler's 5/3/1 (who isn't at the moment ) then as an accessory I did incline DB presses for sets of 10 reps, a much higher rep range with the goal to hit 50 reps. This has a purpose as it is training a different rep range and compliments the heavier pressing on the flat (plus it means the DB's are going to be light enough for what I have laying around).

 

[tim290280]

My chest routine looks like (

1-Barbell flat bench press (progressive overload, heavy weights)
2-Barbell incline bench press (progressive overload, heavy weights)
3-Dumbell flat bench press (progressive overload, heavy weights)
4-Dumbell (incline and/or flat) flyes (moderate intensity)
5-Cable crosses (moderate intensity, min. rest)

Exercices 1-4: 6-8 reps per set
Exercice 5: 12-15 reps

My question here is next one: why would you add so many, IMO, accesory movements to the hardcore ones?

Why are you doing essentially 3 movements that are all the same? Why would you then follow that with 2 other movement that are the same as one another?

Wouldn't in make more sense to train harder on a couple of movements, say the flat bench then the db bench (incline or flat), then do a finisher?

And why is it that everyone loves flyes? Pushups are so much better and my joints love me more after pushups than they ever did after flyes.

 

[Bulkboy]

agree with what has been said mostly here. flat bench, an incline bb or db press and pushups is the way to go(thats what i do anyway). flyes are a waste of time and shoulder health.

 

[mvsf1]

Why are you doing essentially 3 movements that are all the same? Why would you then follow that with 2 other movement that are the same as one another?

Wouldn't in make more sense to train harder on a couple of movements, say the flat bench then the db bench (incline or flat), then do a finisher?

And why is it that everyone loves flyes? Pushups are so much better and my joints love me more after pushups than they ever did after flyes.

I do that because my chest, my worst bodypart in the past, grew like mad with this split. I don't know if it would have grow more with your split, but mine worked perfectly.

I never did "only" 3 movements in a workout of a "big" bodypart (chest, back, legs). I can't explain why, but I always do at least 4 different exercices.

PS: flyes reminds me that I have muscle fibers near the sternum

 

[miamiracing]

3 times a week ?

did you ever saw a chest of a powerlifter? there are huge.

if you train your chest 3 times a week you're having dramendest muscle hypertrophy

 

[Braaq]

My chest routine looks like (

1-Barbell flat bench press (progressive overload, heavy weights)
2-Barbell incline bench press (progressive overload, heavy weights)
3-Dumbell flat bench press (progressive overload, heavy weights)
4-Dumbell (incline and/or flat) flyes (moderate intensity)
5-Cable crosses (moderate intensity, min. rest)

Exercices 1-4: 6-8 reps per set
Exercice 5: 12-15 reps

My question here is next one: why would you add so many, IMO, accesory movements to the hardcore ones?

that is a lot of volume, I am hoping you do too many sets for each exercise. My workout looks similar with just exercise 1-3 and only 1 or 2 sets per exercise. We could get into semantics or we can just leave it at me saying, you are doing too much.

 

[Zigurd]

Using Ronnie as a point of reference is moot. He had a huge chest without working out, like Duality. So again, terrible reference. We are saying that in reality your pectoralis major is one muscle, but acts as if it has two heads with its insertion points (clavical & sternum). Contraction of the pectoralis major at any angle contracts the whole muscle. You can change the point of tension a bit which is why I say incline and flat only. But in reality you are still contracting the muscle as a whole either way. Using the ones that are most comfortable for you and that you can lift the most weight is optimal.

The fuck ?

Common man, you are telling me that you cannot target the clavicular head of the chest with incline when every single bodybuilding magazine says otherwise ? And when every single bodybuilder says otherwise too !!!

You are clearly overthinking this too much, and reading too much broscience. Papers and journals cannot fights against CLEAR EVIDENCE in the form of the physique of bodybuilders.

/thread

 

[Line]

Hopefully Blake will pick up on the sarcasm this time.

 

[Braaq]

Hopefully Blake will pick up on the sarcasm this time.

I am hoping he is being sarcastic, because his last post =

Given the fact that we cannot get someone's tone, I cannot pick up on someone's sarcasm if it isn't blatantly obvious.

 

[Zigurd]

I am hoping he is being sarcastic, because his last post =

Given the fact that we cannot get someone's tone, I cannot pick up on someone's sarcasm if it isn't blatantly obvious.

Hahaha oh Blake, you are so cute.

*kiss kiss*

 

[Braaq]

Hahaha oh Blake, you are so cute.

*kiss kiss*

 

[mvsf1]

that is a lot of volume, I am hoping you do too many sets for each exercise. My workout looks similar with just exercise 1-3 and only 1 or 2 sets per exercise. We could get into semantics or we can just leave it at me saying, you are doing too much.

I assume "1 or 2 sets per exercice" you mean HEAVY sets. If so, I do the same as you.

In fact, the purpose of last 2 exercices (flyes and cable's) is to burn a little bit more the muscle.

 

[dilatedmuscle]

did you ever saw a chest of a powerlifter? there are huge.

if you train your chest 3 times a week you're having dramendest muscle hypertrophy

I do more of a workout split like tim was mentioning... I dont think i need to workout my chest that many times a week... it is already slightly overpowering my shoulders.