Question on chest workout???

**Mr. Trenton** · 02-13-2002, 12:28 AM

Hey everybody,

Ok, now I've been lifting for about 7 years now, and when I first started lifting I used dumbells for chest, then I switched to the barbell for chest. Now I'm back to dumbells, and have been using them on flat and incline. I've been using dumbells now for about a year and a half because I hurt my left shoulder like 2 years ago on behind the neck shoulder press. So, now everytime I try to bench or do incline barbell press, my left shoulder hurts like a motherfucker, and the rest of the week I can hardly work my other muscles. So, my question is does it matter if I only use dumbells for flat and incline presses during my chest workout. The manager/bodybuilder at my gym said it was ok, but I've heard that you should switch from dumbells to barbell so your muscles won't get used to one or the other. And I plan on becoming a bodybuilder and would only doing one or the other effect it. If there is anyone who could answer this please help me. Thanks.

MrTrenton

**PaPaPumP** · 02-13-2002, 02:55 AM

Well, Bodybuilding doesn't always work out like you want it to. Stick with what feels comfortable for you. I -like you, can NOT do incline on the steep "preset" angle that the gym has. My chest simply does not stretch that far, and if I don't bring it down far enough, I don't get enough work. I USUALLY stick with dbells for flat and incline. . .although I mix in some flat w/ a barbell and incline on the smith. Listen to your body. Have you ever tried hammer strength? They have an incline press which works VERY well. Also try doing cable flys on an incline bench. You gotta bring the bench across the whole gym (at least in mine

)But it works. And then the next week, when you see a bunch of people doing the same thing, you can chuckle to yourself and call them a copycat.

**Mr. Trenton** · 02-13-2002, 01:19 PM

I'm not sure what you mean by hammer strength, I know what hammer curls are but this probably has nothing to do with them. When I try to do barbell presses, I have no problem bringing the bar down, its just when I go back up I can feel shit in my left shoulder rubbing together or really sharp pains, sometimes cause I'm double jointed and I'm naturally able to pop my left shoulder in and out of the socket, my shoulder comes out of the socket a little bit when I push the bar back up. And even if I do light weight it still hurts. I never really did inclined cable crossovers with the incline bench, tried them before but never stuck with them. But I do regular cable crossovers, and I'm not sure what they're called but they're when you switch from top to bottom with the cables and bring them up, I know they work your lower chest.

**DevilsDeity** · 02-13-2002, 01:24 PM

"but I've heard that you should switch from dumbells to barbell so your muscles won't get used to one or the other."

you chan do the same thing by changing your workout for example:
If you do flat-bench, inc-bench, decline-bench switch it up by
doing decline-bench, flat-bench, inc-bench or something like that to "shock your muscles"

Go with what PPP said and do what feels comfortable

Happy Gains

**DirkDiggs** · 03-06-2002, 10:21 PM

"but I've heard that you should switch from dumbells to barbell so your muscles won't get used to one or the other."

you chan do the same thing by changing your workout for example:
If you do flat-bench, inc-bench, decline-bench switch it up by
doing decline-bench, flat-bench, inc-bench or something like that to "shock your muscles"

I totally agree with DD