Best Chest Development Lift

[dmk327]

Pick One

[LatissimusaurousRex]

There is no magic 'best' exercise. I remember reading a study someone posted that decline with dumbbells recruits the most muscle fibers, but as far as developing your chest I think there would be a bigger emphasis on your nutrition and how you lift versus what specific exercise you do. For example I feel I could develop a better chest by simply doing push ups compared to some of these clowns that bench regularly at the gym because they neglect the more important variables in body building.

[baseline_9]

Where is decline?

Not saying it's the best but.....

I'm sure I have read studys that suggest decline is the best.... Theoretically I agree

[gixxerboy1]

[LatissimusaurousRex]

My that's a perfect push up!

[Bigd89]

My that's a perfect push up!

Its just for weenies that are scared to get under a barbell loaded with plates

[Dukkit]

Declines.

My chest was always a tough part until I focused hard on declines.

Made a huge difference.

[Twist]

Declines.

My chest was always a tough part until I focused hard on declines.

Made a huge difference.

yep x2

[Str8Jakked]

Where is decline?

Declines.

This.

[jimmyinkedup]

Im really surprised to hear all the votes for decline. From people whos opinion i respect greatly - so it goes to show we all respond differently Honestly i always viewed decline as an "ego lift" and felt people did it mainly because it is so easy to lift such high weights. I felt this way only because for me it did nothing. In my ignornace i lumped everyone in my category.

For me incline is vastly superior to any other chest lift position as far as results go.

[baseline_9]

Im really surprised to hear all the votes for decline. From people whos opinion i respect greatly - so it goes to show we all respond differently Honestly i always viewed decline as an "ego lift" and felt people did it mainly because it is so easy to lift such high weights. I felt this way only because for me it did nothing. In my ignornace i lumped everyone in my category.

For me incline is vastly superior to any other chest lift position as far as results go.

Decline dumbbell is the way forward

U dont need to have a steep decline, just slightly IMO is best

When done with a barbell the ROM is short... Allowing a lot of weight to be shifted... Still a good movement IMO but somewhat awkward and people like it because they can 'add a plate to there bench'....

Dumbbells allow a full and very deep stretch (peck stretch)... Much more than flat or incline...

[Matt]

Decline for sure, and just to pick up something jimmy mentioned, yes you can lift more when doing decline and what tends to happen to muscle when heavier weights are lifted??

[jimmyinkedup]

Clearly its time for me to revisit decline dumbell press.......

[baseline_9]

Clearly its time for me to revisit decline dumbell press.......

Yeh J go for it

Nice and deep, forget the weight to begin with and think more about recruiting muscle.... Imagine yOur doing a cable fly at the end and squeeze the dumbbells together....

[Hoggage_54]

Drink a few beers before your chest workout, I heard drinking before lifting is great...

[oscarjones]

Drink a few beers before your chest workout, I heard drinking before lifting is great...

Make it a bong and a blitz

[Twist]

Unless I have a strong spotter I have to use the barbell and I still get great growth out of it. Unless you have a naturally big upper chest that bridges your collar bone I think incline is not the most effective exercise. If you don't have an upper chest that bridges the collar bone then you need something to support it: flat and decline.

[KZRSOIZE]

hilarious.....

Drink a few beers before your chest workout, I heard drinking before lifting is great...

[KZRSOIZE]

Every pro i have ever met I ask this question. I have never ever heard decline, its always been heavy incline db, or flat, anything but never decline, this is interesting!

[scorpion62]

I enjoy decline but guys in the gym told me they are a waste of time,but going by this I should be doing them again,declines back in the workout

[Matt]

Every pro i have ever met I ask this question. I have never ever heard decline, its always been heavy incline db, or flat, anything but never decline, this is interesting!

Well have a listen to what this pro has to say....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y86TYYpaMoA

[Phate]

Haven't read up on the studies yet, but I agree decline causes the most muscle recruitment, which also means it puts the CNS under alot of stress which helps as well. I would say weighted dips done properly have to be one of the better developers FOR ME.

[dec11]

...................

[dec11]

i had to stop barbell pressing due to rotators hurting.

dbell inclines have done more for my pecs in 10mths than barbell pressing has in years

declines always put my shoulders under pressure, never liked them

[DCI]

So good you said it twice decky

[zaggahamma]

Well have a listen to what this pro has to say....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y86TYYpaMoA

good stuff...thats a big fella..

gonna do those warm ups for the rotators now too

[Str8Jakked]

Decline for sure, and just to pick up something jimmy mentioned, yes you can lift more when doing decline and what tends to happen to muscle when heavier weights are lifted??

It is more so the physiology behind the Decline that will promote more growth than the amount of weight lifted, as it is not always the amount of weight lifted as opposed to how it is lifted- as a Dorian nut hugger you should know this more so than anyone.

Well have a listen to what this pro has to say....

Further to my post above, when I had the chance to sit down and talk to Dorian and Leroy, we discussed physiology in great detail and we laughed at all the detractors of the decline...

[dec11]

So good you said it twice decky

im not called 'double d' for nothing lol

[terraj]

Haven't read up on the studies yet, but I agree decline causes the most muscle recruitment, which also means it puts the CNS under alot of stress which helps as well. I would say weighted dips done properly have to be one of the better developers FOR ME.

True^ Dip use more pec fibers, they are the squats of the upper body IMO.

Either heavy dips, or bodyweight at the end of your workout to failure. Try a set of dips after your workout...man you feel it.

[Cyclez]

In highschool my football coach always use to tell us that incline was the best exercise for chest as it had the longest range of motion and was hardest to do (which I've always found true). Aside from that however, I've always been able to get away with one less set in decline while having fairly proportional growth with the rest of my chest. So because of that I think what people are saying is right. Decline causes the most muscle recruitment... but does that mean it is the most beneficial? If incline is actually the hardest for growing muscle, I'd think doing incline would be most beneficial to your chest then. And this sounds like its more about semantics than anything. The OP asked for "best" chest development, not which exercise results in most growth. I would think that there was a difference. And maybe because incline is the hardest to grow, it would be the relative "best" exercise to focus on during chest day. Just my opinion.

[Twist]

Your logic is flawed. Behind the neck pulldowns are harder but that doesn't mean they are better, just more likely to cause injury because it is an unnatural range of motion. Doing football, you would hit someone in an incline position so I would make sure those muscles (and that angle) are developed.

[Flier]

Wow...this is a surprise.
I´ve always heard Incline Barbell is the superior chest building exercise.
And for years I have completely omitted Declines.

Chest is my hardest to grow muscle, I feel, and the one I want to concentrate the most on.

I see there are some very knowledgeable guys advocating declines in this thread, so I will definitely incorporate a decline exercise starting tomorrow. Probably Decline Dumbells.

When doing Incline Barbell or Dumbell, what angle do you use on the bench? I´ve been doing 30 degrees, but recently changed to 15 degrees as it´s easier on my shoulders.

[baseline_9]

OK.... For everyone who is shocked that Incline is not considered the best exercise please bear in mind the following....


When I vote decline I am doing so because this recruits more muscle fibre in the chest overall..... Leading to more overall development...

Now the top pros already have a lot of chest development and need to work on weak points and bring them up to par.... Often this area is upper chest and they compensate by doing lots of incline movements....

When you do an incline press look where your hands are at the top of the movement, they will be above your shoulder.... The purpose of the pectorials is to brind the arms together and also downwards....

The optimal finishing position in a pressto recruit the most muscle fibre is;

Hands close together (use dumbbells)

Arms straight

Hands below the shoulder joint ( As in a decline movement )



Now IMO the decline should not be too great or you will recruit too much lats, thus taking the emphasis off the chest.... I recommend for anyone who tries a decline movement to use the shallowest decline (closest to flat) to begin with and maybe increase the decline after you have done it a few times.... But IMO it does not need to be too deep anyway.


The reason I say this is because I pulled an intercostal muscle when doing deep declines and I feel it was due to the depth of the decline...

[baseline_9]

Decline dumbbell is the way forward

U dont need to have a steep decline, just slightly IMO is best

When done with a barbell the ROM is short... Allowing a lot of weight to be shifted... Still a good movement IMO but somewhat awkward and people like it because they can 'add a plate to there bench'....

Dumbbells allow a full and very deep stretch (peck stretch)... Much more than flat or incline...

Best Workout Exercises
By Eric Knight B.A. Hon. Kinesiology, CPT (CanFit Pro)

Electromyographical (EMG) Research is an essential research tool allowing physiologists to determine the role of muscles during specific movements. EMG is a scientific method of measuring the level of excitation. This is done by placing electrodes over your body and recording the level of muscle activity induced by an exercise. A study was conducted to find which exercises cause the greatest amount of activity within each muscle group and, as a consequence, determine which exercises will produce the greatest gains in mass and strength. This study was conducted by Tudor O. Bompa, PhD & Lorenzo J. Cornacchia. Both men and women were used in the sudy and all subjects had at least two years experience with resistance training.

Here are the results of the best workout exercises study::
(100% would signify maximum muscle fiber stimulation)

Pectoralis Major (Chest)
Decline dumbbell bench press ----------------93%
Decline bench press, Olympic bar(OB)---------89
Push-ups between benches --------------------88
Flat dumbbell bench press -------------------87
Flat bench press (OB) -----------------------85
Flat dumbbell flyes --------------------------84

Pectoralis Minor (Chest)
Incline dumbbell bench press ----------------91%
Incline bench press (OB) --------------------85
Incline dumbbell flyes -----------------------83
Incline bench press (smith machine) ---------81

[Flier]

^^^^^Good info. I´m excited!

[stpete]

Incline DB'S

[Phate]

Wow...this is a surprise.
I´ve always heard Incline Barbell is the superior chest building exercise.
And for years I have completely omitted Declines.

Chest is my hardest to grow muscle, I feel, and the one I want to concentrate the most on.

I see there are some very knowledgeable guys advocating declines in this thread, so I will definitely incorporate a decline exercise starting tomorrow. Probably Decline Dumbells.

When doing Incline Barbell or Dumbell, what angle do you use on the bench? I´ve been doing 30 degrees, but recently changed to 15 degrees as it´s easier on my shoulders.

This is a bit of a misnomer that has gone full circle in the bodybuilding community. It should actually read, "Incline are considered one of the best for chest development because they activate a part of the chest that is lagging in most people." I've heard the former all my life, but if you read the studies you'll see that decline is actually a better exercise if recruitment is the variable in question.

Best Workout Exercises
By Eric Knight B.A. Hon. Kinesiology, CPT (CanFit Pro)

Electromyographical (EMG) Research is an essential research tool allowing physiologists to determine the role of muscles during specific movements. EMG is a scientific method of measuring the level of excitation. This is done by placing electrodes over your body and recording the level of muscle activity induced by an exercise. A study was conducted to find which exercises cause the greatest amount of activity within each muscle group and, as a consequence, determine which exercises will produce the greatest gains in mass and strength. This study was conducted by Tudor O. Bompa, PhD & Lorenzo J. Cornacchia. Both men and women were used in the sudy and all subjects had at least two years experience with resistance training.

Here are the results of the best workout exercises study::
(100% would signify maximum muscle fiber stimulation)

Pectoralis Major (Chest)
Decline dumbbell bench press ----------------93%
Decline bench press, Olympic bar(OB)---------89
Push-ups between benches --------------------88
Flat dumbbell bench press -------------------87
Flat bench press (OB) -----------------------85
Flat dumbbell flyes --------------------------84

Pectoralis Minor (Chest)
Incline dumbbell bench press ----------------91%
Incline bench press (OB) --------------------85
Incline dumbbell flyes -----------------------83
Incline bench press (smith machine) ---------81

interesting, my father has done EMG for decades and as such I know a thing or two about them, could you post the full study or the link, i'd be interesting to see if they are including synergistic and fixator muscles.

[dec11]

important to note that declines work ALL of the pecs, alot seem to think they are for working the lower area of pecs

[baseline_9]

This is a bit of a misnomer that has gone full circle in the bodybuilding community. It should actually read, "Incline are considered one of the best for chest development because they activate a part of the chest that is lagging in most people." I've heard the former all my life, but if you read the studies you'll see that decline is actually a better exercise if recruitment is the variable in question.



interesting, my father has done EMG for decades and as such I know a thing or two about them, could you post the full study or the link, i'd be interesting to see if they are including synergistic and fixator muscles.

Dont think it has what your after but this is where i found this article

http://www.myfit.ca/archives/viewana...cle%20Activity

I have not read all of his study yet.... Here is another study that suggests motor units of the upper region of the pectorals major were equally stimulated during both Incline and Decline Bench Presses.

http://www.edulife.com.br/dados%5Car...20peitoral.pdf

[baseline_9]

important to note that declines work ALL of the pecs, alot seem to think they are for working the lower area of pecs

Exactly... Broscience comes to mind