Decline bench...ANyone do thiese

[kscowboy]

I use to do decline dumbells and decline barbells back in the 90's, But i got away from them over the past decade and was wondering if anyone uses these on a regular basis. I was reading another thread about the incline press and someone posted a link to a study that measured muscle fiber use during different exercises and the decline was the highest rated chest exercise on their study. So that got me thinking and i was wondering if i should put decline back in my routine?

 

[nspaletta]

cowboy ive been doing decline bench now for about a year and i must say ive made more progress in chest size and thickness than anything before. i started when i came across dorian yates saying that decline was his exercise of choice.

then i also found something showing that the function of the chest was to bring your arms together toward your abdominals. I'll look to see if I can find the article

 

[Dial_tone]

I like them better than dips but that's not saying much.

 

[cnock]

rarely do it personally as my lower chest is much thicker than my upper

 

[aussiebulldog]

it is a part of my current DC rotation. works great.

 

[Bolan]

Yes I do......It dosent work the bottom pecs like most people think.
It works the WHOLE pec.

 

[sexyboy]

cowboy ive been doing decline bench now for about a year and i must say ive made more progress in chest size and thickness than anything before. i started when i came across dorian yates saying that decline was his exercise of choice.

then i also found something showing that the function of the chest was to bring your arms together toward your abdominals. I'll look to see if I can find the article

same thing herd dorian say that and iv been doing it only 3 wks. will see i hope to get some thickness my chest is the only thing in my upper that needs to come up

SB

 

[Bolan]

same thing herd dorian say that and iv been doing it only 3 wks. will see i hope to get some thickness my chest is the only thing in my upper that needs to come up

SB

Phil Hernon has been preaching about Decline bench for almost 2 decades.

 

[kscowboy]

Man this is an eye opener for me. I did them back in the 90's but got away from them for the past decade. But with all this talk i am really thinking about reintroducing them into my routine.

For those that do them, do you use db,bb, or machines?

 

[kscowboy]

very interesting here.

**broken link removed**

 

[maldorf]

Man this is an eye opener for me. I did them back in the 90's but got away from them for the past decade. But with all this talk i am really thinking about reintroducing them into my routine.

For those that do them, do you use db,bb, or machines?

When I did them I would use barbell only. i cant imagine doing it with dumbells unless you had a partner. I always lifted alone, even while doing heavy squats. Finding dumbells heavy enough too is a problem at most gyms. the loser gym I was last at only went up to 120 lb dumbells. I did lift for many years at a place that went up to 200 lbers! That was sweet, and I did use dumbells some there.

 

[j4ever]

ok fellows if using bb where are you lowering the bar to? also how steep of a decline are you setting? thanks!

 

[maldorf]

ok fellows if using bb where are you lowering the bar to? also how steep of a decline are you setting? thanks!

Id usually hit an area just below the nipples, so at the very bottom margin of the pecs. It should feel natural to you.

As far as angle, I never had a choice because I used a barbell bench and coudlnt adjust it. I havent seen one yet tha is adjustable.

 

[kscowboy]

The decline barbell isnt as rough on the shoulders and they dont have a tendency to cause pec tears like the flat barbell bench does do they?

 

[j4ever]

Id usually hit an area just below the nipples, so at the very bottom margin of the pecs. It should feel natural to you.

As far as angle, I never had a choice because I used a barbell bench and coudlnt adjust it. I havent seen one yet tha is adjustable.

I will have to check that out,i thought the one at my gym was adjustable but i have never used it so really cant say for sure,i have been thinking of subing decline for the flat,think i go ahead and give it a try.

 

[maldorf]

The decline barbell isnt as rough on the shoulders and they dont have a tendency to cause pec tears like the flat barbell bench does do they?

Not sure about pec tears, but I can say from my personal experience and what ive seen on the boards over many years that decline is much easier on the shoulder. There is something about the angle or position that your shoulders are in when you do flats that makes it tear them up. I used to get sore rotator cuff muscles if i did real heavy declines for too long. When that happened, I would switch to low angle inclines untill it healed up and then go back to declines.

I couldnt do flats for even one sessrion without paying for it in soreness the next day and then for the rest of the week.

 

[sexyboy]

iv been pressing with the decline with the hammer stregth for the past month i sware its the best exersize iv found for chest and i found it better on my elbows/shoulders. Ill stick with the decline hammer as my main press.

SB

 

[hemipower]

I still rotate decline in sometimes but not that often...nor do I often do incline...

Dips and bench press are staples in my chest workouts. When I do incline or decline I usually only use the LOWEST angle available...like 5-15% degrees from parallel (up or down). This can even be done by placing a 45 lb plate under one end of a movable bench to create just a little change in angle for a slightly different stimulation. There really is no way to work "upper" chest or "lower pecs" only, as muscles fire in an all or none fashion...but placing more stress from the angle could potentially prioritize fibers in the portion receiving more direct stretch. For a bigger chest, focusing on heavy weights and using front delts less is a large key and decline can allow more weight to be used by some as well as less stress on the front delts, which is why many guys preach its use.

 

[Ness]

Declines

Im not going to spill the beans about decline technique as that's Phil's trade...but Ive added 100lbs to my bench in the last 3 years.

 

[kscowboy]

Hey Ness just because you express your experience and feelings about decline doesnt mean you are taking away from Phil.