Thurs 3/19/15
Incline Bench Press (Paused)
Warm Ups: 10 x 135, 3 x 185, 1 x 225, 1 x 255, 1 x 275, 1 x 295
Work Sets: 1 x 305, 5 x 275, 7 x 245
Decline DB Bench Press
8 x 80, 8 x 70, 10 x 60
Weak on both of these movements. Haven’t done heavy Inclines in a while.
Training Tip: If you want to work on building a bigger better developed chest (not just a stronger Bench) then focus a majority of your training on Incline and Decline movements rather than purely flat presses. Neither angle should be too drastic though. I prefer 45 degrees on Incline presses – anything more than that is too dependent on the delts. For Declines, use dumbbells instead of a barbell. The barbell restricts the range of motion too much. With dumbbells you can bring the weight down deep into the arm pits and focus on a deep stretch at the bottom. To the extent that your individual attachment points allow it, this will give you the appearance of a broader/wider chest. I like only a slight decline of about 20 degrees. Steeper than that, and I’d just do dips which is a similar movement to a decline press. Flat Bench Barbell Presses should still be included in your rotation as they allow you to use the most poundage. The following is a simple chest routine that can be alternated week to week to fully develop the chest:
Week 1: Flat Bench Barbell Press 5 x 5, Incline DB Press 3-4 x 8-12
Week 2: Incline Barbell Press 5 x 5, Decline DB Bench or Dips 3-4 x 8-12
Sets and reps here are just example. The point is to go heavy on the first exercise, and go for the pump on the second. If you really want to bro-out you could finish each workout with 2 high rep sets of cable crossovers/cable flys. Flys don’t do jack for strength, but they allow you to achieve a sick pump which can contribute to greater growth.
