dumbell incline vs flat bench press

f140

what are the differences between a dumbbell incline and flat bench press. I always do the flat one but see a lot of people in the gym do the incline. is the incline a better one to do?

Alf Veedersane

No, it just exercises the muscle differently. It works the upper portion of the pec a little harder.

chriity139

Incline hits the upper part of your chest

f140

chriity139 wrote: »

Incline hits the upper part of your chest

whereas the flat would be working which part more?

robertxxx

The whole part, but mainly the lower part, then you have decline press which does the lowest part.

Stick to flat bench untill your ready to go to the mr universe.

Dave 101

robertxxx wrote: »

The whole part, but mainly the lower part, then you have decline press which does the lowest part.

Stick to flat bench untill your ready to go to the mr universe.

It's funny that most of the lads I know that have big chest legs delts arms etc have done exercises to hit different areas of the muscle from the start and the ones I know that just bench say are small

robertxxx

Dave 101 wrote: »

It's funny that most of the lads I know that have big chest legs delts arms etc have done exercises to hit different areas of the muscle from the start and the ones I know that just bench say are small

Judging by the op question where he doesn't know the difference between the two chest exercises he's obviously new, so I'd suggest to sticking to the basic compound lifts and not complicate it for many reasons.

Alf Veedersane

OP, it's not a case of one being better than the other. Continue doing your flat bench but feel free to do incline bench presses too.

Alf Veedersane

robertxxx wrote: »

Judging by the op question where he doesn't know the difference between the two chest exercises he's obviously new, so I'd suggest to sticking to the basic compound lifts and not complicate it for many reasons.

Yes, continue with the compounds, by all means, but he shouldn't rule out other exercises and raising the bench a little isn't that complicated.

hdaniel

Incline works more upper chest and more shoulders.
Honestly if you are a beginner I would focus on the flat.Its a better overall developer for the chest/shoulders/tris for someone who hasnt been training too long.
Read this on how to bench correctly http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/training/bench-press-technique.html
Unfortunately I see to many people doing the most popular lift incorrectly,flaring their elbows way out most common.Good way to **** up your shoulders once your pressing a decent amount of weight

Mellor

Dave 101 wrote: »

It's funny that most of the lads I know that have big chest legs delts arms etc have done exercises to hit different areas of the muscle from the start and the ones I know that just bench say are small

And that purely down to the fact that target diffetent areas and the increased volume is nothing to do with it.

Dave 101

Mellor wrote: »

And that purely down to the fact that target diffetent areas and the increased volume is nothing to do with it.

who said the volume had nothing to do with it, some people think hitting bench once or twice a week 3x5 will get them big

Mellor

You were implying that hitting the chest from multiple angles, and in different areas resulted in the bigger chests.
I was pointing out that your anecdote doesn't prove anything as volume could have easily been the sole factor. I thought my point was obvious.


There no harm in some variation in movement. But some of the suggestions for hitting the "areas" on the chest are over the top.
Incline for upper, decline for lower, flys for inner, wide grip for outer, flat for middle. etc
Nobody appears to worry about different areas on other large muscles.

Dave 101

Mellor wrote: »

You were implying that hitting the chest from multiple angles, and in different areas resulted in the bigger chests.
I was pointing out that your anecdote doesn't prove anything as volume could have easily been the sole factor. I thought my point was obvious.


There no harm in some variation in movement. But some of the suggestions for hitting the "areas" on the chest are over the top.
Incline for upper, decline for lower, flys for inner, wide grip for outer, flat for middle. etc
Nobody appears to worry about different areas on other large muscles.

It doesn't prove it obviously but I'd put my money on it, the more mucsle that is stimulated the better chance you have of growth and yes the chest does get more people talking bout upper inner outer exercises etc but I know lots of people that would do the same for other body parts (rows for back thickness, overhead triceps extensions to hit long head, even rear laterals for shoulders etc)

Hanley

Hit a ton of big exercises really hard and your body responds by getting bigger and stronger

I'm with Dave on this one

Hard work and volume = big things.

Dermighty

Hanley wrote: »

Hit a ton of big exercises really hard and your body responds by getting bigger and stronger

I'm with Dave on this one

Hard work and volume = big things.

Genuine query:

volume over time (consistently training) or volume each workout (specific rep range)?

ie: a 5x5 or 5x2 (reps x sets) would not be conducive to as much size as 5x8?

Hanley

Dermighty wrote: »

Genuine query:

volume over time (consistently training) or volume each workout (specific rep range)?

ie: a 5x5 or 5x2 (reps x sets) would not be conducive to as much size as 5x8?

"amount of work done in a week"

And no, 5x5 or 5x2 definitely would not be as conducive to size gains as higher rep ranges.

Mellor

Dave 101 wrote: »

It doesn't prove it obviously but I'd put my money on it, the more mucsle that is stimulated the better chance you have of growth and yes the chest does get more people talking bout upper inner outer exercises etc

More exercises, more volume, more stimulus = bigger growth, absolutely.
I'm not disagreeing that. Obviously the biggest guys are the ones who put in twice as much effort. Fully on board with that sort of intensity.

What I was getting at with the previous was that there is no such muscles as inner or outer chest. People only seem to create these pseudo-muscles with the chest. As opposed to rear delts, upper back where the are distinct muscles

Hanley wrote: »

Hit a ton of big exercises really hard and your body responds by getting bigger and stronger

I'm with Dave on this one

Hard work and volume= big things

+1
That's all I was saying, that volume and intensity are the key factors.
I was never advising against the extra exercises, just the reasons behind them.


Anyway, a dragged it a bit off topic. Apologies