Oops Has This Ever Happened To You

[Phemomena]

2 things happen with declines

1) you minimize delt/tri involvment as otc said... the work is done primarily by the pecs

2) you can push more weight because of the angle of the movement, the more limited range of motion and the fact that the pecs are generally stronger than the delts/tris... therefore more muscle activation in those pecs


declines, by emg measurement activate more muscle fibres than any other pec exercise...

 

[sysopt]

no prob booty, I love women

by the way I wouldn't use EMG as legit proof

 

[OTCbooty]

Okay, I'll bite...what's the story there, sysopt?

 

[MS]

I have never pressed or benched alone so I haven't had that problem.

As a member of the IBTC I can highly recommend declines. They can actually add size/lift to what little breast you have. And for bigger breasted women I also recommend them since I think bodybuilding is not JUST about how you look. It is about building your muscles....all of them, and in a balanced way which means you don't neglect something (like pelvic floor muscles) just because you can't see them outwardly.

 

[sysopt]

Okay, I'll bite...what's the story there, sysopt?

If you're talking about why EMG's are no good, then that's because they only probe certain parts of the muscle. Also, it seems to contradict the all or nothing rule. You should ask belial bout this one.

 

[sysopt]

"One thing you must remember, those studies that show fiber activation all use EMG analysis. EMG is a very superficial test only testing the fibers that are very close to the surface of the muscle. Which leaves out quite a large percentage of the total fibers. The only true way to accurately record all active fibers, is through muscular biopsy. Which lets face it, is not a viable option for most."

-- A legit knowledgeable EF member


"OK, let my try to squash this EMG bug...

Electromyography (EMG) tests are not considered accurate in measuring muscle fiber stimulation during the eccentric (lowering) portion of exercise, because during eccentric contraction less fibers are stimulated but damaged to a greater degree. Therefore on an EMG test it would read that there is little activity when in fact there is a lot of muscle fiber stimulation, and because of this EMG tests are not accurate in predicting hypertrophy. The EMG test in itself is also flawed because just knowing which motor units are firing doesn’t mean you can tell which fibers are contracting (which is what EMG tests determine). The problem with emphasizing different portions or heads of muscles in in the way they are innervated. Motor neurons are aligned along the center of the muscle, each neuron innervates a number of fibers (the number of fibers varies). When that line of neurons are fired, all of them fire. In other words - when a muscle contracts, it all contracts making sectional hypertrophy impossible. Another often overlooked fact is that even though there may be a different level of activation in fibers, this difference is so small that disproportionate hypertrophy would not result. Additionally the number of test subjects are very small, Bompa usually uses 3-5 subjects which leaves a lot of room for error. I could go on and on, but suffice to say that EMG tests are not accurate measures of muscle fiber stimulation and are not capable of predicting hypertrophy."

-- Mr. cack at work

 

[OTCbooty]

Learn something new every day. Thanks.

 

[CrystalChick]

Welll

Well I have breasts so just wanted an added lift

 

[sysopt]

Re: Welll

"Learn something new every day. Thanks."

No prob booty; Share the wealth, I'm sure there are things I can learn from you...speaking of booty...can I see some?

Well I have breasts so just wanted an added lift

Hellz yeah, baby

 

[Ironbuilt]

I got stuck once too

I was doing flat bench and got stuck with 225 on the chest... I was working upstairs in the private training facility where I used to work, and there was no one around!... I still dont know how I did this, but I was able to tighten the abs, roll the bar down, and when it got close to Mr Fun Time, I lifted my butt up a little and rolled it onto my quads... dang, I felt like a moron! LOL

I also once missed the rack doing incline bench, the bar went behind the rack... that really sucked, wound up hurting the rotator cuff from that.. in my defense it was a pretty shitty rack, barely higher than head level. But I definitely learned my lesson from those two episodes, and know when I am about to hit my point of no return, so to speak.

Also, I was reading above about the declines. I agree they are a useful exercise, especially for advanced lifters. However, even though it is accurate that the delts and tris are not utilized as much as on flat, the traps can be used more on declines, so you still have to really focus on doing the lift right.

Just my two cents.