Upper chest- Can you target it or not, dammit?

[DanielBishop]

What I hate about bodybuilding is how everyone says something different. People say to do incline stuff if you're lacking in your upper pecs, and then someone goes and says it's bullshit and you can't target any specific part of your pecs.

Well, my upper chest is lacking.... so what should I do? Continue with what I'm doing? Flat Bench, Incline DB/Barbell Press, Flat bench Flyes, sometimes Decline DB/Barbell press, Dips (although these are done more for triceps.... or should I change it to focus more on incline stuff?

I don't know what to think anymore. Should I replace the flat bench and flyes with incline stuff? Confused.

 

[sysopt]

I would just like to say that there lots and lots of people who say that incline can make your "upper chest" larger simply because someone else told them and they copycat the samething. These people can not come up with legitimate proof or evidence other than the fact that they know a few guys who have huge "upper chests" with nice vascularity (and they do inclines). I believe that incline simply takes a large part of the load off the pecs (yes, all of it) and drops in on the shoulders. When was the last time you saw someone change the shape of their muscle from doing certain exercises. I noticed the upper region of my chest got bigger when my whole chest got bigger. I also noticed I'm plenty sore in the same region from doing flat stuff. Be a free thinker and research for yourself.

 

[DanielBishop]

I thought I was researching.

 

[theoak01]

well heres my experiences which tie in with my opinion on the topic
i never started adding meat on my collar bone until the rest of my chest grew,i use to do extra inclines to make up for it but to no avail so i jsut went back to a regular routine and its all working out as my entire chest grows

 

[DanielBishop]

Thanks, guys.... maybe gaining muscle is like gaining fat. There's certain places where your body gains it first.... and the places where you gain it first, is the last place you lose it. Same with muscle, I'm assuming....

 

[bignate73]

I thought I was researching.

this is not research, this is asking for opinion.

 

[gymtime]

DB - Opinions on what certain excercises acttally do are as various as the people on this board. There are very few statements you can post here that someone won't contradict.

Bodybuilding, like a lot of things, is as much trial and error as anything else. You start by learning the basics. But as you get more into it, you have to figure out what works for you. You can research forever, but ultimately it comes down to what works for you and what doesn't.

 

[Belial]

Still, when the question's a scientific one, there's often a right or wrong answer.

In this case, I'd say 99.9% of the evidence points in the direction that says you can't make the upper chest grow independently of (or preferentially to) the lower. But you never know.

And if you could target the upper chest, incline pressing wouldn't be the best way to work it, anyway.

Back to your question: Do you have a pec deck or cable crossover machine in your gym? I like these much more than flyes.

 

[DaCypher]

Belial,

Can you point me to some of the scientific research that has proved "99.9% of the evidence points in the direction that says you can't make the upper chest grow independently of (or preferentially to) the lower"? I don't mean to be a hardass, I'm just curious.

Also, I think its always good to hit different muscle groups from different angles to vary things up. Incline press for chest may or may not specificly target the upper chest, however, it is different than flat bench press so its nice to do just for the sake of variety.

It could also be argued that you only have to do leg curls to work your hams fully and SL deads are a waste of time (I don't feel this way, but maybe someone does).

 

[Belial]

No. Because if you'll go back and read my point, it is that 99.9% of the studies, texts, and biomechanical analysis that I have encountered point in a certain direction. You will not find a study that will explicitly states that, because a single study will never take everything into account. I never stated that I found a professional opinion that made that exact statement.

Read things more carefully next time. But I agree with your other points.