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Upper Pecs - Incline Presses or Not?

What do you think is the best way to build upper pecs?

  • Flat Bench Press

    Votes: 25 10.1%

  • Incline Bench Press

    Votes: 209 84.3%

  • Decline Bench Press

    Votes: 4 1.6%

  • Cable Crossovers

    Votes: 10 4.0%
  • Total voters
    248
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So, what's your opinion?

Many people think incline presses help build the upper pecs. Others think that it's useless. Still others think that decline presses build the upper pecs.

So what do you think is the best way to build upper pecs?
 
swatdoc said:
So, what's your opinion?

Many people think incline presses help build the upper pecs. Others think that it's useless. Still others think that decline presses build the upper pecs.

So what do you think is the best way to build upper pecs?
Click to expand...

I like doing incline because of its effects on my shoulders and because I feel a greater range of motion for the chest in general. In fact, my lower chest has improved more doing inclines than flat or decline bench.
 
Flat bench press will stimulate the sternal and clavicular pectoral heads more than decline or incline presses. All that incline bench pressing does is take the emphasis off the sternal head (the "lower" chest). It does not work the "upper" chest (clavicular head) more. For the best development, use both flat bench press and dips. It won't get much better. You can always throw in inclines for a few months to focus on the upper portion, so you don't get that big gladiator pectoral look, if that's not your thing.

http://loserville.us/~chad_ghost/bloodsport8.jpg <~~~Gladiator pecs
http://www.badmovies.de/graph2/todesklaue9.jpg <~~~Gladiator pecs, the second coming.
 
Incline BB press works for me.

DB's get dangerous in this position at substantial weights. I'll bet they work well.

Some do the laying bench to the base of the throat. Not for me.

Some even do incline flys. Again ... seems dangerous.

I've read the angle makes a big dif. I like mine at 35.
 
Wanting to build up your chest and not doing inclines is like wanting big legs but not doing squats. I just did heavy inclines yesterday and my pecs are sore out to the shoulder and clavicle. My shoulders even feel it too. Dont go to steep if youre doing them on DB but if you are doing them on a BB the bench is already set on the angle I think.
 
Soreness has nothing to do with the effectiveness of a workout. The quickest way to a big chest is through flat bench pressing and dips. Nothing wrong with inclines, but don't compare them to squatting - that's ridiculous.
 
Tom Treutlein said:
Soreness has nothing to do with the effectiveness of a workout. The quickest way to a big chest is through flat bench pressing and dips. Nothing wrong with inclines, but don't compare them to squatting - that's ridiculous.
Click to expand...

good post.

one of bodybuildings many oxymorons -- soreness does not indicate a good workout. strange but true.
 
view said:
good post.

one of bodybuildings many oxymorons -- soreness does not indicate a good workout. strange but true.
Click to expand...
Sometimes it can be counterproductive as well.

I had a guy in the ED about two months ago who was following a HIT routine. The guy came in complaining of worsening muscle soreness (chest, triceps, shoulders) to the point where he could barely move. I almost dismissed this as severe DOMS or an injury, but when I asked him some other questions, it turns out he had tea colored urine. I checked his CK, which came back at 27,000. His urine myoglobin was positive and his creatinine had went to 2.5.

To make a long story short, he had exercise-induced rhabdomyolysis with subsequent acute renal failure, a hit which his kidneys will probably never fully recover from.

Part of me wonders if some of the supplements he was taking could have attributed to this. Talk about hard workouts!
 
eat big said:
Wanting to build up your chest and not doing inclines is like wanting big legs but not doing squats. I just did heavy inclines yesterday and my pecs are sore out to the shoulder and clavicle. My shoulders even feel it too. Dont go to steep if youre doing them on DB but if you are doing them on a BB the bench is already set on the angle I think.
Click to expand...


Yeah I have to agree with you. Inclines have made a huge difference in my upper body. Everything from my chest to my shoulders. It keeps my chest in proportion and keeps my shoulders rounded (more so than MP or BTN press).
 
I agree that flat bench and dips should be the staple chest exercises.

Chest day: flat bench, incline db press, incline flyes
arm day includes: close grip bench, weighted dips
 
Is it really possible to focus on sections of the muscle fibers? Aren't muscles not just stimulated or not? I thought adding incline just incorporated more shoulders into the exercise. Even so I still do them.... out of ignorance really. I mean if you can focus on upper pectoral or lower couldn't you do the same for say, the bicep?
 
More than one muscle makes up the pecs. Think about the quads - it's a muscle group not a single muscle. Of course there is no 'inner pec' as the pecs stretch outward from the sternum and not along it so this is where what you wrote becomes the standard answer when someone dreams up reverse cable seated ass squeezes to better tone this area.:)
 
The problem with inclines is that most gym benches are set way too high, so it becomes almost a half assed delt exercise and limits the amount of weight you can use

I like moderate-rep low incline inclines on the smith (boo).. alternated with heavy declines or dips or flat. basically whatever you enjoy doing is gonna work because you'll stick with it.. if the chest gets bigger I'm starting to think is all about what mom and pop gave ya in the gene department
 
Tom Treutlein said:
Soreness has nothing to do with the effectiveness of a workout. The quickest way to a big chest is through flat bench pressing and dips. Nothing wrong with inclines, but don't compare them to squatting - that's ridiculous.
Click to expand...


Thats great and all but he's talking about building his upper chest.... read the post.
 
you can't say that flat bench and dips are the best way to build your chest period. what works for you may mot work for others and vice versa. actually, in some ways i prefer dumbell presses to barbell presses for the fuller range of motion and because it works the pecs independantly. i have adjustable settings on my bench and i don't make it too steep. bottom line, thumbs up for incline presses and flys
 
Inclines are a good exercise, i like to do them on smith where I can go slow, not have to worry about balance, and i can feel the muscle working.
 
I like to do incline db with my palms slightly inward in stretch pos, then press the bells up and at a slight backward arc while turning my hands outward.

It is easier on the shoulders when I do it this way. If I do it elbows out in resting pos, my shoulders bother me. I'm repping the 115's (120s next time), so it's kinda hard on my poor old man shoulders :)
 
With incline db press I got the 115's for 5...that was an accomplishment

getting it up is harder on my shoulders than actually pressing it...
 
I feel that inclines have helped. I'm doing them now and I really notice a more developed upper chest. I have the kind of chest with a flat breastplate and wide shoulders, so I look rather flat-chested with a bony clavicle. Kinda sucks for me, but inclines seem to be helping in the upper chest development.
 
My pressing workout is as follows:

Standing Overheads
Incline Variation (log or barbell)
Close Grip Variation (board presses or no boards)

I like this just about the best for my needs and doing inclines DO help with my chest development...especially when LOOKS are the concern. If I drop inclines for a few weeks...I can tell a difference in how my chest looks.

Beyond all the science out there, you eventually have to find what works for you even without reason. I've found that inclines and close grips not only have the greatest carry over to my strength needs but also give me more chest development than just regular flat bench.

As far as saying that soreness is not an indicator of growth...completely true. The two are not really connected that much at all. The indicator of growth is GROWTH. One grows through training and all the recovery factors...not soreness. Soreness surely can be a very good indicator of what muscles have been stressed though as well as a signal as to what is being worked more or what may be a weakness.

B True
 
Many people will notice an increase in their chest with incline bench presses simply because in order for the flat bench press to put the muscle under a stretched load (very important, yet overlooked for hypertrophy) with the flat bench, you must use a rather wider grip and sink deep. Dumbbells allow this more than barbells, but by doing this you put the rotator cuffs at serious risk for injury. Thusly, the flat bench press would be the best chest exercise, on par with dips, if one were able to sink deep enough without hurting the shoulders.

In order to avoid rotator cuff injury for those prone (some get by without problems), while still developing the chest, dips and incline bench presses will work wonderfully. That doesn't mean your chest won't grow with flat bench presses. It just means that the results may be sub-par.
 
I was always a hard gainer when it came to my chest but the one excercise that changed that for me was incline dumbbells.
 
I think this is correct...read myth #4 and #5 on this page..
http://www.usapowerlifting.com/newsletter/13/coaching/coaching.html

....In one study it was found that the wider grip placed more stress on the sternocostal head than the narrow grip. The narrow grip seemed to activate the clavicular head more effectively then a wide grip. The narrow grip also activated the triceps more than the wide



....... the research has actually shown that decline and flat stimulate the sternocostal head in similar fashions (Barnett, Kippers & Turner, 1995). Glass and Armstrong (1997) reported that the Decline BP activated the muscle in the clavicular head as effectively as the Incline BP
Click to expand...


This should be true because I've also read one of lou simmons article in which he says the same thing as well.
 
I'm not so sure if I believe that flat benches build upper pecs more then inclines. I know atleast one person who inclines more then he flat benches. Infact the guy can barely bench 250 but can incline 325, 335

I think the angle and muscle memory do have an effect on how much you can incline. I would do both. Inclines also hit shoulders more then flat bench.

Variety is the key to a big chest. I don't believe in doing the same movement over and over again, because it just leads to plateau
 
dude Bolo Yeoung was 48 years old when he made bloodsport so he looks pretty damn good for 48 plus he won some asian bodybuilding championships when he was younger.
 
What the hell is this one above me referring to, must be too early.

For me, incline does a lot more for chest than flat, plus I struggle with gains with incline and feel it much better. I do it when my shoulders feel beat up, nice little break and taste of reality every once in a while. Also for some reason, there seems to be a direct correlation between my incline strength and my raw flat strength, me incliney better, me flatty better...

p.s. i did heavy weighted dips, well heavy for my fatass, yesterday and could feel it all the way to the middle of my chest, good stuff but I have tender shoulders therefore I'm a big chicken, first time i've done this in years.... :mix:
 
IMO, I have always stuck with flat benches as a base. I would say Dips are also very effective for not only the chest, but the shoulders and tris as well. They are the squat of the upper body. Inclines are effective, but I like to set the bench lower on the incline. That is why I prefer incline Dbell. The lower bench seems to place more emphasis on the chest and less on the shoulders.

The bottom line is that the overall "base" size that you need comes from basic exercises....If I could start over, knowing what I know now, taking away all the injuries and starting from scratch, I would base my routine around Flat Bench, Dips, Squat, Deadlift, Pushpress, Barbell Rows and chins. Nothing else...no cables, no dumbells, no hammer machines. Two years of training like that, eating like you are trying to erase civilization and there is no reason you could not add 30 lbs to your frame!
 
Chambewy20 said:
What the hell is this one above me referring to, must be too early.

For me, incline does a lot more for chest than flat, plus I struggle with gains with incline and feel it much better. I do it when my shoulders feel beat up, nice little break and taste of reality every once in a while. Also for some reason, there seems to be a direct correlation between my incline strength and my raw flat strength, me incliney better, me flatty better...

p.s. i did heavy weighted dips, well heavy for my fatass, yesterday and could feel it all the way to the middle of my chest, good stuff but I have tender shoulders therefore I'm a big chicken, first time i've done this in years.... :mix:
Click to expand...


he put up a picture of bolo yeoung from bloodsport as a guy whose upper pecs werent developed enough
 
overcome73 said:
IMO, I have always stuck with flat benches as a base. I would say Dips are also very effective for not only the chest, but the shoulders and tris as well. They are the squat of the upper body. Inclines are effective, but I like to set the bench lower on the incline. That is why I prefer incline Dbell. The lower bench seems to place more emphasis on the chest and less on the shoulders.

The bottom line is that the overall "base" size that you need comes from basic exercises....If I could start over, knowing what I know now, taking away all the injuries and starting from scratch, I would base my routine around Flat Bench, Dips, Squat, Deadlift, Pushpress, Barbell Rows and chins. Nothing else...no cables, no dumbells, no hammer machines. Two years of training like that, eating like you are trying to erase civilization and there is no reason you could not add 30 lbs to your frame!
Click to expand...

Eating like that will just lead to unncessary fat gain.

Why does it always have to be extremes with people?
 
Anthrax, with all due respect, if we are talking about adding size to one's frame, there has to be additional calories added. So many people are afraid to add fat. They train and want to look like an abercrombe model. Think of someone looking to sculpt a perfect body. You first need enough clay (muscle) on that foundation before you can begin to sculpt. People should not be afraid to add a little fat when they are looking to add to their foundation.
 
Anthrax Invasion said:
Eating like that will just lead to unncessary fat gain.

Why does it always have to be extremes with people?
Click to expand...
not at all true. i can eat weinershnitzel and 5000cal. and NEVER go over 10%
but in general, yes, you'll probly get a bit fatter :coffee:
 
There is a thread @ dante's board about the 'fattening' which is interesting, I'm personally coming to believe that bloat-size that's gained when going above 12% will all be lost when dieting back down. (assuming most trainees care about getting under 12%, which might be a leap :))

Eat big, but dont get sloppy with it
 
Some good info on building the pecs. I personally alternate flat with incline on chest days and don't bother with decline. On incline days, I also do dips because incline just doesn't seem to work my chest/triceps quite as hard as flat bench. However, I can't do as much weight on incline compared to flat either.
 
deltreefitness said:
Is it really possible to focus on sections of the muscle fibers? Aren't muscles not just stimulated or not? I thought adding incline just incorporated more shoulders into the exercise. Even so I still do them.... out of ignorance really. I mean if you can focus on upper pectoral or lower couldn't you do the same for say, the bicep?
Click to expand...
I have to say that flyes and cable crossovers really helped me build the inner chest...the seperation, so to speak. So there are different emphasis. Just like hammer curls work the bicep different than preachers.
 
For me its the matter of my rotator cuffs getting sore by doing flat benches, so I stick to inclines. I do my inclines on an adjustable bench on the lowest setting, so its not very steep and as close to a flat as it can be.
 
flat bench, pararell bar dips, and standing shoulder presses. im seeing people making excuses for doin inclines"my shoulders get more involved" i agree, so i cut out the incline bench and i do standing barbell presses instead.
 
Icline bench, incline dumbell presses, incline flys.
 
I really think it is mostly genetics. Any type of pressing i do is usually flat, i haven't done incline for at least a year probably and i never do decline. My strongest part of my chest is the upper part, so IMO genetics.
 
I hate incline, Im too weak on it, incline db is ok but high rep my grip fails. Deep dips and flat bench are my favourites. db pullovers are a good finisher too
 
One thing I noticed with the incline is the full range of motion. At the peak bring the weights together and squeeze the pecks, love these maxing out at 12 reps.

As far as Dips go for building chest, I seem to get alot of arms with these. The dip setup at my gym has two placements for the handles, I wonder if a wider grip will put more focus on the Pecks...
 
farrior said:
One thing I noticed with the incline is the full range of motion. At the peak bring the weights together and squeeze the pecks, love these maxing out at 12 reps.

As far as Dips go for building chest, I seem to get alot of arms with these. The dip setup at my gym has two placements for the handles, I wonder if a wider grip will put more focus on the Pecks...
Click to expand...

its mainly based on how your body is tilted when you do the lift. If you pretty much vertical it will work your triceps... the further you tilt the greater the focus on your pecs and shoulders.

when I say tilt I am refering to the angle of your body during the lift. I've 'tried' to illustrate it below.

/ vs | - for example.
 
how much space you have between your pecs is genetics, how your pecs look is genetics, but how big your uppers pecs are have nothing to do with genetics - thats just an excuse

heavy incline presses and incline dumbell presses will get you where you want to be

make sure you start with those as well....priority training or weak point training
 
it sounds odd but dips give me better upper chest development than incline bb or flat bb. My fav chest exercise.
 
farrior said:
One thing I noticed with the incline is the full range of motion. At the peak bring the weights together and squeeze the pecks, love these maxing out at 12 reps.

As far as Dips go for building chest, I seem to get alot of arms with these. The dip setup at my gym has two placements for the handles, I wonder if a wider grip will put more focus on the Pecks...
Click to expand...

yeah..... more narrow = more triceps and wider = more chest

it's the same thing with bench press as for dips i am almost positive.
 
JDid23 said:
yeah..... more narrow = more triceps and wider = more chest

it's the same thing with bench press as for dips i am almost positive.
Click to expand...

bit different than grip with a bar. yes, distance apart makes a difference but much more important is body tilt or lean.
 
I changed my opinion on this

the 2 best ways to fill pecs are:

A: Low Incline DB presses followed by some type of Flys

B: flat bench DEEP moderate weight DB presses using all pecs to do the movement
 
3 sets flat barbell
3 sets 35º incline dumbells
3 sets flat dumbell flys, squeezing at the top
press ups.
 
Not really. I have yet to see a guy that has a very filled out chest but it looks way unproportioned. I do inclines rarely but since my whole chest has grown my upper chest is big too. I think it is good to hit exercises at different angles as well.

I think they should do an experiment where theres 3 groups of people that train chest. Group A trains only decline presses, Group B trains both declin, flat and incline and Group 3 only trains Incline.
 
kinda random... but are there actually different parts that you should train on your pecs? like i kno there is pectorals major and pectorals minor or something like that, but is doing inclines opposed to declines or flat BB/DB bench press going to hit a diff part of your chest?
 
JDid23 said:
kinda random... but are there actually different parts that you should train on your pecs? like i kno there is pectorals major and pectorals minor or something like that, but is doing inclines opposed to declines or flat BB/DB bench press going to hit a diff part of your chest?
Click to expand...


basically when u hit ur chest youre hitting your whole chest. if you do inclines you are putting MORE stress on your shoulders uand upper pecs, but your whole chest still grows. Have you ever seen someone with too big of an upper chest? not really. have you ever seen someone with a huge chest but no upper chest? no
 
the chest does not have differant heads like the biceps do so I dont see how you would hit differant parts. But the thing is that the days after dips I have had very bad DOMS in my lower chest, and the days after I did pullovers and cable crossovers for the first time the outter part of my chest was sore as fuck...
 
guest username said:
So, what's your opinion?

Many people think incline presses help build the upper pecs. Others think that it's useless. Still others think that decline presses build the upper pecs.

So what do you think is the best way to build upper pecs?
Click to expand...

I think this has much to do with genetic structure, which means there is no right answer. It depends on body type. For me, I never liked inclines 'till just recently because I cannot perform the flat as well as i could years ago.
 
I definitely believe in incline presses and flyes for the clavicular portion of the pecs. I also started using reverse grip bench presses for upper chest, as EMG studies show 40% greater fiber activation than even inclines! I do them rather light on a Smith and it crushes my upper chest!
 
I really only do inclines anymore. Switch between dbs, hammer, and smith.

I remember hearing a long time ago, that if you focus too much on the lower chest, you will have saggy pecs as you age. Don't know if there's any truth to it or not, but so far, so good.
 
hardrock said:
I really only do inclines anymore. Switch between dbs, hammer, and smith.

I remember hearing a long time ago, that if you focus too much on the lower chest, you will have saggy pecs as you age. Don't know if there's any truth to it or not, but so far, so good.
Click to expand...


lol dude thats retarded, youll have saggy tits from not working out, or not having enough testosterone in your body to maintain your muscle mass
 
Inclines work well for upper chest, if your upper chest is lagging, I suggest doing incline movements first on your chest day. It allows you to move heavier loads and hopefully build more mass in the upper. Worked well for me anyways.
 
Strongbow said:
Inclines work well for upper chest, if your upper chest is lagging, I suggest doing incline movements first on your chest day. It allows you to move heavier loads and hopefully build more mass in the upper. Worked well for me anyways.
Click to expand...


yea i can definitely tell the inclines worked in your avi!

and ngr u didnt text back the other day
 
the.gladiator1987 said:
yea i can definitely tell the inclines worked in your avi!

and ngr u didnt text back the other day
Click to expand...

My bad bro I got like 3 phones lolz I will pm you my main line so you can holla anytime
 
Eric Broser said:
I definitely believe in incline presses and flyes for the clavicular portion of the pecs. I also started using reverse grip bench presses for upper chest, as EMG studies show 40% greater fiber activation than even inclines! I do them rather light on a Smith and it crushes my upper chest!
Click to expand...

Pretty interesting. Never even thought of trying reverse grip bench presses. I gotta give this a shot to see what it feels like.
 
freakshow85 said:
Pretty interesting. Never even thought of trying reverse grip bench presses. I gotta give this a shot to see what it feels like.
Click to expand...

Great move to destroy your upper chest.......similar feel to a low pulley upright cable flye except being a compound exercise its a much better exercise for mass, make sure you got someone spotting you tho as when you fail you do so spectacularly lol

Sent from my GT-I9100 using EliteFitness
 
incline press is what helped me build my chest, best exercise for chest period, i always start my chest workout with an incline press usually barbell but rotate it with db too.
 
Eric Broser said:
I definitely believe in incline presses and flyes for the clavicular portion of the pecs. I also started using reverse grip bench presses for upper chest, as EMG studies show 40% greater fiber activation than even inclines! I do them rather light on a Smith and it crushes my upper chest!
Click to expand...

Yeah , Jim Stoppani says this. I would need to see the the study on how many people they tested with this.
 
I can't believe there's a poll for this.
 
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