Bench press at an incline - best way to tone chest/torso?

MarkDavis

MarkDavis

MarkDavis

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What's the best incline to have on a bench press to tone your upper torso?

Normally I have it flat (due to an old shoulder injury) and it does my lower pecs and adds a bit of bulk but not really my upper pecs/shoulders. I'm really looking for something that moves up pecs upwards and sideways without adding too much mass, if that's make sense as I'm really looking for tone rather than bulk.

What does 30 degrees and 45 degrees do?
 
The higher the incline the more your shoulders will be worked out. Keep it at 30 for a good balance for upper pecs and shoulders.
 
You can't 'move' your muscles upwards and sideways. They get bigger or smaller, they don't change shape - ever. I also hate the word tone and it needs to be irradicated from the english language. It's basically another word for becoming cut, and in order to cut to a nice defined pectoral you first need to build a nicely sized pectoral or else you will just look skinny. Do heavy inclines and eat lots of food and forget this tone rubbish.
 
jamief said:
You'd be better with dumbbells rather than a barbell for "toning".
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Really? Why is that?

As it happens I use dumbbells to make sure one side doesn't get ahead of the other and for uniformity of growth, but I didn't know that they were also better for helping me lose fat!
 
It's true! The people you see, the ones with the big chests, benching 140kgs, they're not toned. They should have used 12kg barbells for 8 sets of 20 reps you see, then they'd be toned and attractive to women.
 
Skull said:
Why on earth is that the case?
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He is asking about "toning" - specifically the intention of looking good (i.e. hypertrophy).

In my experience, using a barbell doesn't allow the range of motion or muscle contraction that you can get with dumbbells in this particular exercise. Again, in my personal experience, my chest has developed more in 9 months of dumbbell pressing than it did in 3 years of barbell pressing.

EDIT: and who said anything about losing fat? I think we're all agreed that "toning" is a fairly useless term, but in terms of how your chest looks, my experience suggests that dumbbells give better results.
 
I was under the impression dumbbells were a better 'core' workout due to working more on balance - I have found with certain exercises ‘toning’ is improved with a swiss ball.

I personally think a good use of barbell and dumbbells are good. If I don't have a spotter available (often the case as I'm in at 5am) then I won’t push it on bar as much as I do on dumbbells.

Different thinks work for different people though I guess.
 
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From what I understand barbells are best used when aiming to achieve strength and dumbells when you are aiming to put on mass. Due to the bigger ROM and stabilising muscles that are used with DB's. You get that squeeze as the DB's come together at the peak of the rep that you don't get so much with BB's.

Don't get me wrong both will help with strength and mass. Just either can be used to help achieve your end result. I'd recommend mixing bar and dumbell work personally. I wouldn't neglect one or the other :)
 
Neither are "better" imo. Which ever you do least often while still being able to perform correctly would get my vote.
 
jamief said:
You'd be better with dumbbells rather than a barbell for "toning".
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Kill him, kiiiiiiiiiiiiiill him:eek::D.


I'm also all for dumbbell pressing over barbell pressing, also another thing I find helps upper pectoral development is Military Pressing seated or standing and on a flat bench Straight Arm Dumbbell Pullovers.
 
Skull said:
It's true! The people you see, the ones with the big chests, benching 140kgs, they're not toned. They should have used 12kg barbells for 8 sets of 20 reps you see, then they'd be toned and attractive to women.
Click to expand...

jesus wept :(

edit: I see now that you were being sarcastic. Apologies!
 
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