decline bench strength

Morba

Morba

Morba

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normally i do decline dumbell press, but last night i decided to utilise the power rack and did some barbell decline presses, i think that i can lift more weight decline than i can flat or incline!

anyone else find this?
i would have thought my incline would have been my strongest, due to the inclusion of the delts more.
 
Yep. The last time I tried decline bench I was only flat benching 100K for 1 rep. I managed 8 reps at 100K and 1 at 117.5K so it was quite a big difference. My incline is far weaker than both.
 
Yep, you're in a stronger position on declines.

I've seen many arching their backs on flat benchpress which sort of puts you in a similar position to make the lift easier, but this is a very dangerous practice.
 
Decline bench stimulates the chest more and the delts less than flat, you can recruit more muscle fibres hence stronger on decline. Also as already pointed out it's easier to use your lats aswell on decline.

Some people don't bother with flat benching at all, I myself leave it out for a few months and just concentrate on incline and decline.
 
I've only been lifting since December 2005 really, started on a smith (for safety) when benching, then moved onto a flat bench with a bar.

I seem to have hit a plateau in what I can lift. My squats and deadlifts I am happy with, I can do well over my own weight (93kg). But my bench has been stuck at about 65kg on a 1 rep max.

A bit of background though, I was diagnosed with a leg length difference, once this was corrected with a lift on my shoe I had to do lots of remedial exercises because it created a muscle imbalance in my shoulders and upper back.

Is it worth hitting the decline bench for a bit? Do you reckon that could help my flat bench a bit?

Sorry for the thread hi-jack Morba, it isn't OT though ;)
 
egt said:
Yep, you're in a stronger position on declines.

I've seen many arching their backs on flat benchpress which sort of puts you in a similar position to make the lift easier, but this is a very dangerous practice.
Click to expand...

Could you please enlighten me more egt.
Reason is someone down my gym reckoned that I should arch my back on flat bench (to spread more of the workload to my back/shoulders) and I see lots of other people doing it at the gym. I noticed straight away that I can lift more than usual. I usually stay flat till I start to struggle then my last couple of sets I go arched.
 
rayb74 said:
Could you please enlighten me more egt.
Reason is someone down my gym reckoned that I should arch my back on flat bench (to spread more of the workload to my back/shoulders) and I see lots of other people doing it at the gym. I noticed straight away that I can lift more than usual. I usually stay flat till I start to struggle then my last couple of sets I go arched.
Click to expand...
You can lift more weight by arching your back because of the reasons explained in this thread so it makes it a good technique for power-lifting. HOWEVER, arching your back during pressing puts a massive compressive force on the joints in your lower back and prevents the core stability muscles working optimally.
There was a previous discussion about it here:-

http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=17579894

..also don't belive everything you hear from blokes down the gym. ;)
 
thebrasso said:
I've only been lifting since December 2005 really, started on a smith (for safety) when benching, then moved onto a flat bench with a bar.

I seem to have hit a plateau in what I can lift. My squats and deadlifts I am happy with, I can do well over my own weight (93kg). But my bench has been stuck at about 65kg on a 1 rep max.

A bit of background though, I was diagnosed with a leg length difference, once this was corrected with a lift on my shoe I had to do lots of remedial exercises because it created a muscle imbalance in my shoulders and upper back.

Is it worth hitting the decline bench for a bit? Do you reckon that could help my flat bench a bit?

Sorry for the thread hi-jack Morba, it isn't OT though ;)
Click to expand...

i never really did decline before (im talking years ago when i did weights first time round) so didnt realise the effect and strength from it, i would deffo do some if you can.
get a spotter tho, or use a power rack, better to be safe :D
 
Decline Bench = Stronger Lift

In powerlifting they arch also to shorten the distance that the bar has to travel.
 
rayb74 said:
Could you please enlighten me more egt.
Reason is someone down my gym reckoned that I should arch my back on flat bench (to spread more of the workload to my back/shoulders) and I see lots of other people doing it at the gym. I noticed straight away that I can lift more than usual. I usually stay flat till I start to struggle then my last couple of sets I go arched.
Click to expand...

Seriously, ignore anyone who tells you to arch your back while benchpressing. My old training partner used to do this against the good advice from the gym owner. He finished up off work for two months and was in absolute agony. He says he has never fully recovered from the injury to his spine. Please, just don't do it.

Remember, you are not building your ego, you're building your muscles so drop the weight and keep your back flat. You will get more stress in the pecs by keeping your back flat anyway :)
 
Thx for links and replys guys.
Judging from what I have read/ heard, I shouldn`t really arch my back. But I am not really bothered about what part of my body I am working out on bench, just I want to hit my target weight of 100kg and I don`t think I will ever reach it without arching.
 
Cant be assed to read the rest of the thread but weight lifted involves the 'deep' muscles. These are rarely used if machines are used due to the stabalisation being taken care of by machines.
 
pegasus1 said:
Cant be assed to read the rest of the thread but weight lifted involves the 'deep' muscles. These are rarely used if machines are used due to the stabalisation being taken care of by machines.
Click to expand...

Who even mentioned machines?? :confused:
 
pegasus1 said:
Cant be assed to read the rest of the thread but weight lifted involves the 'deep' muscles. These are rarely used if machines are used due to the stabalisation being taken care of by machines.
Click to expand...

Deep muscles?

Explain.
 
pegasus1 said:
Cant be assed to read the rest of the thread but weight lifted involves the 'deep' muscles. These are rarely used if machines are used due to the stabalisation being taken care of by machines.
Click to expand...

maybe you should read the thread ;]
 
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