Dumbbell Bench Press

[JonRoth]

Hello,

I am sort of new to working out. I started working out a year ago, but only really got serious and created a workout schedule a week ago. So as of right now, I am just over a week into my new routine. My question is is that on chest day, my exercises are flat DB bench press, incline DB bench press, upright cable flys, middle chest cable fly, and 1 arm cable press. I do a burn out set for the first set and then two more sets of 6-8 reps for each exercise. I would imagine that my chest would by dying by the end of this workout but it's not! I just rep to failure and don't feel sore! My problem is is that when I'm doing flat and incline DB bench press, I feel it a lot in my triceps and shoulders and not so much in my chest. I have my shoulder blades pinched when I'm doing it and I still only feel a burn in those two muscles except chest. I have correct form when I'm doing it. Do I need to lower the weight and really focus on the chest movement or will this just take time to even itself out once my shoulders get stronger? I used to work out every so often and I would work out chest but never shoulders. My guess is that my shoulders are very weak and my chest is stronger and so my shoulders burn out before my chest. I have read that I should start doing the cable flys before I do chest press to get the chest to burn out more quickly during the chest press. Any advice?

[chill9]

It comes down to your triceps being the limiter on your movements. They are the weak chain. After a while your triceps will become stronger and it will even out. I had the same thing with my forearms and doing deadlifts. Where in your shoulders is it hurting? What shoulder specific exercises are you doing? In terms of which order you are doing the moves in, you should be changing it each time.

[JonRoth]

I should clarify. It doesn't hurt as much as it burns. It's not a bad feeling. Just feel like I'm working my shoulders out a lot more then the chest. It's the front shoulders that I feel being worked. And for shoulders I'm doing DB military press, DB Flys, Front Raise, Rear deltoid push backs, and barbell shrugs. So you think that just over time, as my muscles get stronger I will be able to really feel the that workout more effectively? I should just keep doing it so that whatever muscle is being worked will get stronger and that way I'll be able to hit chest harder?

[chill9]

Yeah because your chest muscles are stronger they can do a heavier weight, but are limited by your supporting muscles. If they are burning it is a good thing, just keep at it and they will catch up to your chest muscles eventually. Shoulder workout looks fine, DB flys are more chest.

There is an exercise called swiss ball fly fatigue that might hit your pecs more effectively. It hits all areas of your pecs. First try lying on a swiss ball with your back huggin the ball so you are right over it and with DB's do as many flys as you can, second roll forward so just your head is on the ball and the rest of your body is parallel with the ground and again fly till failure, then finally head in the same position lower your hips so they almost touch the ground and do as many flys as you can. THIS BURNS! It is basically starting off with decline then flat then incline flys. Try and aim for about 20 on the first one, if you can do way more up the weight if way less lower it.

Hope I have helped man.

[JonRoth]

By DB flys I meant lateral raises. But I'll deff try out that swiss ball next week when I do chest!! That looks killer!

[chill9]

Ha it is. Glad I could help.

[John.]

I found with most chest related exersizes, dumbbell press and flyes included, that using a light weight for your warm-up set and really concentrate on using your chest muscles worked well, it took me a few sessions to get it right, but since then my chest grew really well.

[elmo322]

I bet you bench with your arms out at 90 degrees to your body, if so then this is your problem. When you bench you should reduce the angle to 25-30 degrees and this puts the emphasis on to the chest and takes the stress off the shoulders.

[munch]

I know this is not bench related, but have you done diamond push ups. Do a normal push up but instead place your hands together. Do 3 sets of these with 20 reps each, will kill the pecs particularly down the middle, and you'll feel it happening as you push

Dan

[elmo322]

Quote

I know this is not bench related, but have you done diamond push ups. Do a normal push up but instead place your hands together. Do 3 sets of these with 20 reps each, will kill the pecs particularly down the middle, and you'll feel it happening as you push

Dan

This is exactly why a diamond push up hits the chest, it is exactly what you should be doing with a chest press. A chest press is a diamond push up in reverse.