Hello everyone.

Last night I performed a heavy set of incline DB presses (8 reps), an exercise I had not done for quite some time.
However, during the final repetitions, upon lowering the weights to the sides of my shoulders, I noticed a stretching pain on one side of my neck. Am I using bad form, or have some stabiliser muscles not had the time to fully develop yet due to me not having done the exercise much?

Am I right in thinking that the main muscles that are utilised in this exercise are the front (ie anterior) delt's?

Hello everyone.

Last night I performed a heavy set of incline DB presses (8 reps), an exercise I had not done for quite some time.
However, during the final repetitions, upon lowering the weights to the sides of my shoulders, I noticed a stretching pain on one side of my neck. Am I using bad form, or have some stabiliser muscles not had the time to fully develop yet due to me not having done the exercise much?

Am I right in thinking that the main muscles that are utilised in this exercise are the front (ie anterior) delt's?


The main muscles used in this excecise SHOULD be the upper pecs with the front delts and tris secondary. I suggest you use a barbell for a while until you get used to the movement and develope a bit of strength in the required areas.

Thanks for your reply.

Perhaps I should not have used heavy weights; it was a rather silly thing to do, really, as I had not performed the exercise for a long time. I usually only perform compound exercises; however, I noticed that the upper part of my pec's are not developing, so I figured I'd throw in an incline press for the next couple of weeks.

Thanks for your reply.

Perhaps I should not have used heavy weights; it was a rather silly thing to do, really, as I had not performed the exercise for a long time. I usually only perform compound exercises; however, I noticed that the upper part of my pec's are not developing, so I figured I'd throw in an incline press for the next couple of weeks.


No problem. You DO realize inclines ARE a compound movement right? They are a VERY EFFECTIVE compound movement if done correctly.( IMO the best for upper pec developement) Why don't you lower the weight and begin with a barbell? Once you get comfortable with the excercise, you can switch to dumbells and start boosting the weight.:tucool:

I didn't think they would be classified as such, no. But thinking of it, mechanically they are no different from ordinary DB bench presses, which <i>are</i> -correct me if I'm wrong- considered compound. The core exercises in my routine are deadlifts, leg presses, shoulder presses, dips, and chin ups. These are usually topped off with a single set of curls and cable tricep push downs.

I will lower the weights, and experiment with using a barbell for the first couple of sessions. Thanks for your advice!

I didn't think they would be classified as such, no. But thinking of it, mechanically they are no different from ordinary DB bench presses, which <i>are</i> -correct me if I'm wrong- considered compound. The core exercises in my routine are deadlifts, leg presses, shoulder presses, dips, and chin ups. These are usually topped off with a single set of curls and cable tricep push downs.

I will lower the weights, and experiment with using a barbell for the first couple of sessions. Thanks for your advice!


No problem Baz. Is this the only excercise you do for chest? I see you do dips however they hit mostly the tris UNLESS you position yourself so it works your lower pecs.

What are you suggesting?

I have created a very minimalist routine for myself, centred about but a few of the most compound exercises. So, yes, dips are the only exercise that hit my chest; I position myself bent forwards every so slightly so as to target my pec's.

I tend to change my exercises around a bit every once in a while, to prevent any particular muscle group from stagnating. So far I have added around 20 pounds over the past 2 months; my BF% is below 10.