...if you want. :dreamy:

Electromyographical Research and Maximum Muscle Fiber Stimulation (Eric Knight B.A. Hon. Kinesiology, CPT)

Electromyographical (EMG) Research is an essential research tool allowing physiologists to determine the role of muscles during specific movements. EMG is a scientific method of measuring the level of excitation. This is done by placing electrodes over your body and recording the level of muscle activity induced by an exercise. A study was conducted to find which exercises cause the greatest amount of activity within each muscle group and, as a consequence, determine which exercises will produce the greatest gains in mass and strength. This study was conducted by Tudor O. Bompa, PhD & Lorenzo J. Cornacchia. Both men and women were used in the sudy and all subjects had at least two years experience with resistance training.

Here are the results of that study:
(100% would signify maximum muscle fiber stimulation)

Pectoralis Major
Decline dumbbell bench press ----------------93%
Decline bench press, Olympic bar(OB)---------89
Push-ups between benches --------------------88
Flat dumbbell bench press -------------------87
Flat bench press (OB) -----------------------85
Flat dumbbell flyes --------------------------84

Pectoralis Minor
Incline dumbbell bench press ----------------91%
Incline bench press (OB) --------------------85
Incline dumbbell flyes -----------------------83
Incline bench press (smith machine) ---------81

They are also arguably easier on the shoulders.

And using close-grip, great on the tri's.

This is pretty old news, but it's good to bring it up. :nod:

Realistically though, a couple %'s really don't make much difference when you're working progressively and for the long-term.

And using close-grip, great on the tri's.

Absolutely -- Close-grip declines are my favorite tricep exercise. My tricep strength increased dramatically once I started doing these with heavy weight.

They are also arguably easier on the shoulders.

Yeah, it is much easier to keep your elbows tucked when doing declines....putting less stress on the shoulders.

They are also arguably easier on the shoulders.

Depends on the part of the shoulder. I have inflammation of the AC joint and decline presses are one of the most painful things for that. Dips are not even as bad.

Is anyone one able to handle anything near their max incline or flat bench presses? Or did they check each exercise using the lightest weight or just an arbitrarily chosen weight ??:confused:

Very interesting,..Thanks,...

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Is anyone one able to handle anything near their max incline or flat bench presses? Or did they check each exercise using the lightest weight or just an arbitrarily chosen weight ??:confused:

I don't know but don't think it's relevant to the main point which is:

people often dismiss decline BP as "useless". I'd say it's one of the most common misnomers you hear. When the fact is, in terms of muscle usage/activation, it's statisically right up there with the "heavily preferred" incline/flat BP" and "technically it may be the most efficient/enabling of all, especially with DB's.



Realistically though, a couple %'s really don't make much difference when you're working progressively and for the long-term.
True- but clearly it's not "useless". I think some would look at this and expect to see decline activation at, oh, 0% :whistle:

This shows similar percentages (http://www.teenbodybuilding.com/mark4.htm) for other lifts.

too bad it left out dips I would have liked to see what the study showed for them. Personally I like to mix declines in ever so often usaully in place of dips or flat bench.

people often dismiss decline BP as "useless". I'd say it's one of the most common misnomers you hear. When the fact is, in terms of muscle usage/activation, it's statisically right up there with the "heavily preferred" incline/flat BP" and "techimicallY it may be the most efficient/enabling of all, especially with DB's.


Which I readily agree with. The exercise is hard to get into and carry off. I often work in the Hammer strength machine version (http://us.commercial.lifefitness.com/content.cfm/iso-lateraldeclinepress). Which allows you to perform the exercise in an upright position.

I don't know but don't think it's relevant to the main point which is:

people often dismiss decline BP as "useless". I'd say it's one of the most common misnomers you hear. When the fact is, in terms of muscle usage/activation, it's statisically right up there with the "heavily preferred" incline/flat BP" and "techimicallY it may be the most efficient/enabling of all, especially with DB's.

When someone dismisses the exercise, it's not because they don't think it yields stimulation comparable to flat or incline or dips, but because it's superfluous when those other exercises are already being used. If you want "complete" chest development, you need some combination of:

Clavicular: incline
Sternal: flat or decline
Minor (and sternal): dips

But, when you're already performing dips, decline is really a quite similar angle, so usually flat is chosen instead. Of course, you want to vary your exercises and include decline from time to time, but (at least when I used to train chest regularly) the bread and butter combination was incline, flat, and dips. As well, when someone asks you how much you bench, they're not talking about the decline bench.

So, while I think decline is good for variation, I see no reason to make it the bread and butter of your chest routine.

A couple % difference would matter if you were only performing a single set (a la HIT or the like), but, if you're doing a variety of chest exercises with a volume that can be adjusted, that % difference quickly becomes immaterial.

Decline work is a big part of my chest and tricep excercises.

I've read and heard it said many times that no matter which kind of bench you do, all the pec muscles get worked so the Flat bench will do it all...

However the proof is in the pudding. If I work certain combos of Incline DB press, Inc Flyes and and other moves like a Smith Machine Neck Press, the upper Pecs will be screaming for mercy..

You CAN target areas of the Pecs by doing specific combos and moves including all of those mentioned by posters.

I have some faith in EMG tests. But another EMG test showed Bent
-over one-arm Rows as being THE Lat exercise...

However doing those alone does nothing for my Lats..in combo and supersets with others they do tho':love:

You CAN target areas of the Pecs by doing specific combos and moves including all of those mentioned by posters.


Can you elaborate?

Yes..

I've found that if I superset BB Flat bench with Seated Incline DB presses (at about 35 degrees with DB's going deep), then some Incline BB benches to neck, finished off with Seated Incline DB Flyes I will get a noticeably "worked" feeling in the upper pecs. Next day my upper pecs will be tender to the touch. Later I notice growth there.

I am NOT saying when I do that the upper Pecs are worked to the exclusion of the rest of the Pec Muscle.

But I can't get that same effect by doing Flat bench alone.

I can't comment on Decline Bench because I never do those. My lower Pecs are big genetically so I don't focus on those much.

It's my upper Pecs where I genetically came up short.