I’ve mentioned that we featured an EMG study back in the ’90s in Iron Man magazine that compared incline presses to decline presses for best-chest activation. I’ve been digging for it…
Luckily, elite trainer Vince McConnell recently sent me an article on that very study, so I could stop searching my old issues: Glass, et al. Electromyographical Activity of the Pectoralis Muscle During Incline and Decline Bench Presses. J Strength Cond Res. 1997 Aug;11(3):163-167.
For the uninitiated, EMG shows levels of electrical activation by a muscle during an exercise. This one also used experienced lifters, so their neuromuscular efficiency was up to par. That’s more accurate than using novice trainees with less muscle control…
The results showed that the incline press did recruit the upper-chest fibers to a degree, but it was equal to the amount of activity during the decline press…
Interesting. So for upper chest, either exercise is sufficient; however, the declines also recruited the bulk of the lower-pec fibers as well. The inclines did very little for the lower chest…
It’s why the Old Man, Young Muscle workout has the decline dumbbell press as the ideal chest exercise that you emphasize. It’s the most efficient overall pec builder.
And as explained in OMYM, dumbbells are important in order to get independent limb action for even more fiber activation—much better than using a bar.
Your Efficient Mass-Building Handbook: For more mass-building tips like the above plus complete workouts that include the ideal exercise for each muscle and the best stretch and contracted add-on moves, get your copy of Old Man, Young Muscle.
And you still get The Muscle-On, Belly-Gone “Diet” ebook FREE for a limited time when you add Old Man, Young Muscle to your mass-building library. Go HERE.
Till next time, train hard—and smart—for BIG results.
—Steve Holman
Former Editor in Chief, Iron Man Magazine
www.X-Rep.com
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