Q: I’ve been on the new [Never Stop Growing] workout for a few weeks now. Gains have been excellent. Varying the rest between sets [at different workouts] has done good things. My question is about chest. Bench presses have always hurt my shoulders. I’ve tried the decline and cables, but they also hurt. My pecs are a weak point, and I’m guessing it’s the shoulder stress. What should I do to bring up my chest and minimize the pain?
A: Drug-Free Mr. Universe and biomechanics expert Doug Brignole singled out DB decline presses as his ideal pec move…
However, even the ideal exercises can sometimes irritate past injuries. Or perhaps you’re just not structurally built for chest presses…
The two options that are very close to ideal—and I would argue they are ideal for most trainees—are cable dips and cable flyes (or pec deck flyes)…
As you can see, the cable dips are similar to a decline press, so those may still hurt. In that case, opt for the more-isolated flyes (or pec deck)…
Paul Carter, a respected colleague of hypertrophy researcher Chris Beardsley, had this to say in a post on IG (@liftrunbang1)…
A properly done flye/pec deck is horizontal adduction. In that plane, the pecs have enormous leverage over the front delts…[With a press] there’s usually some degree of extension into flexion, and this brings the front delts in a lot more.
So the flyes will give you less shoulder stress; however, the biceps can be a weak link—and they are vulnerable during flyes….
To keep any flye exercise safe, maintain a slight bend at your elbows throughout the range of motion—never straighten your arms. Biceps tears are not fun…
If both the cable dips and cable flyes don’t hurt, you can alternate them at different chest workouts…
And if you want to specialize for new chest size, see the Stealth Mass Method that’s outlined in The Ultimate Mass Workout Reloaded.
Till next time, train hard—and smart—for BIG results.
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