Barbell chest press?

[getnfit@38]

Hi Cathe and educated crowd

I was reading another post that inquired about chest presses and Cathe gave 3 points to remember. One of the points was not to let your elbows fall lower than the bench, and although I "feel" like I am not going lower than the bench height, possibly I am and that is why I am bringing so much shoulder into my chest presses, because I feel like I'm working my shoulders as well when I do chest presses. My question is: If I were to lie on the floor rather than the bench for chest presses, would this be an effective method of keeping my shoulders from getting involved in the chest press? Same question for flies as well~would the floor give me better stabilization and prevent me from working the wrong muscle group?
any and all form pointers appreciated
Donna

 

[getnfit@38]

*bumping*

 

[Aquajock]

Hi, Donna! Personally, I think there is a better alternative to doing your chest presses and pec flyes on the floor as opposed to a bench; I think the floor would limit your range of motion a bit too much.

A suggestion: rather than trying to complete each bench press and pec flye through the full range of motion, maybe try to to half-presses and half-flyes for a few sets, and then gradually increase the ROM from there. By that I mean:

with a bench press, start at the top, with the arms fully extended, and then lower the barbell or dumbbells only half-way, then fully extend back up. Then, after a few sets, gradually lower the barbell further down each rep.

with a pec flye, same principle: start at the top with the arms fully extended, then lower them only halfway and flye back up; then after a few sets open up the arms further and further down. Pay attention to where you're feeling it.

Understand too that you will never be able to totally remove the contribution of the shoulders to any chest work, nor will you be able to totally remove the contribution of the triceps to bench presses and push-ups.

Hope this helps.

annette

 

[Bobbi]

Donna, you know what really helped me was the workout in which Cathe described the arm position as a goal post. So when I am in goal post position, arms paralell to the bench I feel the work in the pecs and feel really safe and correct doing it. I actually visualize a goal post.

B http://www.plauder-smilies.de/love/heartface.gif OBBI http://www.plauder-smilies.de/love/heartline.gif

 

[getnfit@38]

Hi Annette & Bobbi
I think I'll try a combo of both your suggestions. Bobbi~I know the video you're talking about, its the ctx chest section, I just did it and yes, that goalpost reference helped me as well, I could visualize the goalpost and check my form. I also will incorporate the half motion Annette mentioned as I think part of my problem could be limited range of motion, and perhaps I am straining by going too far too soon, or with too heavy a weight.
(trying to keep up with Cathe ) But I hate lowering my weight because then I don't feel the work in the muscle at all~if that makes sense? So I'll combine these two suggestions and see if that helps.
Thank you both
Donna

 

[Cathe Friedrich]

Hi Donna! Getting over here a bit late but I see you have already gotten some good advice. It is correct that it is impossible to remove all shoulder work from a bench press because both muscle groups are used in this exercise. But to discourage the shoulder from "distracting" the chest work, it is best not to drop the shoulders below bench height because lower than this would really get a lot more shoulder involved. While doing bench presses on the floor is an acceptable option, I usually don't promote it because as you fatigue you may start to use the floor as a crutch (letting your arms come down and touch for a little cheat rest). Keep the goal post image in mind and I think that will be the most helpful approach. Good Luck!

 

[kathryn]

Donna,
Do you have a mirror you can put next to your workout area? (You can get a 4-foot x 1 foot --approximately--one in Walmart or K-mart, for example). I have one that I keep perpendicular to my step/bench. I check on my arm position, I can just turn my head to the side for the first rep to make sure that what I feel is "not below bench height" is actually on target.
Another way of feeling the presses more in the chest than in the shoulders is to pre-exhaust the chest by doing chest flyes (which focus on the chest), then, when you do presses, the chest, which is already a bit tired, will feel like it's doing more work, even though the front shoulder and triceps are still helping.