chest fly form

[pwmatt]

Hi Cathe. As I was doing a chest, shoulder and tricep workout with my daughter, she questioned my form on the bench flies. I was using my step as a bench and lifting 15lb DBs. I bend my elbows when I go down and come up. She uses much lighter weights and keeps her arms straight as she flies them out. I tried it her way ( using lighter weight)and although I felt muscle pulling in the upper part of my chest, I didnt feel extremely taxed. Also I was concerned about stressing my shoulders. What are your thoughts about this?
Thank You!!

 

[mbmundt]

I'm not Cathe but thought I'd jump in. What I was taught on the bench flies is that your arms have a slight bend in the elbows. Don't go below step height as it causes additional strain on the shoulders. If I remember correctly, Cathe says your arms should come around like you're hugging a tree.

Hope this helps in the mean time.

Brenda

 

[pwmatt]

Thank you Brenda. That is what I thought also. I even showed my daughter Cathe's STS DVD. I feel as if a straight arm puts too much strain on the shoulder area.

 

[catwoman7631]

I have super long arms so I always have a bend in my elbows. Just like Brenda said, I come up like I'm hugging a big tree.

 

[dr.mel_PT]

Not Cathe (obviously haha), but it's perfectly fine to keep your elbows bent during a pec fly. Your pecs insert into the upper part of the humerus, so theyre not impacted much by the angle at which your elbows are bent; bending your elbows does, however, reduce the lever arm during the dynamic motion of the flye so like you said, it puts less stress through the shoulder. Your ability to lift heavier is also affected by the smaller lever.

Sorry for the nerd response but I love this stuff!

 

[Cathe Friedrich]

Hi Cathe. As I was doing a chest, shoulder and tricep workout with my daughter, she questioned my form on the bench flies. I was using my step as a bench and lifting 15lb DBs. I bend my elbows when I go down and come up. She uses much lighter weights and keeps her arms straight as she flies them out. I tried it her way ( using lighter weight)and although I felt muscle pulling in the upper part of my chest, I didnt feel extremely taxed. Also I was concerned about stressing my shoulders. What are your thoughts about this?
Thank You!!

Hi Phyllis... to protect your shoulder and elbow joint it's best to keep a slight bend at the elbow joint (like your hugging a big beach ball). When attempting a chest fly with straight arms with lighter weight, you might not feel as great of a stress load, but I still don't recommend it because the older we get the more vulnerable our joints become.