# Decline bench



## Beezy (Dec 11, 2018)

I swap between flat bench and decline every week. I can’t help but notice that I’m the only guy at the gym in the morning who ever used decline. The only major difference I get is different parts of my triceps getting sore, my chest is all sore, so I can’t feel a difference. 
Any reason to stop or keep going?


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## bigdog (Dec 11, 2018)

I found my lower pecs developed better from decline benching. I do flat, incline and decline all on chest day.


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## Beezy (Dec 11, 2018)

bigdog said:


> I found my lower pecs developed better from decline benching. I do flat, incline and decline all on chest day.



How long do you lift per day?


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## bigdog (Dec 11, 2018)

Beezy said:


> How long do you lift per day?



different times depending on what I'm doing that day but chest day is about 1.5 hours with warming my old ass shoulders up. I do 3 sets of 8-10 flat and decline and 2 sets of incline for 8-10 usually.


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## Maijah (Dec 11, 2018)

Decline seems to have a much smaller r.o.m and I can move much more weight. Although I've often wondered if it really engages pecs that much more than any other lift for chest


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## Beezy (Dec 11, 2018)

Maijah said:


> Decline seems to have a much smaller r.o.m and I can move much more weight. Although I've often wondered if it really engages pecs that much more than any other lift for chest



I can definitely lift the most in decline. 
Incline I do every chest day, but I alternate the other two as I only lift for 50 minutes currently.


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## Gadawg (Dec 11, 2018)

I cant feel my chest on a standard decline. I need it to be a steeper angle


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## Beezy (Dec 11, 2018)

Gadawg said:


> I cant feel my chest on a standard decline. I need it to be a steeper angle



I have to use the adjustable to drop it back more. The one that’s made for it isn’t steep enough. Same with the incline bench for that matter.


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## bigdog (Dec 11, 2018)

Gadawg said:


> I cant feel my chest on a standard decline. I need it to be a steeper angle



same here. I use a steep angle as well.


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## Gadawg (Dec 12, 2018)

Beezy said:


> I have to use the adjustable to drop it back more. The one that’s made for it isn’t steep enough. Same with the incline bench for that matter.



I like 30 percent for incline. On a fixed incline barbell bench Ill put a plate under the foot support to decrease the angle a hair. 45 is too steep for me. Too much shoulder


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## snake (Dec 12, 2018)

If it's working B, why change? Personally. I like a modified cable cross- over for that. (Bring on the haters! lol)


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## Gadawg (Dec 12, 2018)

snake said:


> If it's working B, why change? Personally. I like a modified cable cross- over for that. (Bring on the haters! lol)



Nobody can argue with what works.


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## PillarofBalance (Dec 12, 2018)

snake said:


> If it's working B, why change? Personally. I like a million dicks in my mouth for that. (Bring on the haters! lol)



I don't agree with snake.

89.7% of dudes pecs I see are pathetic up top. I think incline and flat would be sufficient. Decline has such a short ROM I just never found it useful.  Dips worked better for me anyway.


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## Beezy (Dec 12, 2018)

PillarofBalance said:


> I don't agree with snake.
> 
> 89.7% of dudes dicks I see are pathetic up top. I think long and fat would be sufficient. Vagina has such a short ROM I just never found it useful.  Dicks worked better for me anyway.



I think you’re my role model


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## Seeker (Dec 12, 2018)

pecs have always been a strong point for me. especially upper. I'm sure genetics helped but for years from a beginner  I always started my workout with incline and ended it with dips


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## Seeker (Dec 12, 2018)

oh.. decline was a rarity. Hardly used it. if I did it was mostly with dumbbells


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## PillarofBalance (Dec 12, 2018)

Beezy said:


> I think you’re my role model



Thanks Beezy.


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## Beezy (Dec 12, 2018)

Beezy said:


> I think you’re my role model



Hahaha! How the f...


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## Beezy (Dec 12, 2018)

Seeker said:


> oh.. decline was a rarity. Hardly used it. if I did it was mostly with dumbbells



My chest has been tough to get going. I started alternating decline because it was  a Yates tip for catching the pecs up.


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## Gadawg (Dec 12, 2018)

Like everything, I think pecs are very dependent on genes. Ive tried many times to work up the upper pecs and the weight goes up a lot but the distribution of muscle seems to stay the same. 

I spent the first 20 weeks I was on trt focusing almost entirely on incline and saw very little change. Love to hear some insight from some of you guys with a shelf.


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## Seeker (Dec 12, 2018)

I've seen a lot of guys do inclines incorrectly where they're lowering the bar to the center of their pecs. This will take away more from pec emphasis and bring in more delts. It should be to the base of your neck or slightly under. Of course constant motion using the 1 second down, 3 seconds up will keep tension and stress on those pecs. I am aware of Yates incorporating lots of decline. Can't argue with Yates philosophy. He also never squatted either.


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## Seeker (Dec 12, 2018)

then theres dumbbells to where i see guys clacking the weights at the top. Not wise.


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## Gadawg (Dec 12, 2018)

Seeker said:


> then theres dumbbells to where i see guys clacking the weights at the top. Not wise.



I feel dumbells in upper chest much more so than the bar but Ill monkey with positioning. Thanks.


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## Jin (Dec 12, 2018)

Seeker said:


> . Can't argue with Yates philosophy. He also never squatted either.



The real reason Dawg likes to train like Yates.


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## Seeker (Dec 12, 2018)

Gadawg said:


> I feel dumbells in upper chest much more so than the bar but Ill monkey with positioning. Thanks.



nothing wrong with using dumbbells for hypertrophy


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## Gadawg (Dec 12, 2018)

Jin said:


> The real reason Dawg likes to train like Yates.



Ronnie Coleman got crippled doing squats. Therefor squats = crippled. Dont say I didnt warn you


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## Mythos (Dec 12, 2018)

I love decline and am not happy that my current gym doesn't have one. I will say this though,  years later looking back I think it was probably a bad idea to do heavy barbell declines all alone at night in the gym. Not sure how you get out of that if you fail, at least on the bench my old gym had..


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## stonetag (Dec 12, 2018)

Used the decline bench a lot during college for football training and I've always stuck with it since. Could be that it is just a workout habit for me?


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## metsfan4life (Dec 12, 2018)

I switch my weeks up with doing flat/decline and following week I do primarily focused reps on incline. really enjoy this as gives a solid lift time to each area without the delayed onset


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## Straight30weight (Dec 12, 2018)

Every time I decline, which is almost never, I feel like one of those benchers that has a huge arch and almost zero range of motion. Sure I can move some weight but I haven’t gotten much benefit from it.


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## Seeker (Dec 12, 2018)

Gadawg said:


> Ronnie Coleman got crippled doing squats. Therefor squats = crippled. Dont say I didnt warn you



this is bannable rhetoric. lol


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## Gadawg (Dec 12, 2018)

Seeker said:


> this is bannable rhetoric. lol



Dont tell POB. Lol.


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## gymrat827 (Dec 12, 2018)

chest day for me is - 

first, cable flys to beat things up a bit.  

Flat bench, dips, incline bench, push ups to burn out.


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## Beezy (Dec 12, 2018)

bigdog said:


> different times depending on what I'm doing that day but chest day is about 1.5 hours with warming my old ass shoulders up. I do 3 sets of 8-10 flat and decline and 2 sets of incline for 8-10 usually.



How are you warming your shoulders up?
My right shoulder has been killing me after chest lately.


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## Lilguy041 (Dec 27, 2018)

Beezy said:


> I swap between flat bench and decline every week. I can’t help but notice that I’m the only guy at the gym in the morning who ever used decline. The only major difference I get is different parts of my triceps getting sore, my chest is all sore, so I can’t feel a difference.
> Any reason to stop or keep going?


 
I love decline probably my strongest bench. But also because it’s the bench I started out with when I was younger


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## Uncle manny (Dec 27, 2018)

It’s a wise choice to take your pressing through various ranges.(shoulder health allowing) Flat, incline, decline, dips, all good stuff. Decline id say dumbells are a bit better. For a general shoulder warm up grab a band do a few sets of pull aparts and face pulls with some external rotations.


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## Texan69 (Dec 28, 2018)

Beezy said:


> I swap between flat bench and decline every week. I can’t help but notice that I’m the only guy at the gym in the morning who ever used decline. The only major difference I get is different parts of my triceps getting sore, my chest is all sore, so I can’t feel a difference.
> Any reason to stop or keep going?



Didn’t dorian Yates swear by decline and mainly only use those in his chest training as far as pressing. But if it works for you don’t stop just because nobody else is doing it, most people at the gym don’t know what they are doing anyway


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## Beezy (Dec 28, 2018)

Texan69 said:


> Didn’t dorian Yates swear by decline and mainly only use those in his chest training as far as pressing. But if it works for you don’t stop just because nobody else is doing it, most people at the gym don’t know what they are doing anyway



Yates was the reason I started them. Once I realized I could bench 315 instead of 305 on flat with no spotter, I was madly in love.

The bottom inside corners of my pecs only get really sore from decline too.


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## Gadawg (Dec 29, 2018)

Yates liked decline mostly because of the stress it removed from the shoulders.  He was doing all angles for most of his career though.  If I felt decline barbell in my chest I would do it all the time. It just isnt there for me though


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## Straight30weight (Dec 29, 2018)

I’m the same way. Decline really doesn’t seem to do much for me


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## Beezy (Dec 29, 2018)

Gadawg said:


> Yates liked decline mostly because of the stress it removed from the shoulders.  He was doing all angles for most of his career though.  If I felt decline barbell in my chest I would do it all the time. It just isnt there for me though



Fairly close grip and squeeze at the top has my lower pecs on Fire the next day. 

Incline barbell or dumbbell always leaves my right front delt on fire. Some days like I don’t even want to drive home. I can’t seem to find the warmup or stretch that helps.


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## Jada (Dec 29, 2018)

I love decline, i used to do decline bench but i rather use the machine because to unrack the bar i always feel weird with my shoulders.ive noticed i get more of a better stretch for the pecs, also ive heard from a video from yates that 90% of the pec tear comes from flatbench.. very rare it happens in decline.


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## Gadawg (Dec 29, 2018)

I definitely find I get the best "pec-centric" workout on cables by doing my flyes on a super strong decline angle rather than bringing my hands straight across the chest. But I cant replicate it on a press.


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## Beezy (Dec 30, 2018)

Gadawg said:


> I definitely find I get the best "pec-centric" workout on cables by doing my flyes on a super strong decline angle rather than bringing my hands straight across the chest. But I cant replicate it on a press.



That reminds me!
Some 5’10 125LB douche was lying on the ground doing some kind of feminine leg lift with one side of the cable station and it was cable crossover day for me.

I did one side at a time at a strong decline with much heavier weight, more like a decline dumbbell press, and my chest was useless the next day. 
Gotta do that again.


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## Camoninja (Jan 2, 2019)

I alternate from inclined, flat, and declined. I also noticed that decline tends to work my lower pecks and I can do quite a bit more weight.


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