Upper Chest Information - A More Connected and Tighter Core

There are many chest related tidbits I'd like to hit upon. Firstly, a chest contraction is achieved by crossing the humerus (upper arm bone) across the sternum. So the most popular chest exercise - the Bench Press - can be hard to achieve a good chest (pec) contraction. It is more of an anterior deltoid (front of the shoulder muscle) and triceps exercise. If your arm angle is 90 degrees, you can hit the chest more easily, but the shoulders are left more vulnerable as are its interior rotator cuffs.

The Bench Press is commonly done on one of three bench positions - Flat, Incline, or Decline. There is much debate over the effects of using each bench position. For instance, bench pressing at a decline eliminates leg drive, shortens the range of motion, and decreases anterior delt activation, but is said to target the lower chest as well as the entirety of the chest. Dips when performed leaning forward can also hit the lower chest. Incline is said to hit the upper chest and the anterior delts more so than flat or decline. Lastly, flat is said to hit the mid chest.

At first I used just the flat bench, then switched to all 3 bench positions, then switched to just decline for a while, and hit my heaviest bench weight (275lb). After that, I stayed on flat for a long time to work on technique. I switched from a wider grip to a more narrow one to hit the triceps harder and to protect my shoulders for the long run. I often didn't feel comfortable with a wider grip, and had much elbow pain in the past from too many pull-ups and other elbow hinge joint movements. Lately, I've switched to incline bench only, and it's been a godsend.

The past few months I've been very focused on the Military Press especially, and have found a greater technique in keeping a tighter back and grip throughout the entirety of the movement. This has allowed me to lift heavier weights with more confidence and having less luck involved in making lifts. I allow the weight to slide upwards through the tension of my lats until it's overhead. I feel the incline barbell bench press in a similar way, but with much more chest involvement, and more anterior delt than my standard military press.

In having hit the incline bb bp consistently for a few weeks now, I can feel the entirety of my chest more easily. Everything is tighter around my upper chest are, and thus it allows me to have more tension. Any part of your body you feel lacks muscle activation can be brought up by working the surrounding muscles. The larger you grow your muscle bellies, the more beneficial they are in the terms of levers, which allow you to lift heavy weights.

I've been pairing my incline pressing with flat dumbbell bench pressing. I prefer using heavier weights for it, and have been using the 90s and 95s lately for reps. There is definitely a difference in using lighter weights versus heavier weights. I can often feel an ache in a limb or part of the body, and after doing a heavy weight lift utilizing that aching part, it feels better instantly.