et al, “Influence of bench angle on upper extremity muscular activation during bench press exercise,” European Journal of Sport Science, Vol. 22, 2010.īest Chest Exercises EMG Study 4 Lauver, Jakob D. Die besten Übungen und Methoden für Sport und Gesundheit, 2000.īest Chest Exercises EMG Study 3 Contreras, Bret, “Inside the Muscles: Best Chest and Triceps Exercises,” T-Nation, Feb. 2012.īest Chest Exercises EMG Study 2 (German book) & analysis (in English) Boeckh-Behrens, Wend-Uwe and Buskies, Wolfgang, Fitness- Krafttraining. A routine with incline presses, dips, and cable crossovers would effectively work all areas.īest Chest Exercises EMG Study 1 Schanke, Whitnee, et al, American Council of Exercise and University of Wisconsin, La Crosse, “Top 3 Most Effective Chest Exercises,” ACE CertifiedNews, Oct. ![]() Most people want to focus more on the upper third of their chests than the lower third, but dip away if you want to expand your pec bottoms. The DIP scored 69% for overall pec stimulation in one of the two studies, but the third study rated weighted dips the highest of all exercises for lower pec stimulation. You can compensate by bringing the dumbbells up in more of a fly-press oval shape (arms straight at the top) instead of a round arc or by doing only the bottom two-thirds of reps. Because the dumbbells travel in an arc instead of a horizontal plane, pec tension is lost-especially during the top halves of reps. Again, it comes down to the gravitational pull. In comparison, the cable crossover average is 94% and the pec deck fly is 90%. ![]() So, they’re acceptable substitutes.Īs for the DUMBBELL FLY, averaging the two studies (one looking at flat flyes, the other looking at incline flyes), we get 66%. The MACHINE CHEST PRESS and DUMBBELL BENCH PRESS both activated pecs 79% as well as their barbell equivalents. We’d love to see how Hammer Strength machine presses, Smith machine presses, and machine incline flyes stack up, to name only three. So, what to make of all the other chest exercises? First, some weren’t included in any EMG study. However, 30 did a better job of also stressing the middle pecs, making 45-degree inclines more upper-centric but 30 degrees a better overall chest exercise. It confirmed that incline presses worked upper more and decline presses worked lower more, but upper pec stimulation was virtually identical with either 30 or 45 degrees. But yet another study looked at chest activation during flat, 30-degree incline, 45-degree incline, and 15-degree decline barbell presses. For example, it’s much easier to go from 300 to 305 than 30 to 35.Īs for the angle of the incline or decline press, one of the studies mentioned above determined that 45-degrees was better than 25-degrees for focusing on either the upper pecs (with an incline press) or lower pecs (with a decline press). ![]() Heavier weights also allow you to more frequently add resistance for the same reps. This barbell standard allows you to stress your chest with the greatest free-weight loads. However, in the mid-range of reps, the tension is very high in comparison to other chest exercises. Tension is not maximized on the pecs from start to finish (the front delts and triceps do work). Because the bar is going up or down in a straight (or nearly straight) line, you’re battling gravity from start to finish. The barbell bench press at any angle has several things going for it: A third study also ranked traditional barbell bench presses high but placed the wide-grip guillotine press (a risky variant of the barbell bench press, done to the neck) even higher. And in the study that differentiated angles, the BARBELL INCLINE PRESS wins for upper chest, as does the BARBELL DECLINE PRESS for lower chest. Let’s dive deep into the science of pectoral training to determine the best (and worst) chest exercises.įocusing on the two biggest EMG studies, the clear winner for best chest exercise in both is the BARBELL BENCH PRESS. Olympia Ronnie Coleman, who typically did nothing but flat, incline, and decline presses for chest-barbells one workout and dumbbells the next.) But the story is more complicated than just “do free-weight basics,” because when it comes to flying, machines are superior. (One big exception from the recent past was 8-time Mr. That’s because everyone did barbell bench presses then, while too many champs avoid them today. The chests of Arnold Schwarzenegger and Franco Columbu in the ’70s seen above would still wow on the Mr. The interesting thing about pecs is, unlike some other muscles, the highest bodybuilding standards haven’t changed much over the past half-century. The results may surprise you-or maybe not. We sifted through the data of three electromyography (EMG) studies to determine precisely which exercises do the best job of activating your pectorals, which do an okay job, and which you should modify or avoid. What are the best chest exercises, and what are the worst?
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