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blah blah upper chest blah

Hesoprimaltho

Hesoprimaltho

Member
So I've noticed recently that I haven't switched much up for quite a while regarding my routines... Not sure how I let it happen because traditionally variation has always been important to me, but regardless, I've been doing the same routine on the same split with very little deviation for over a year now... I've gone back to talking shit to myself while naked in front of the mirror, and being hyper-critical of perceived imperfections. This has always worked for me (I'm shallow, whatever. Shame WORKS), and currently Im bugging out about my upper chest. So I'm looking for things I've never done before specifically hitting the upper chest... I've been living the lifestyle for nearly two decades now, so I'm looking for lesser known "diamonds in the rough" here guys, no need to mention staples like incline bench, etc... Ok, GO.


p.s. oh yeah, holy shit... If you've never done SINGLE ARM cable flies, now is the time dudes.. holy shit, my new favorite thing.
 
Hesoprimaltho said:
So I've noticed recently that I haven't switched much up for quite a while regarding my routines... Not sure how I let it happen because traditionally variation has always been important to me, but regardless, I've been doing the same routine on the same split with very little deviation for over a year now... I've gone back to talking shit to myself while naked in front of the mirror, and being hyper-critical of perceived imperfections. This has always worked for me (I'm shallow, whatever. Shame WORKS), and currently Im bugging out about my upper chest. So I'm looking for things I've never done before specifically hitting the upper chest... I've been living the lifestyle for nearly two decades now, so I'm looking for lesser known "diamonds in the rough" here guys, no need to mention staples like incline bench, etc... Ok, GO.


p.s. oh yeah, holy shit... If you've never done SINGLE ARM cable flies, now is the time dudes.. holy shit, my new favorite thing.
Click to expand...
2 things i like throwing in for upper chest is feet elevated pushups and slight incline barrel press ( half press half fly )
 
Incline cable flies. Pull a bench into the cable machine. Low incline. Handles in mid to low position. Similar to a db incline fly but with cables you keep tension on the muscle thoughtout the whole range of motion.
 
Hesoprimaltho said:
yesterday was fun guys, hammered on them with all of the suggestions and for the first time in a very long while I can actually feel it today, much thanks and appreciation.

It's called my new favorite thing
Click to expand...
Glad you like it. Vince was like 75 years ahead of his time. His 8x8 program significantly changed my physique many years ago.
 
Very entertaining OP.

The problem with "diamonds in the rough" is that most are total BS. You seem to have enough experience under your belt to know this.

There are so many gimmicky, unnecessarily isolative exercises flaunted in workout programs and social media that just... don't... offer... enough stimulus.

I'm on a similar journey. ~20 years lifting and trying to finally get my upper chest to get its shit together. Over the last ~4 months, I've been playing with subtle grip/width/angle variations of those staples. For example, for 18 of the last 20 weeks, my first day of the week started with high incline press on the smith machine. However, I have been aiming the bar for my clavicle rather than nipple, keeping my elbows up much higher (more inline with the bar), and really milking the stretch at the bottom (touching bar to my clavicle, hold for a count). I felt this more than any other bar exercise I can think of and have made more meaningful progress with this than any other program I can recall (DogCrapp, Embrace The Suck, Big Beyond Belief et al).

Now I'm replacing that exercise with dumbbells and using a moderate incline. With dumbbells, "milking the stretch" also includes bringing the inner face of the DB as far apart as I can in the bottom of the rep (touching outer chest or even shoulder). This shit is mega. It's also pretty humbling in terms of the impact to weight - which is completely fine by me.

So I guess my advice is to 1: change exercise from whatever you're doing now, the novelty alone will be beneficial and 2: play around with different grips on "the staples" to see what motion really f*cks you up - then do that one a bunch!

And because wrecking muscles is fun, after one of those compounds to start, then throw in a fun isolation exercise (fly, push ups etc) for 2-3 sets of 20-30 reps and then question your life choices. ;)
 
MountainBaby said:
Very entertaining OP.

The problem with "diamonds in the rough" is that most are total BS. You seem to have enough experience under your belt to know this.

There are so many gimmicky, unnecessarily isolative exercises flaunted in workout programs and social media that just... don't... offer... enough stimulus.

I'm on a similar journey. ~20 years lifting and trying to finally get my upper chest to get its shit together. Over the last ~4 months, I've been playing with subtle grip/width/angle variations of those staples. For example, for 18 of the last 20 weeks, my first day of the week started with high incline press on the smith machine. However, I have been aiming the bar for my clavicle rather than nipple, keeping my elbows up much higher (more inline with the bar), and really milking the stretch at the bottom (touching bar to my clavicle, hold for a count). I felt this more than any other bar exercise I can think of and have made more meaningful progress with this than any other program I can recall (DogCrapp, Embrace The Suck, Big Beyond Belief et al).

Now I'm replacing that exercise with dumbbells and using a moderate incline. With dumbbells, "milking the stretch" also includes bringing the inner face of the DB as far apart as I can in the bottom of the rep (touching outer chest or even shoulder). This shit is mega. It's also pretty humbling in terms of the impact to weight - which is completely fine by me.

So I guess my advice is to 1: change exercise from whatever you're doing now, the novelty alone will be beneficial and 2: play around with different grips on "the staples" to see what motion really f*cks you up - then do that one a bunch!

And because wrecking muscles is fun, after one of those compounds to start, then throw in a fun isolation exercise (fly, push ups etc) for 2-3 sets of 20-30 reps and then question your life choices. ;)
Click to expand...
Any particular reason or necessity for why you've been doing high inclines on the smith? TBH I've always found dumbbell work (and yeah, I see that further down you mentioned you've recently switched to dumbbells and a lower incline) toward really walloping me sssooooo much more thoroughly simply due to the stabilization effort necessary when Im increasing time under tension to really take my time, dropping reps to around 5-7, and as long as I think I can avoid dropping the weight afterwards adding a good burn out on the final rep of final set.

IDK, guess I've always felt, particularly during plateaus, that I've been able to smash em out easier when avoiding machines entirely, more activation.

Further, I agree totally w/ the grip adjustments, and I think thats honestly where the gironda press to neck shines, getting that flare after rotating your grip makes it more reminiscent of a dip, and you really feel it beautifully.

Have you ever played around with fat gripz at all? Now that Im thinking about it I cant believe I've avoided such a cheap accessory for so long, even just out of curiosity.
BlazinDayz said:
Awesome. Hitting a plateau on chest day as well so will give this a try. Just can't get my bench above 225. Maybe a mind block.
Click to expand...
Don't underestimate the power of calisthenics/ballistics to help blast through rough patches man... I've worked them in for years with at least one fully body routine per week, eventually I added a weight vest that holds up to 40lbs, and some time through quarantine I started maxing out the full 40lbs. I didnt have my home gym back then, so calisthenics was all I had. Point being: I know a guy who benches ~260 and cant handle 5 pullups or more than 25 pushups consecutively without significant strain. It has something to do with the motor pattern and muscle memory. I regularly rag on him about how much stronger he could be, but he refuses to acknowledge it for some reason...

Give it a try dude, seriously. Heres a link to a study confirming what I'm telling you, and also a link to the vest I use personally.

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

The effects of combined ballistic and heavy resistance training on maximal lower- and upper-body strength in recreationally trained men - PubMed

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the additive effects of ballistic training to a traditional heavy resistance training program on upper- and lower-body maximal strength. Seventeen resistance-trained men were randomly assigned to 1 of 2 groups: (i) a combined ballistic and...
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

 
Last edited:
Hesoprimaltho said:
Don't underestimate the power of calisthenics to help blast through rough patches man... I've worked them in for years with at least one fully body calisthenics routine per week, eventually I added a weight vest that holds up to 40lbs, and some time through quarantine I started maxing out the full 40lbs. I didnt have my home gym back then, so calisthenics was all I had. Point being: I know a guy who benches ~260 and cant handle 5 pullups or more than 25 pushups consecutively without significant strain. It has something to do with the motor pattern and muscle memory. I regularly rag on him about how much stronger he could be simply by incorporating calisthenics into his routine, but he refuses to acknowledge it for some reason...

Give it a try dude, seriously. Heres a link to a study confirming what I'm telling you, and also a link to the vest I use personally.
Click to expand...
Interesting. I do incorporate plyometrics into lower body training several times a month, which helps overcome plateaus.
I'll have to look up some calisthenics routines for the upper body.
 
BlazinDayz said:
Interesting. I do incorporate plyometrics into lower body training several times a month, which helps overcome plateaus.
I'll have to look up some calisthenics routines for the upper body.
Click to expand...
Wanna really fuck yourself up? Gymnastics rings.... Honestly I don't use mine nearly enough to the extent that I should, but yeah if you really wanna feel weak play around with rings for a week: nothing like feeling emasculated by your 100lb girlfriend who makes you look like a bitch because of wooden toys hanging from straps.
 
Hesoprimaltho said:
Any particular reason or necessity for why you've been doing high inclines on the smith? TBH I've always found dumbbell work (and yeah, I see that further down you mentioned you've recently switched to dumbbells and a lower incline) toward really walloping me sssooooo much more thoroughly simply due to the stabilization effort necessary when Im increasing time under tension to really take my time, dropping reps to around 5-7, and as long as I think I can avoid dropping the weight afterwards adding a good burn out on the final rep of final set.

IDK, guess I've always felt, particularly during plateaus, that I've been able to smash em out easier when avoiding machines entirely, more activation.

Further, I agree totally w/ the grip adjustments, and I think thats honestly where the gironda press to neck shines, getting that flare after rotating your grip makes it more reminiscent of a dip, and you really feel it beautifully.

Have you ever played around with fat gripz at all? Now that Im thinking about it I cant believe I've avoided such a cheap accessory for so long, even just out of curiosity.
Click to expand...
Great stuff, man.

I have not ever tried fat gripz. No particular reason why not, just haven't really given them much attention.

I have actually always preferred dumbbells and not been great on a barbell. That is part of why I'm using the smith, but honestly, I've learned to love the smith machine for the stability. Neither is right or wrong, just different horses for courses.

As far as changing the angle, I'm doing so because my chest is so stubborn about growth. Some guys have a chest shape that responds great to just a 45* and flat, but I'm not that guy. Hitting the middle incline now as it does involve less front delt and it does hit some different fibers in my chest.

I've also stopped doing heavy (<10 rep) dumbbells. Also for safety/stability reasons. So if I'm doing any work in the 5-10 rep range, it's on a bar. Dumbbells and machines are in the 10-30 rep range.

Some great information about chest volume, loading and frequency here: Renaissance Periodization Training Hub
 
Have you tried Landmine Press with both hands? Sorry if it's too common.
That squeeze hits my upper chest hard
Works for me.
 
JuiceJohn said:
Have you tried Landmine Press with both hands? Sorry if it's too common.
That squeeze hits my upper chest hard
Works for me.
Click to expand...
I haven't actually, only single. I lift at home so my landmine is just a standard barbell with a tennis ball on the end and a 5lb plate to catch the others loaded afterwards, Come to think of it I'm gonna start using it more often in general as I've neglected it for a while now beyond rows and those single arm presses.

notanothersnake said:
Reverse grip dumbell presses
Click to expand...
Nice. I've done arnolds with some regularity a while back, but never fully reverse. Thanks for the reminder.
 
Hesoprimaltho said:
So I've noticed recently that I haven't switched much up for quite a while regarding my routines... Not sure how I let it happen because traditionally variation has always been important to me, but regardless, I've been doing the same routine on the same split with very little deviation for over a year now... I've gone back to talking shit to myself while naked in front of the mirror, and being hyper-critical of perceived imperfections. This has always worked for me (I'm shallow, whatever. Shame WORKS), and currently Im bugging out about my upper chest. So I'm looking for things I've never done before specifically hitting the upper chest... I've been living the lifestyle for nearly two decades now, so I'm looking for lesser known "diamonds in the rough" here guys, no need to mention staples like incline bench, etc... Ok, GO.


p.s. oh yeah, holy shit... If you've never done SINGLE ARM cable flies, now is the time dudes.. holy shit, my new favorite thing.
Click to expand...
Those are my favourite too, but use the entire cable rack and bring yourself over to the other side to grab the bar to stabilize with one arm. Also the fact some clowns tell you to keep your scapula retracted is a joke. Keeping your traps down and allowing the scapula to round and squeeze the upper pec creates the most insane contraction. That was a mistake I made with flies years ago listening to morons.
 
Rippidy Dippidy said:
Those are my favourite too, but use the entire cable rack and bring yourself over to the other side to grab the bar to stabilize with one arm. Also the fact some clowns tell you to keep your scapula retracted is a joke. Keeping your traps down and allowing the scapula to round and squeeze the upper pec creates the most insane contraction. That was a mistake I made with flies years ago listening to morons.
Click to expand...
Thats exactly how I've been doing them, and yeah insane is the only adequate descriptor. I had always done crossovers until I happened across single arms by chance and necessity.. So underrated, fucking blows my mind that these aren't a staple and it took me ages to discover them. I actually prefer to lock my core for stability instead of anchoring, harder to retain form the heavier I go, but honestly I've found lighter weight slower and more focused produces some of the best pumps I've ever had without var or sildenafil.
 
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