PRESSING FOR CHEST: ELBOWS????

[miamibodybuilder]

got a question for everyone on here. when it comes to chest pressing movements, do most of you flare your elbows out or do you keep them in the groove down by your sides when you lower? just a question to get some opinions and suggestions.

[coz999]

depends what your goals are, powerlifters generally tuck their elbows, bodybuilders flare in order to isolate more chest....hope this helps

[miamibodybuilder]

this is entirely for bodybuilding purposes. Thanks coz, i appreciate it. it does help

[rantorcha]

To be honest, I would care about where my elbows are if I were you. Place them where ever you feel the chest working the most. That's what bodybuilders are after in the end. Just my two pennies worth.

[miamibodybuilder]

i appreciate the feedback ramiro. hows everything going brother?

[rantorcha]

Sept 10, 2010 9:59:58 GMT -5 miamibodybuilder said:

i appreciate the feedback ramiro. hows everything going brother?

Going well, ray. Just chillin' & having a little fun before prep starts again.

[My_Legacy]

I always try to keep them tucked; it's just much safer in my opinion...plus, it doesn't strain my shoulders as much.

[masterschamp]

Never get overly cocerned about elbow placement...just do the movement in the plane that feels comfortable for you. I feel this way about foot placement, as well, on squatting and pressing movements.

Keith

[maxseg]

Tucked - numerous shoulder injuries here, when I have 400+ it just feels a lot more stable.

[Blade]

I agree with MC do what's comfortable but if you flare them to far you end up with more of a shoulder workout rather than a chest workout.

I find myself in a mid spot where it's not flared but not tucked right by my side. I also train more with DB rather than a bench press and found I get much better isolation and my thickness is insane. BBing is not a matter of the amount of weight you puish but how you push it with the right nutrients in place.

[hossjob]

I have shoulder issues with my right side. I haven't benched much at all in recent years sticking mostly to DB's and Incline movements. However, after I got done competing this past November I made it a goal to incorporate some more flat bench and I have gone VERY SLOW and DELIBERATE tryiing to find the "BEST" ROM for me. I've found that to really get my pecs involved and alleviate my shoulder impingement I have to follow Eric's advice about PEC POSITIONING (shoulder blades back, shoulders back and down, chest up) and bring the bar relatively HIGH on my chest just under my clavicles. This places my elboes just under my shoulders, so they're not quite at 90 degrees.

[rantorcha]

Dec 9, 2010 20:08:31 GMT -5 hossjob said:

I have shoulder issues with my right side. I haven't benched much at all in recent years sticking mostly to DB's and Incline movements. However, after I got done competing this past November I made it a goal to incorporate some more flat bench and I have gone VERY SLOW and DELIBERATE tryiing to find the "BEST" ROM for me. I've found that to really get my pecs involved and alleviate my shoulder impingement I have to follow Eric's advice about PEC POSITIONING (shoulder blades back, shoulders back and down, chest up) and bring the bar relatively HIGH on my chest just under my clavicles. This places my elboes just under my shoulders, so they're not quite at 90 degrees.

I have been following the same advice with good results (as far as positioning).

One other thing that I've noticed for myself...I really need to concentrate on my breathing - breathe out on the positive. This ensures that I get a great contraction as opposed to my erratic breathing at times. Not sure if that's just a "me" thing, but that has helped my improve my chest tremendously.