Chest training

[redsoxrock930]

Lately ive noticed that my left pec is much harder than my right, even though i am right handed. my philosophy behind this is that during presses my dominant hand right tricep is doing more work than my left tricep so my left pec has to work harder to compensate, how can i compensate for this

[snoopy]

I'm no Ano but I'll chime in anyway!

Concentrate on your form when your doing your benches. Think of the muscles you should be working and make sure you're using them. Go to a lower weight and make sure you do it right. Then build up to higher weights.

Everyone is going to say it, so I'll be the first, you should be doing dips instead of bench presses.

[vince916]

Start doing dumbells to isolate each arm.

[stormholloway]

Dips instead of bench? Why?

I agree with dumbbells. The hardness of one pec over the other could be due to a stretching issue as well, though it's hard to say.

[Rickson]

Originally Posted by redsoxrock930

Lately ive noticed that my left pec is much harder than my right, even though i am right handed. my philosophy behind this is that during presses my dominant hand right tricep is doing more work than my left tricep so my left pec has to work harder to compensate, how can i compensate for this

Stay away from machines and use free weights. I disagree with your theory about your pecs and triceps working differently and all that. If you're using a machine press, you definitely could get muscle imbalance from one side working harder than the other, but it shouldn't be the case with free weights. Stay away from the nautilus chest press and the smith machine for bench presses. Do barbell bench press, dumbbell bench press, and dips.

[snoopy]

Originally Posted by stormholloway

Dips instead of bench? Why?

I agree with dumbbells. The hardness of one pec over the other could be due to a stretching issue as well, though it's hard to say.

I have read that the bench press can be dangerous for the rotator cuff.

Most people don't seem to have problems and I'm no expert.

Dips on the other hand seem to be one of the most effective and safe chest exercises.

[scotus]

Originally Posted by snoopy

Dips on the other hand seem to be one of the most effective and safe chest exercises.

That might be because you are only using your body weight.

Put a few 25-lb plates inside a backpack and try the dip and who knows you might feel the strain on your shoulders, too?

[snoopy]

Originally Posted by scotus

That might be because you are only using your body weight.

Put a few 25-lb plates inside a backpack and try the dip and who knows you might feel the strain on your shoulders, too?

Benching stresses the rotator cuff most when you grip the bar with your elbows out. If you keep them in it's less of an issue.

The problem is, keeping your elbows wide allows you to work the pecs better. If you keep your elbows in you work the triceps more and the pecs less, especially the outer pec.

Dips can be dangerous for the rotator cuff when you tilt your body foward. That's when you put a greater stress on them.

Again the problem is, you work the chest more when you lean forward. You work the triceps more when you keep yourself perpendicular to the floor.

I guess the solution is to use less weight when using a wide grip on the bench press or when you lean forward for dips. This way you can still focus on your pecs without stressing the rotator cuff too much.

I guess that also means stormholloway was right and dips aren't better than benches in terms of safety.

But I'm no expert, to say the least.

[redsoxrock930]

i always use free weights, hate that chest press machine and i always do 3 sets of 8-10 dips during my chest workouts, ive been using dumbells on my presses, the only machinese i use during my chest workouts are the pec deck and cable crossover

[Rickson]

Originally Posted by redsoxrock930

i always use free weights, hate that chest press machine and i always do 3 sets of 8-10 dips during my chest workouts, ive been using dumbells on my presses, the only machinese i use during my chest workouts are the pec deck and cable crossover

Just keep it up then. Everyone has a slight imbalance. My right bicep is clearly bigger than my left bicep and so is Arnold's.