You all know perfectly well that a lot of strength exercises, including basic ones, are performed on athletic benches. Anyone who has been to a gym has seen two types of this indispensable piece of equipment: horizontal benches and incline benches. The latest sports equipment are divided into two more types: with a positive and negative (head below the body) slope.

Why do we need different types of benches, can't we just do one? What is the difference between a positive and negative incline, and what exercises are performed on different benches? We will answer these questions and find out how to train effectively on a particular type of bench.

What is the difference?

Let's start right away with the differences between the three types of benches. Changing the angle and position of the athlete's body serves to control the distribution of power accents when performing exercises. Depending on the angle, the loads between the muscles are distributed differently. The output is different results. This is important for training the chest muscles. By doing basic pectoral exercises (bench press, dumbbell raises) on a horizontal bench, you get the usual load distribution. But what if the upper chest is lagging behind in development or you want to work out the lower part?

Exercising on (head over body) will put a lot of stress on your upper and chest. Conversely, it engages the lower half of the pectoral muscles. This is not only due to a change in the angle at which the barbell or dumbbells press on you.

Tilting the bench reduces the role of the triceps in the exercise, so you work with one chest.

Naturally, this increases efficiency.

Some experts argue that incline presses are much more useful than horizontal presses, and therefore the latter can be avoided. This is a controversial opinion that we are not commenting on today. It is enough that now you know: there is such an approach to sports training.

What exercises are performed on different types of benches?

The primary role of incline benches is to work out the chest. Therefore, the same basic chest exercises are performed: bench press, dumbbell bench press, dumbbell arm lift. The technique is the same, but there is a difference in the result. To begin with, "at an angle" it is better to press weights less than usual: it is objectively more difficult, the load on the muscles becomes greater. Do not risk getting yourself injured.

Some of the usual "lying" exercises on an incline bench do not make sense. These include the "French press" - one of the best ways to work out the triceps. Bending over will only get in the way of this exercise. If for some reason you have no desire to include in the program "French press" on a horizontal bench, just do it while standing!

Watch the corner!

So, we figured out why inclined benches are needed and found out how they differ from horizontal shells. There is one more question left: the angle of inclination. Is it important? What will change with its change?

Of course, the tilt angle is important. This is a potential newbie mistake. Often there are benches in the halls, on which an angle of inclination of 45 degrees is set. They look interesting and are sometimes really needed by experienced athletes for special tasks. But for most athletes, an incline of 25-30 degrees is better. Such an angle will "turn off" the triceps from the work, and cope with the shift of emphasis to the desired part of the chest.

A large angle is also not useless.

With a positive 45-degree bend, the barbell press begins to engage the deltoids

In fact, you get something in between a bench press and an army press. Do you need it? We do not undertake to judge. If you know exactly why you need such an exercise, then you have enough experience and this article is not quite for you.

Is there a replacement?

If you want to get the effect of the incline bench press, but there is simply no such bench at hand, then what to do? Will simulators help here? Of course, the answer is yes.

Firstly, on some that imitate the traditional bench press, it is possible to set the angle of the bench. Secondly, to help you, because it gives an incredible variability of motion vectors: on such sports equipment, you can shift the emphasis almost as you like.

This is our last, traditional advice. A competent coach will always tell you when you need to switch from a regular horizontal bench to an incline bench. Or explain the correct combination of exercise variations. Good luck!

By squeezing less than the best you can, you sacrifice your muscles.

Brief description of the simulator

The pectoral machine that I would like to dedicate this article to is designed to simulate an incline dumbbell press. It allows you to work at a higher weight than what you would normally do when doing dumbbell presses, and therefore puts more stress on the target muscle group. Another advantage of the simulator is that, if used correctly, you can reduce the stress on the shoulder joints.

In the simulator, you can adjust the height of the handles, which allows it to adapt to arms of any length. The seat height is also adjustable - you need to choose it so that the handles are approximately at the level of your shoulders.

Some people believe that the lower we lower the weight, the more the pectoral muscles will be "loaded". In fact, this is not the case - excessive weight loss will lead to the fact that the load is transferred from the pectoral muscles to the shoulder joints, which is highly undesirable, as it increases the risk of injury. If the weight is dropped too low, the risk of injury to the pectoral muscle itself also increases, so it is not recommended to lower your arms below the level at which your shoulders will be parallel to the ground (that is, in the lowest position, your arms should be bent at the elbows at an angle of 90 degrees) ...

Despite the fact that the simulator allows you to work without the help of a partner, help is very desirable when using large weights. It may be required both when "breaking" the weight and bringing it to its original position (at the very beginning, your hands are in the final - lower position), and when returning the projectile to the racks - in order to avoid overstrain in the shoulder joints and prevent excessive stretching of the chest muscles.

Ideal for Yuri Spasokukotsky's method

The simulator is almost an ideal solution for training the pectoral muscles according to my method: firstly, it allows you to achieve an extremely targeted load, and secondly, it reduces the risk of injury. When used correctly, of course!

For beginners in strength training, it is recommended that you select a weight with which they can perform about 15 repetitions; three sets are enough to get you started. More experienced athletes may be advised to work in the 5-8 rep range; the first two sets should be warm-ups - with a gradual increase in weight, another 2-3 - working with full load. Rest between sets should be at least 2-3 minutes so that you can fully recover for heavy lifting. If you are preparing for a competition, then the number of repetitions in the set can be increased, and the rest between sets can be reduced.

Exercise technique:

1. Sit on the machine and go to the starting position, using a partner or a special pedal to facilitate the transfer of weight to the top position.
2. Inhaling air and slowly lower the weight down until the elbows are bent at an angle of exactly 90 degrees.
3. After exhaling, simultaneously squeeze the weight upward with a powerful and rapid effort.
4. Make sure that the head and shoulder blades brought together rest against the bench.

Video - Press in a lever trainer for pectoral muscles with a load of 200 kilograms. December 2008.

Anatoly Baklazhko, champion in bench press, master of sports in powerlifting, evaluates the incline bench press machine designed by his friend Yuri Spasokukotsky.
According to the experienced Anatoly, the design is more successful than the "Hammer" version. Comfort in the area of ​​the shoulder joints plus the feeling of the strongest "pumping" of the upper chest!

Many gyms have a Smith machine, but not all athletes use this simulator, considering it ineffective compared to exercises with free weight. We will figure out how to properly do a bench press in a Smith machine, and what advantages this simulator has.

Smith Trainer

The Smith machine (or machine) is designed to allow only limited amplitude exercises. Amplitude regulators are special limiters. The essence of the work of the simulator is to provide the athlete with the stability of the weight while performing this or that exercise. The same restraints perform a safety function - they replace the second person who, as a rule, monitors your safety during training.

Video: Smith Machine Design and Functionality

The main purpose of such a simulator is to perform presses in a sitting, lying or standing position, squats and other exercises. The Smith machine helps to strengthen large muscles and entire muscle groups.

Smith Machine Bar Press Options

Your position on the gym bench in the Smith machine affects which muscles are pumped during the exercise.

Seated press (classic) - working on the shoulders and chest muscles

This type of bench press allows you to work your shoulders.

Before starting the bench press in a sitting position, you need to adjust the back of the bench - it should be tilted from 80 to 85 degrees (almost a vertical angle). The edge of the backrest should be located approximately under the bar.

1. Starting position - we sit on the bench so that the bar is located in front of you. The feet are firmly on the floor, with the pelvis and back we rest against the back of the bench. We take the bar with a straight wide grip (army), elbows look to the sides. We rotate the neck in order to remove it from the hooks, and lower it to approximately chin level.
2. As you exhale, with the help of the shoulder muscles, we squeeze the weight above ourselves, but do not straighten it to the end of the arm.
3. On inhalation, we return to the starting position.
4. Continue to sit in Smith's machine until the set is complete.

Beginners are encouraged to do 8 reps for each of the 3 sets. If this is not your first time doing this exercise, you should do 10 reps for 4 sets. Well, for more experienced athletes, 12 reps and 4-5 approaches are desirable.

Video: Performing the classic version of the bench press in a Smith machine (lifting the bar up with a narrow and army grip)

Smith Machine Seated Incline Press

This version of the press is performed on an incline bench at an angle of 30 to 60 degrees. With an incline press, muscle development of the upper chest region occurs.

1. Starting position - sit on an incline bench so that the bar is over the upper chest. The feet are firmly on a horizontal surface. We put the head on the back of the bench, bring the shoulder blades together. We take the bar with a straight wide grip, remove the bar from the hooks.
2. While inhaling, gradually lower the barbell until it touches the upper chest.
3. As you exhale, we squeeze it, but do not straighten it to the end of the hand.
4. We return to the starting position.
5. We continue to do the bench press until the set is completed.

Video: Smith Machine Incline Bench Press

Seated Reverse Grip Press

The main load when performing such an exercise falls on the anterior delta, the secondary load on the triceps. It is very important to grip the bar with a closed grip - when the thumb seems to close the grip, it is not recommended to use a narrow grip to avoid the bar falling onto your face. The gymnastic bench should be set at an 80-degree incline.

1. Starting position - we sit on a bench, rest against the back with our back and lower back, feet firmly on a horizontal surface. We take the bar with a direct closed grip, remove it from the hooks.
2. As you exhale, we squeeze the bar up, but do not straighten it to the end of the arm.
3. While inhaling, lower the barbell until it touches the lower part of the collarbone. The elbows should protrude slightly forward.
4. We continue to perform the exercise until the end of the approach.

The number of repetitions and approaches varies from 10 to 15 and from 3 to 5, respectively, depending on the degree of your physical fitness.

Advantages and Disadvantages of the Smith Machine

Like any other simulator, the Smith machine has its pros and cons. Let's start with the positives:

• The simulator is suitable for beginner athletes who are not confident in performing exercises and can easily get injured.
• During training, the main muscle groups work in the Smith machine, and additional, or secondary, are turned off for the period of performing an exercise.
• It becomes possible to perform exercises without an assistant, who most often insures on any other simulators.
• The Smith machine can stimulate muscle growth well.
  

Among the disadvantages of this simulator are the following:

• Considering the second plus of the simulator, you can also find a negative side in it, because with the stable development of large muscles, you can observe the lag of additional muscles, which is quite difficult to change in the future. Therefore, it is important to conduct training in parallel on the secondary muscles.
  
• Accustomed to working in the Smith machine, the athlete can wean themselves to perform the same exercises with free weight, and this is fraught with injuries.

The right approach to using the Smith Machine will allow you to develop large muscle groups and build muscle mass while maintaining your health.

Place the bench in the Smith machine so that the bar is in line with the top of your chest.
Adjust the incline of the bench at an angle of 30-40 degrees.
Spread your knees apart and rest your feet firmly on the floor. Press your back, shoulders and buttocks firmly against the bench.
Grasp the bar with an overhead grip shoulder-width apart. In the starting position, the forearms are pulled out to the sides at an angle of 45 degrees to the body.
Inhale a little deeper than usual, hold your breath and begin to squeeze the bar up.
When you go through the most difficult part of the lift or at the time of full extension of the arms, make a forced exhalation.
With your arms straightened, try to squeeze the weight even higher by lifting your shoulders.
At the top point, linger for a while and return to the starting position. Moderate speed, all movements are controlled.

The Smith Machine Incline Press puts a powerful load on the upper pectorals when you use a narrower grip and set the bench at a 30-40 degree angle.

Ronnie places his hands on the bar slightly wider than his shoulders, presses his back tightly against the bench, and does 12-15 reps with relatively light weights, never stopping at one point

NOTES

• Make sure the tilt angle is 30-40 degrees. A lower slope shifts the emphasis to the middle of the pectorals, a higher one - to the deltas.
• Do not use a grip that is too wide: this prevents the maximum engagement of the upper pectorals.
• Always extend your arms fully in the top position! The more fully the extension, the more powerfully the working muscles contract.
• Do not exhale until you reach the most difficult part of the climb. Exhaling prematurely weakens your position and results in a loss of stability, which can lead to injury.
• Don't be too heavy. Excessive stress engages the accessory muscle groups and forces the buttocks to be lifted off the bench. For the deltas to work effectively and safely, put your feet on the floor and press your back, shoulders and pelvis against the bench.
• While driving, you do not need to strain your abs too much.
• As you breathe in and hold your breath, the erector muscles contract to keep your torso and spine in a stable position. A strong abdominal contraction weakens the erector muscles and causes the shoulders to "round".
• Exercise at a moderate speed. Movements that are too slow and too fast are equally overwhelming for the joints.
• The main advantage of the incline press is that it allows you to maximize the "highlight" of the upper chest.
• If you want to build some serious volume, always try to stretch as much as possible. From the bottom point, I squeeze the bar up to 99 percent extension of the arms while maintaining constant chest tension.
• I never do "partial" reps: they do not give a complete contraction, which means they inhibit growth.
• I like to work with a grip slightly wider than my shoulders. But I put my legs exactly shoulder-width apart - for reliable stabilization. »I set the tilt angle of the bench to 40 degrees. When the slope is greater, say, 45 degrees, it is difficult to achieve contact with the chest at the bottom point, and the upper chest is not loaded to the maximum.
• While moving, I make sure that my back does not come off the bench - sometimes I even purposely "press" it into the bench. Never arch your back while incline presses - this could result in injury.
• I work with a relatively light weight that allows for 12-15 reps - this gives a great "pump". In addition, the incline press is not my first exercise in the "chest" workout, so there is no need for large weights.
• It usually takes me 3-4 seconds to repeat. In the first phase of the ascent, the movement is explosive, then I switch to a moderate, controlled pace. I never stop at the top.
• With the incline bench press, I do without peak contraction, and do not strain the pectorals additionally at the top point. In my opinion, this exercise is already quite difficult: it does not need additional "lotions" to increase the intensity.
• In the set for the chest, the incline press in the Smith machine is my third in a row, so I do not do warm-up sets, but start right away with the "workers".
• I "bomb" my chest twice a week according to different schemes: in one version, the first two exercises I do with a barbell, in the other - with dumbbells.
• I start working on the pectorals with a bench press on a horizontal bench, then I do any of the incline bench press, then an incline bench press in the Smith machine, and finish the workout with lying dilutions or crossovers on blocks. I bomb my chest on the first day of my three-day split.

ANATOMY

The main load in this exercise falls on the upper part of the pectoralis major muscles. In addition, the supraspinatus muscle, located between the clavicle and the upper edge of the scapula, the anterior and middle deltas, participate in the movement, and in the last phase of the extension of the arms, the triceps are included in the work.

WORK OF MUSCLES AND JOINTS

With the effort of the muscles, the arms move along a trajectory that is diagonal to the body - speaking in anatomical terms> yar this occurs abduction and flexion in the shoulder joints.

In this article, I will tell you about all the intricacies and secrets of the exercise - press in a hummer 🙂

Pressing in a hummer is a BASIC exercise, because when performing it, both the chest and triceps and the front deltas (as many as 3 muscle groups) are involved. Well, who has forgotten, or did not know at all: an exercise is considered basic if more than 1 muscle group is involved in it. We have as many as 3 here - so it is basic.

However, traditionally this exercise is considered isolating. Why? Read below!

The fact is that this exercise is performed in a special SIMULATOR (lever type), in which the motion vector is strictly defined (the trajectory is set).

It's like in a Smith machine, the bar is fixed and moves only strictly along a given trajectory (up and down). The same bullshit here in the hummer. So, if the trajectory of movement is strictly specified, when performing the exercise, stabilizers are not included in the work of our muscles. Do you understand?

And if the load is removed from the stabilizing muscles, the exercise becomes easier, and it becomes possible to load muscle groups more isolated (in our case, the chest muscles).

The muscles of the chest, because with the correct technique for performing this exercise, you need to turn off both TRICEPS and SHOULDERS (front bundle) from work and focus the entire load on the pectoral muscles.

However, all this target load on the pectoral muscles is insufficient (not as effective (powerful) in terms of effect as in other exercises, for example, in or), and is not suitable for building muscle mass in the pectoral muscles.

Therefore, this exercise is traditional and is considered ISOLATING!

After all, for those who do not know, in the field of bodybuilding, basic exercises are those that have proven their effectiveness in practice. A classic example, = this is an isolating exercise (because it involves only the elbow joint), but everyone calls it BASIC ... because the exercise is really effective, and it builds muscle mass perfectly. Do you understand?

A similar garbage here, with a hummer, only the opposite is true.

CONCLUSION: This exercise is not for beginners. Because they don't fucking need it! Beginners need something that really grows muscle mass (in our case, pectorals), and this exercise is not one of those.

CONCLUSION 2: the exercise, if used, is only at the end of the workout, as a finisher, due to the fact that it does not grow muscle mass and is "isolating".

P.s. Although, here professionals (advanced guys and girls) can independently decide (because they know better) how and when to use and whether to use this exercise at all ...

What else are the disadvantages of this exercise?

As I said earlier, in this exercise, the trajectory of movement is strictly defined. So, this trajectory of movement may not be optimal from your individual point of view for the best possible contraction of your pectoral muscles. Do you understand?

Well, for example, when doing, you do not have a given trajectory of movement, and you can adjust it in this way (for example, lower the barbell slightly lower on the chest or slightly higher to the neck or in the middle), in general, find such a trajectory at which there will be the most effective contraction of your pectoral muscles. Here in this hummer there is no such possibility, the trajectory is set ...

Technique for performing a press in a hummer

• First of all, you need to correctly adjust the seat of the simulator so that the handles (which you will grasp with your hands) are at the level of your middle or lower chest.
• Then sit on the simulator, and first of all, firmly press the lower back to the bench of the simulator in order to remove the gap in the lower back (so that the lower back is pressed against the bench of the bench). After all, for those who do not know, the deflection in the lower back (bridge) simplifies the exercise, it becomes easier, and therefore less effective.
• Grasp the handles of the simulator.
• Fill the chest with oxygen (so that it opens, and thereby stretches the pectoral muscles along its surface), because who does not know, the stretched pectoral muscles contract better (more efficiently).

• After all this, with a powerful but controlled movement, we squeeze the projectile up, but an important nuance: at the top point (position) of the arms in the elbow joints, we do not fully straighten, otherwise TRICEPS will turn on and steal the load from the chest. Because our goal is to train the chest, we do not fully extend our arms (at the elbows) to the end, we always keep a slight bend.

• From the upper position (point), slowly, under control (without throwing, as most do) we go down (to the lower position), but an important nuance: in the lower position, take the elbows back as far as possible (stretching the chest) = no need, otherwise the front deltas will turn on, and again, steal the load from the chest. Lowering occurs according to well-being (there is no universal advice), i.e. not too deep and not too short. Here you need to feel for yourself so that the delta does not turn on and the pectorals are stretched.

• Then repeat all over again the number of repetitions you need.

Best regards, administrator.