Pectoral Development

[Aiden Bloodaxe]

Skippy didn't want to make this thread but basically,the question is:

Can you develop/work/isolate more of one 'area' of the pecs than the other,such as higher or lower pecs?

If so what exercises would do where(e.g. incline = upper pec,decline = lower pec?

We was discussing this & I don't really know much about the topic,but I was saying that no lift makes the pecs bigger in a certain area & Skippy was saying that lifts such as dips & decline B.press work the 'lower' pecs more etc.

Discuss / Endow

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[Skippy]

I feel this thread was successful haha :]

I would strongly like to make sure people know I am not saying something like Benching doesn't work the entire pec, merely that I don't think it focuses stress on the top half of the pectoral as much as an incline bench would do (strongly aware the pectoral is one muscle and all that shit blah blah blah, that does not mean that when you split it in half there is not a lower half an an upper half).

[Counterfeit Soda]

You can shift the emphasis depending on the angle (decline vs. incline). There is no denying that.


Q: Is there really anything you can do to target certain areas of the pecs like upper and lower? For example, incline bench presses hit the "upper" pecs; dips and declines target the "lower" pecs. Any truth to those old bodybuilding beliefs?


A: Actually, there is. Now, you will find some research that says that it's not true, but those studies were done with Radio Shack equipment and aren't reliable.

The truth of the matter is, there's a great percentage of electrical activity in preferential heads of the pectoralis. In other words, the clavicular (upper) portion will be recruited more during inclines, and the sternal (lower) portion will be recruited more during the decline bench press.

But it's a percentage of the contribution; certain exercises don't target one-hundred percent of the lower or upper pecs. So, the clavicular head still works somewhat during decline presses. The percentage of recruitment is merely shifted with certain exercises.

It's the same with biceps. When someone does incline curls, the long head of the biceps is more recruited, but the short head is still working.

Now, with chest work, the further the hands are up in relation to the center of gravity, the more the clavicular pectoralis is recruited. And the further the hands are near the center of gravity, the more the sternal pectoralis is recruited. So, theoretically, dips will recruit more of the sternal pectoralis than the decline press. In that way, you can think of the dip as an extreme decline press.

All that said, there's no such thing as the middle or inner chest, so obviously that nonexistent area can't be recruited by flyes or pec deck.

[Skippy]

Booya. My argument towards aiden was I believe to get an equally developed full chest (for purely aesthetic purposes), you need incline and flat, and not just flat, where as Aidens argument was you only need flat for full pectoral development. Which made me question why if it was true, why would bodybuilders and such just not then decide to stick soley to flat?

brapbrap

[Aiden Bloodaxe]

So,in this case just using bench press would be fine for creating an equal chest. Also,I think it's going to take quite a long time for somebody to develop a given area of their chest enough for that area to look comparably bigger to the other portion(s),especially considering that when you do use decline / incline / whatever,the opposite end of the pecs that you're trying to focus on is still contributing to the lift no matter how much.

[k-slash]

this thread made me lol for ages

[jiayo-chris]

Hahahaha, this thread is hilarious!

[The Laughing Man]

I do not believe it is possible. Genetics - you get what you are given, you can only make it bigger hah!

[Aiden Bloodaxe]

Skippy will be annoyed that I have somebody on my side,hahaha.

[Skippy]

NEVERRRRRR! >=(

[Steve]

It is actually possible to isolate sections of muscles when working out, guys.

[Colonel]

Are we just talking about the sternal head of the Pectoralis Major, or the clavicular head too?

Hm, thinking about it, it doesn't really matter.

What Steve said!

[Ashtar]

Upper/lower yes, inner/outer I don't think so (but some people say yes). The arguments for upper/lower are much more cohesive and agreed upon. Yes, a great deal's genetics, but witthe direction that the fibres in the pec go, it makes sense that the position the upper arm is traveling will affect their recruitment.

[Jackamaideshwang]

it seems you could say "inner/ outer chest" aswell, as the pectoralis minor lays somewhat to the "outside" of the "pec" region. I guess you could develop that more that pec major.

[Ashtar]

I still haven't figured out the difference between the major/minor pec, not as obvious as with the glute max/med, too confusing. In that case, rather than inner/outer you would just say minor/major I think.