This is the perfect press angle for complete chest gains

Chapters:
00:00 Intro
00:31 Horizontal shoulder flexion
01:52 Incline bench press
02:40 Decline bench press
03:40 EMG research
07:26 Ultrasound research
09:14 My online PT Certification course
10:09 Ultrasound research
11:26 The single long term study
16:35 Conclusion
18:58 Outro

Reference:

Anatomy: @CompleteAnatomyElsevier

#chestworkout #benchpress #inclinebenchpress #upperpecs #EMGresearch #biomechanics #mennohenselmans #personaltrainer #personaltrainers #personaltraining #personaltrainerlife #personaltraineronline

[bobnewkirk]

So the key takeaway: "Flat" bench is more like a decline given arching, slight incline bench is more akin to a true horizontal press due to arching, and unless you take the bench angle past 30 degrees your really not incline benching at all. If you arch, bench at 15-30 degrees unless all you care about is pushing the most weight.

[fVNzO]

30 degree with a solid arch to get a perfectly horizontal chest is the absolute peak chest activation imo.

[chymistrie]

Personal anecdote. After years of no benching I used a mix of incline and flat to go for a new bench pr. A second cycle like this I did 8-10 reps and 3-4 sets of 30° incline bench once a week progressing the load or reps. Then I switched to flat. Within two weeks, in separate sessions, I did a 6 rep top set of flat bench, 3x3 heavy (c. 90%), 2x2 at 95% of old max, and last session a new 1RM. All I can say is incline is effective if you are not super trained beforehand. The heavy flat benching felt solid and quite easy after inclines only. I do olympic weightlifing mostly outside of this, so there was more upper body work than just bench once a week. And to add, I only arch a little bit on my flat bench.

[jeffreydhill]

I've always found 15 degree and flat bench the best for my own development, so this makes perfect sense. Thanks Menno!

[DeadShred]

60 yr, old Gen-Xer have been staying Fit for Decades . I had man boob's in my mid 50's so 100 Pushup's a day even if you need to do 10 or 20 pushups here & there through out the day it will work. Once my strength grew the moobs went away and are still gone . Friendly advice .

[AirportMusic]

The conclusion arrived at in this video is wild. If incline press significantly reduces recruitment of mid and lower chest fibers while only very slightly increasing upper chest fiber recruitment, it will absolutely develop the upper chest significantly more than a flat press. The upper pecs and shoulders depending on steepness of angle become the target muscles of the exercise. This isn’t complicated. Incline pressing movements are your friend if you are trying to develop your upper pecs, everyone.

[rkulla]

Dumbbell Chest Flyes always get my entire pecs sore, whether flat or up to 45 degree incline. Great finisher for me.

[jaech]

Love the no-nonsense, evidence-based approach to fitness by Menno!

[artvandelay]

I usually do some level of incline just because it's easier to get in and out with dumbbells. Doing a backward somersault while holding 75lbs in each arm is scary.

[BenisJam]

SLIGHT INCLINE BENCH PRESS LIFTAS RISE UP ‼

[lokwidator]

But wouldn't the fact that mid and lower pecs disengage a bit during incline benching make the upper pecs more of a limiting factor and thus get them closer to failure, increasing hypertrophy?

[supimsatan]

We (I) need a video about muscle memory, for those who trained for 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 10, 20+ years and lay off for 1, 2, 3, 5, 10+ years, and how fast you regain muscle and strenght!

[RaffaRadio]

Great advice, I somehow felt a better range of motion with the 15 degrees incline, but now understand it might be even better in terms of total muscle fibers recruitment. Goodbye incline bench press!

[Commandelicious]

NIce, I did this right by accident.
It feels nicer with a 15° or so incline, better for my old back :D

[martinh]

Love this video👍 specifically when you are talking about the quality of the study, thats very important. Muscles and nutrition studies are very hard to do.Well done

[collin]

I just started the video, but for anyone who needs to hear this: the perfect angle is the one you’re comfortable with and enjoy. That way, you stay consistent with it. Let’s just say, hypothetically, there is a perfect angle that fits everyone. The gains you’ll get from it will be so small compared to just doing what you enjoy. You probably won’t even notice noticeable differences, and it doesn’t make up for inconsistent training. At the end of the day, just do what keeps you in the gym.

[thereal_onelargemammal]

As always fantastic information, thank you. I'd love you to analyse foot position for a leg press or indeed the claim that aiming your toes inwards or outwards (internally or externally rotating the femur) when performing a leg extension targets the vastas M or vastas L more. Thanks again for all your knowledge and content.

[BennyParcher]

I think the golden era bodybuilders had most of it right. What ever you focus on you will grow

[enumclaw]

This opened my eyes quite a bit. I put a spirit level on my sternum and for me, with the arch I use (which i'm not forcing, it's just where my chest lands once I have my scapula fully retracted and depressed), a 30 degree incline press is really flat. So yeah, guess I'm ditching the "flat" (read 30 degree decline!) press and going incline (actually flat!) from now on!!

[Joe-wgmq]

I don't dispute anything you said on this video, but I have found that if I emphasize a weak area while deemphasizing a strong area for a while, and then go back to an exercise designed to evenly stimulate, I can more easily and effectively recruit the historically weaker area. So, incline bench could be used very temporarily to rebalance recruitment patterns so that the mind muscle connection with the upper pecs is improved upon returning to 90 degree presses.