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I read an article by Jay Cutler which I use today. He said it doesn't matter which method you use the only important part of any flat chest press is making sure elbows don't go lower than the bench you are lying on. He stressed that this is a chest exercise and going lower with your elbows will put too much strain on the shoulder which limits growth to the chest the person feels they are getting growth by this extra stretch but more often this will lead to injured shoulders which in the end means less weight pressed, less growth.

krs wrote:I read an article by Jay Cutler which I use today. He said it doesn't matter which method you use the only important part of any flat chest press is making sure elbows don't go lower than the bench you are lying on. He stressed that this is a chest exercise and going lower with your elbows will put too much strain on the shoulder which limits growth to the chest the person feels they are getting growth by this extra stretch but more often this will lead to injured shoulders which in the end means less weight pressed, less growth.

That's interesting, thanks krs. I've always gone down until the dumbells touched the side of my chest, which gives you a great-feeling stretch, but in the last few months presses haven't really gone up for me because my shoulders would tire out first - thought it was just since I have weak shoulders, but maybe it's this...

triple wrote:

krs wrote:I read an article by Jay Cutler which I use today. He said it doesn't matter which method you use the only important part of any flat chest press is making sure elbows don't go lower than the bench you are lying on. He stressed that this is a chest exercise and going lower with your elbows will put too much strain on the shoulder which limits growth to the chest the person feels they are getting growth by this extra stretch but more often this will lead to injured shoulders which in the end means less weight pressed, less growth.

That's interesting, thanks krs. I've always gone down until the dumbells touched the side of my chest, which gives you a great-feeling stretch, but in the last few months presses haven't really gone up for me because my shoulders would tire out first - thought it was just since I have weak shoulders, but maybe it's this...

I use mostly dumbells, though I like barbell work too if I have someone to spot for me. I have a weakness in my left shoulder where the long head bicep and superspinatus pinch between 2 bones in my shoulder causing inflammation (and excruciating pain for weeks), and this gets aggrivated by dumbell presses (particularly incline and military presses). It's quite common, in fact I recall a great post by Undertaker on this subject from a while back. Basically by making sure your arms don't go below this point as you mention, you minimise the risk of this injury. Also the dumbells should be slightly outside shoulder width at the lower part of the lift to feel the stretch, and close together at the top. I find if they are too close to my body on the lower part I aggrivate my injury. There's a great video on form by Frank Sepe on YouTube illustrating good form, it's well worth checking out.

Saw the vid nothing new. Why is it that all guys just keep doing what everybody else does? The tradition hand grip a bit wider than shoulder. I hate tradition. People have short arms the traditional grip wider than shoulder is fine but some people have long arms so we need to travel the bar further with a wide grip puts extra strain on my shoulders which always leads to a plateau and ending in injury. So for me I prefer a more narrower grip more or less shoulder width, this puts less strain on my shoulders also I make good progress with this width grip and no shoulder pain so I actually enjoy the exercise more and can handle more weight and get stronger.

krs wrote:Saw the vid nothing new. Why is it that all guys just keep doing what everybody else does? The tradition hand grip a bit wider than shoulder. I hate tradition. People have short arms the traditional grip wider than shoulder is fine but some people have long arms so we need to travel the bar further with a wide grip puts extra strain on my shoulders which always leads to a plateau and ending in injury. So for me I prefer a more narrower grip more or less shoulder width, this puts less strain on my shoulders also I make good progress with this width grip and no shoulder pain so I actually enjoy the exercise more and can handle more weight and get stronger.

Well personally I think his form is about as spot on as it gets, and it stands out above the other videos because of it. I guess the reason people stick to form like this is because it's been proven to work over and over and has a basis in physiology. But if there is one thing that's true it's that there is no single answer, so if it doesn't work for you then there is your answer. Saying that, he isn't using a wide grip, it's only just outside of shoulder width, and the dumbells are under complete control. I think with dumbells in particular you see people lifting weights that yes, they can definitely press, but if they backed off the weight and kept them from swinging around they'd make more progress, because swinging dumbells can bring on an injury like the one I mentioned. Horses for courses though.

Just because of tradition doesn’t mean proven or the best. When you go down to do a press up you usually use a hand space which is naturally comfortable. If you use a width wider than shoulder and do a press up you feel a deep stretch in your shoulders not so much your chest so image someone putting more weight on your back your shoulders taking more weight I though this exercise was for the chest not shoulder. I use to use the traditional bicep curl you no the strict form proven that everybody does cause of tradition until I read optimize form. I'm not gonna say traditional way a bit wider than shoulder press is bad but it ain,t for everybody and would love one day for a trainer to say this. If you go under the bar and the grip is not comfotable for you, you will struggle with form and begin to hate the exercise which is a shame cause of the name tradition.

db can get you a wider range of motion than the bb

i'm currently db pressing 90lbs per hand, but i need someone to hand over the 90lbs db to my left hand, what i do is i hold the 90lb db in my right hand and use my right leg to help me put it into position with the guidance of my left hand, then the person gives the other 90lbs db.