If you have a hard time feeling your pecs working when you bench press, it's not your fault...it's the exercise.
The pecs work to bring your hands in towards the centerline of your body. With a barbell bench press, your hands are fixed, therefore for many people, the triceps and front delts take the bulk of the work.
The CHEST can be worked effectively with bench press, but it's not always easy and it can take a lot of practice...and even then, it's not optimal.
This dual-resistance exercise gives you DIRECTIONAL resistance as well as accommodating resistance to dramatically increase pec activation.
First off, let's talk about "accommodating resistance."
This is when you use bands (or other things such as chains) to dynamically adjust the resistance during the exercise to better match the strength curve of the exercise (i.e. in bench press, you're strong towards the top).
To do this, we'll anchor bands below you so that as you press up, you stretch the bands.
Next, there's "directional resistance."
This is when you change the direction of the resistance to better match the line of pull of a muscle during a movement. With the bench press, this means we want inwards-focused resistance.
To light up your pecs, we're going to anchor two bands to two heavy dumbbells, set out away from the bench.
I recommend using a pair of light bands for this.
If you need bands, you can visit my recommended online band store here, if you need bands (use code RBTFITSTEP to get 10% off you any band package orders).
First, set a pair of heavy dumbbells a few feet out to the sides. I'm using a pair of hex 100's here - they won't roll. If you have round dumbbells, set them perpendicular to the bench rather than parallel, like I have mine set.
Hitch the bands with a simple bale hitch (looping the band around the handle then pulled through it's own loop).
Loop the other end around your thumbs.
Now lean forward and grab your dumbbells - use a lighter weight than you think you'll need (trust me). This additional resistance makes the movement a lot harder due to the increase in tension.
Set the dumbbells on end on your thighs.
Now lie back and perform the bench press.
At the bottom, the bands will be slack.
As you press up, you'll get to the point where the band develop tension.
Press up and through this point HARD, bringing the dumbbells together at the top (don't bang them together...just bring them together until they touch). Hold at the top and squeeze.
You can see by the angle of the bands how you're getting inwards tension on the chest where normally you would get none. You can get more inwards tension by moving the dumbbells out further away from the bench to the sides.
This will put MASSIVE muscle-building tension on your pecs and drive some serious chest growth.
Having a hard time feeling your chest working will no longer be a problem for you!
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Want more unique and challenging exercises to work your entire body with simple equipment? All you need is just a barbell, dumbbells and a bench. Check out The Best Home Gym Exercises You've Never Heard Of!
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