Incline bench pressing

Evening, is incline bench pressing harder than flat? I seem to lift less on incline? Also I find my shoulders ache after doing incline. Why's it harder?

The body tends to be weaker in the inlcine position.

The anterior deltoids are recruited to a larger degree when using an incline.

It is harder because the pecs are in a biomechanically weaker position, whilst still remaining the agonist.

sel

yep. most people can lift more in a flat bench over incline bench.

Incline bench press puts alot more strain on the shoulder than a normal flat bench press , if you really struggle with the shoulder maybe swap in dumbells instead of a barbell, that seemed to work for me when I had a shoulder problem. Also maybe perform some shoulder stabalizing excersies before your session , grab a light dumbell hold it out in front of you and spell the alphabet , swap arms and do the same on the otherside, do this for 2 sets on each arm and you should see a difference in the workout. Also by doing this can help you lift more during the workout.

flat bench recruits the pectoralis major (bigger of the two pec muscles) and incline bench recruits the pectoralis minor (smaller of the two pec muscles). bigger muscles have more pulling power, so you can lift more on flat bench than you can on incline.

obviously both make use of the triceps, ant. delts etc, but most of the push comes from the pecs, so flat gives more push than incline.

another reason you find it harder is the degree of A/M separation in incline benching. its much greater in incline and as such the muscle is weaker, so you find it harder to push the bar back up as there is less power at the bottom end.

i lift more on incline - but thats because i kinda prioritise it!

I lift more flat. Incline as said, is 9/10 supposed to be harder due to the shoulder and pectoral position.

mega


flat bench recruits the pectoralis major (bigger of the two pec muscles) and incline bench recruits the pectoralis minor (smaller of the two pec muscles).

Not sure where you're getting your information from. The Pec Major is involved in any chest pressing movement, from decline to flat to incline. The degree of activation from the sternal and clavicular heads differ according to the angle of pressing though.
 
The major function of the Pec Minor is to stabilise the scapula - it's not an agonist in a pressing movement.
 
The reason you can flat press more than incline press is because of the amount of pectoralis major involvement plus the reduced ROM. The strongest pressing position would be a very steep decline. As the angle decreases to flat through to incline all the way to seated upright, the pec major involvement decreases and anterior deltoid involvement increases.
 
Nothing to do with Pec Minor involvement.

^^^^^^

I assume thats why I can Dip more (Bodyweight + Plates) than I can flat bench?.

LMC

mega


flat bench recruits the pectoralis major (bigger of the two pec muscles) and incline bench recruits the pectoralis minor (smaller of the two pec muscles).

Not sure where you're getting your information from. The Pec Major is involved in any chest pressing movement, from decline to flat to incline. The degree of activation from the sternal and clavicular heads differ according to the angle of pressing though.
 
The major function of the Pec Minor is to stabilise the scapula - it's not an agonist in a pressing movement.
 
The reason you can flat press more than incline press is because of the amount of pectoralis major involvement plus the reduced ROM. The strongest pressing position would be a very steep decline. As the angle decreases to flat through to incline all the way to seated upright, the pec major involvement decreases and anterior deltoid involvement increases.
 
Nothing to do with Pec Minor involvement.

assuming your pushing straight up (which im guessing we all do on bench) your pec minor will be recruited to a higher degree in terms of total % M.U. recruitment than your pec major, in incline pressing. i shouldve written that more clearly, sorry for the confusion.