Do you really need to do decline and butterflys to build up your chest?

Question

Can you get away with just doing incline & flat bench? Also, if anyone has any ideas of how I could make up for not being able to do butterflys (no dumb/barbells) or declines (only have a flat bench that has an incline position as well, but no decline) that would be great. Like maybe a different way of holding the bar or something (hand spacing?).

Thanks a ton!

Answer 1

hand spacing can help you target your muscles differently, and target different muscles.. you can put both of your hands about 3 inches apart in the middle of the bar (use less weight for this, trust me) for a little different workout.. or you can have someone spot you and you can do negatives (throw on a lot of extra weight in the extended position and lower it slowly several times... but don't do this as often as your normal workout) or you can spread you hands out pretty far on the bar.. but no matter what you are still going to be limited to how you can work the muscles if you don't use have decline and what not.. if your bench uses freeweights you can probably figure something out.. even if it's low weight it's better than nothing. be safe and good luck!

Answer 2

I've only been doing incline and flat bench with dumbbells at the gym for several months now. By keeping the reps low and the motion slow (up and down) I can push myself pretty hard without a spot. Overall, I've seen more gains faster doing this then three years of everything else.

But I've heard range of motion is key to developing faster and you'll be limiting yourself by not doing certain activities. If you've only got a flat bench try using blocks of wood to prop it up or do push-ups with hands and feet in locations that will target certain areas.

Answer 3

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