Chest days are frustrating.

[tinypeter]

I've read extensively on chest activation ect form and everything thing in-between. Watched all the yt video in the world.
Left pec contracts on barbell bench or db press (incline, flat or decline). Right one is just lazy af. Tricep and delts take the load on right side. I am right hand dominant also. Only way I can really activate that right pec is doing a cable cross chest press and i can get it to work 90% of the time.

Oh and db flys don't activate my pecs worth a damn either.

 

[Case-Akilleez]

Yeah man, I understand your frustration. My delts tend to take over on damn near any upper body movement I do. It would be hard to say from exactly where your issue stems without seeing some video of the lifts.

What’s helped me personally over the last year is focusing more on fly movements and pressing less. It’s definitely helped my chest development. I know you mentioned DB flies aren’t a good movement for you, but that’s my go-to, I get a deep stretch and contract the fuck out of my pecs. Filthy pumps.

Maybe try starting off your workout with light pec dec work, go slow and squeeze the fuck out of it. Really move as much blood as you can into the area before you move on. I think that would best help you feel your chest activating on the subsequent movements.

 

[Aoi_116]

I've read extensively on chest activation ect form and everything thing in-between. Watched all the yt video in the world.
Left pec contracts on barbell bench or db press (incline, flat or decline). Right one is just lazy af. Tricep and delts take the load on right side. I am right hand dominant also. Only way I can really activate that right pec is doing a cable cross chest press and i can get it to work 90% of the time.

Oh and db flys don't activate my pecs worth a damn either.

Best way I’ve found to keep my delts (and to some extent my triceps) is to essentially just keep both of those muscles out of the movement - I mean that by stopping short of lockout and keeping it on the pecs. Think about completing 70-80% of the ROM. From fully lengthened in the stretch at the bottom to just enough where you can drive your biceps into the side of your chest.

Another thing that helps is to maintain as much of an arch as possible keeping your chest up throughout the set. You let your chest drop and your delts are going to take over assisting in finishing the rep. Keep your chest up and expose it to as much tension as possible.

 

[EpicFlash]

I've read extensively on chest activation ect form and everything thing in-between. Watched all the yt video in the world.
Left pec contracts on barbell bench or db press (incline, flat or decline). Right one is just lazy af. Tricep and delts take the load on right side. I am right hand dominant also. Only way I can really activate that right pec is doing a cable cross chest press and i can get it to work 90% of the time.

Oh and db flys don't activate my pecs worth a damn either.

Why not try to fix the tricep imbalance? I have dealt with similar issues and what the root cause was a tricep imbalance where my left tricep was jumping in……. I did a bunch of one arm iso stuff for triceps to fix it. And because you are doing one arm iso stuff, it’s easy to balance them back out as you can quantify (with rep counts and weight) which one is dominant

 

[snoopdawg]

I do Dumbell bench only. Usually just Flat. Sometimes I’ll split my sets between flat and incline but that’s a rare occurrence for me. imo incline is overrated. Just my opinion though.

This is my typical chest day

db flat bench 4 sets 12-15 reps. Usually the last set I’m struggling starting at rep 9. But I push through.

Dips 4 sets 15 reps, no weights, leaning slighty forward and very controlled and slow.

Ring Push ups 4 sets till failure

Anywhere from 1 min -2 min rest in between each set depending on the exercise. Dips I rest about 45 seconds between each set. Bench is around 1:30 rest

Then 3 full minutes of rest before switching to next set of exercise.

That’s my whole chest day. 2x a week usually, if my schedule is looking good that week I’ll do it 3x

My chest is growing and I always feel it after my workouts.

I suggest starting light with any chest exercises until you perfect for the form and find the rhythm of where your chest muscles contract. Might take a few months but after that you’ll be good to go.

 

[Icepickslick]

Try focusing on squeezing your shoulder blades together underneath you and pinning them there. This que has helped me a ton with peck connection. Ill also start my warm up with a weight I can do 25-30 reps with only a couple RIR, all slow and controlled reps really focusing on driving into pecs and stretch at bottom. Also can stop alittle short of max range on the top to keep tension in the pec. I use this que especially for all chest movements where my back is against a bench.

Also coffin presses, pushing db’s together as hard as possible and driving elbows in through the press. These have been a go-to for me in finding that connection. Once I find it, it tends to stay for the rest of the workout.

 

[Guc_Nukem]

I've read extensively on chest activation ect form and everything thing in-between. Watched all the yt video in the world.
Left pec contracts on barbell bench or db press (incline, flat or decline). Right one is just lazy af. Tricep and delts take the load on right side. I am right hand dominant also. Only way I can really activate that right pec is doing a cable cross chest press and i can get it to work 90% of the time.

Oh and db flys don't activate my pecs worth a damn either.

Jump on a PL incline press or incline on smith machine, and just go 10 to 14 reps with exaggerated range of motion and take a wide-ish grip.

By exaggerated ROM, just imagine yourself trying to get a deep of a stretch as possible without hurting your shoulders.

 

[ghost413]

Just gonna say thanks to you guys for giving great ideas over here. I’ve been super frustrated with my own pec progression too. I just can’t seem to activate any of the muscles there except right at the top, so now my pecs are disproportionate lol. Gonna try exaggerating my movements a bit more and add dips to the routine.

 

[Guc_Nukem]

Just gonna say thanks to you guys for giving great ideas over here. I’ve been super frustrated with my own pec progression too. I just can’t seem to activate any of the muscles there except right at the top, so now my pecs are disproportionate lol. Gonna try exaggerating my movements a bit more and add dips to the routine.

That's the best way to do it.

I've learned that if I am having a hard time getting a good pump/activation in a certain body part, the best thing to do is lower the weight and try to find a safe way to really exaggerate the ROM.

I realize that I am either compensating with another muscle group or that my form was actually off.

 

[ChevoGuap]

It won’t hurt to start your workouts with dips. Get the whole chest activated early.

Don’t go to complete exhaustion though. If I do too many dips it cuts all my other lifts by like 20% easily.

And keep playing with different angles and machines. I’ve found that doing machine press hits my chest like a MF. But the incline machine press is all shoulders for me.

 

[fike]

I've read extensively on chest activation ect form and everything thing in-between. Watched all the yt video in the world.
Left pec contracts on barbell bench or db press (incline, flat or decline). Right one is just lazy af. Tricep and delts take the load on right side. I am right hand dominant also. Only way I can really activate that right pec is doing a cable cross chest press and i can get it to work 90% of the time.

Oh and db flys don't activate my pecs worth a damn either.

I know this is something you may not want to do, but doing physical therapy band type exercises is always a good way for me to train myself into getting the mind/muscle connection down so I can learn to contract the muscle properly and feel the contraction when executing a movement with a bar or dumbbells. I'll do like 30-40 reps in a row of each movement. It really helps me by letting me safely focus on the execution of the movement pattern and timing of when to squeeze and release on the contractions. And I don't care who you are, 30-40 reps of blue physical therapy bands and tubing is not the easiest task I've ever done, especially when I perform the movement very slow and interacting the muscle, so it's a nice workout.

 

[ghost413]

That's the best way to do it.

I've learned that if I am having a hard time getting a good pump/activation in a certain body part, the best thing to do is lower the weight and try to find a safe way to really exaggerate the ROM.

I realize that I am either compensating with another muscle group or that my form was actually off.

Yeah I’m definitely compensating in another muscle group. Thankfully though, doing super exaggerated flys has been actually activating the right muscles, but its so far been the only thing that does. Its a bit frustrating, considering getting my pecs filled out is my biggest priority, but it is what it is.