< strong>Speaking of the best moves for training chest muscles, many people will first think of the barbell bench press!
Yes, when you go to the gym, the barbell bench press is the most popular movement. Its advantage is that it can load a lot of weight and can strongly develop our upper body strength!
But from the perspective of training the chest muscles, the barbell bench press is not the best exercise. The dumbbell bench press will be more powerful!
Focus more on the chest muscles: dumbbell bench press!
The anatomy and function of the pectoralis major muscle!
The pectoralis major muscle is often called the pectoralis muscle and is fan-shaped. Located in the upper front part of the thorax, it originates from the medial half of the clavicle, the sternum and the 1st to 6th costal cartilages. The muscle bundles are concentrated laterally and terminate at the greater tubercle ridge of the humerus.
The main functions of the pectoralis major are: adduction, horizontal adduction of the shoulder joint; flexion of the shoulder joint, internal rotation of the shoulder joint
In traditional bench press training, we mainly use The function of adducting the shoulder joint at the level of the pectoralis major!
Illustration: Shoulder Horizontal adduction
Why are barbells not as good as dumbbells?
We all know that the best and most efficient way to exercise is to strengthen your muscles. Full range of motion, from most stretched to most shortened! This will maximize muscle stimulation and growth
Illustration: Barbell bench press shows horizontal adduction angle (white line )
Due to the horizontal bar during the barbell bench press, we cannot adduct the shoulder joint better, especially when using a wide grip! When we push up the barbell and reach the highest point, we The distance between the arms is relatively far! The complete range of motion of shoulder adduction should be as close as possible
Illustration: The horizontal adduction angle of the barbell bench press is obviously small (about 60 degrees)
In this way, the horizontal adduction angle can be seen The range of motion is shortened, which results in a large part of the muscle fibers not being activated when our chest muscles drive the shoulders to adduct!
Advantages of dumbbells:Greater luckrange of motion, activating more motor units
Illustration: Dumbbell bench press shows the horizontal adduction angle (white line)
When the dumbbell is pushed upward, because there is no restriction from the horizontal bar, we can keep our arms as close as possible. Tuck your shoulders in! Let our chest muscles contract to the maximum extent!
Illustration: The horizontal shoulder adduction angle of the dumbbell bench press is large, close to 90 degrees, and can also be retracted toward the net, And at the bottom of the movement, the pectoralis major muscles can be fully stretched!
Now you understand why many people say: "If your exercise goal is chest muscle hypertrophy, the dumbbell bench press is actually more suitable for you than the barbell!"
But, Relatively speaking, the dumbbell bench press is more difficult and not as stable as a barbell. At the same time, the dumbbell bench press is not suitable for challenging heavy weights. It is not as good as a barbell for the development of absolute muscle strength! Make your choice according to your goals!
That’s it for today! If you have any questions or concerns, please leave us a message!