Decline bench press better for pecs than incline bench press (2 studies, comparative)

[Arch0wl]

1st: http://www.ergo-log.com/decline-benc...nch-press.html


"The incline bench press stimulated the upper part of the chest muscle just as much as the decline bench press did, as the figure below shows. The exercise therefore doesn't have the effect that bodybuilders expect it to have."




"The figure above shows the effect of both exercises on the lower part of the chest muscle. Here you can see that the decline bench press does have the effect that bodybuilders think it has."

however, this may be methodological, because:

2nd: http://suppversity.blogspot.com/2011...-musculus.html

"I have compensated for this problem by calculating the relative increase in activation compared to the mean activation across the whole chest muscle for each exercise and plotted the data in figure 3. I suspect, this looks much more the way you expected it, doesn't it? Relative to the mean activation pattern over the whole pectoralis muscle, the incline bench press with an angle of +45° provides a 69% more intense stimulation to the "upper chest"."

"In summary, the inverse(=decline) bench press is the most effective exercise for the pectoralis major as a whole. The incline bench press (+45°), on the other hand, isolates the upper part of the chest muscle, i.e. the descending fibers of the pars clavicularis (cf. image 1) optimally and will thus - as bro-science tells you - bring up your " pecs"."

[Reach]

One difference between the two I definitely notice objectively is that incline is much harder on your shoulders and triceps. It's a nice way to bring them up if they're lagging, especially if you do partial reps at which point it becomes a shoulder press with some chest action.