The decline bench press is one that is not often used within the fitness industry, not because it is not effective but rather that the movement itself is so counter intuitive that people don’t fully understand how or why it works. Luckily for you, this article aims to clear all of that mystery up and provide you with all the useful information you could ever need regarding the decline bench press:
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Muscles Worked by the Decline Bench Press
The primary driver of the decline bench press is the lower part of the pectoral major muscle. Here are the main muscles worked for the decline bench press (From most to least):
How To Do The Decline Bench Press:
Before you attempt to do this maneuver, make sure that your gym space has a dedicated decline bench press. If not then you may opt to use a free standing adjustable bench paired with a set of dumbbells, therefore doing the dumbbell decline bench press instead with much lighter weights.
If you have found a place to perform the lift, then the steps are as follows:
- Sit near the edge of the bench and make sure to slip your feet under the pads that are designed to lock your feet in place
- Then you may slowly lie down on the bench whilst keeping the top of your feet secured by the pads
- Whilst lying down, look up at the bar above you. You want the bar to be directly above your head, NOT by your chin or behind your head, adjust it accordingly
- Pull your shoulder blades together and grab the bar just a little more than shoulder width apart
- When you unrack the bar, make sure that you immediately move the bar so that it hovers over your chest area
- With your shoulders and feet in position, bring the bar down to your chest, pause for 1 to 2 seconds and repeat for as many reps necessary
Who Should Do The Decline Bench Press?
It is important to understand what type of person you have to be in order to get the most out of the decline bench press. This is precisely because the decline bench press is not for everyone, so if you don’t find a persona that matches you down below, then you may just be wasting your precious time with this lift and would probably find the flat bench press more appealing (Due to being more generally useful). Here are the most common people who utilize the decline bench press:
Bodybuilders And Gymgoers Looking For A Bigger Lower Chest:
This is by far the primary target group for the decline bench press because the decline bench is great at targeting the lower fibers of the pectoral muscles. If you are not looking to join any bodybuilding competitions or care to have a bigger lower chest then this is not the lift for you.
Powerlifters Trying To Strengthen Their Weak Points:
Powerlifters are notorious for just training the standard flat bench press and nothing else. Granted, that is the only lift they will be required to do in competition but it doesn’t allow them to train each muscle involved with the movement to their fullest. In this case, a powerlifter may attempt to perform the decline bench press with low reps to ensure that his lower chest can become just as strong as his upper chest, giving him more power during the normal bench press.
Athletes In Specific Sports:
Sports that require powerful pectoral muscles such as swimming, boxing, cricket, gymnastics or rugby are best suited to training the decline bench press. The lower chest fibers are often neglected in the training of these sports and there holds the possibility of a performance increase if these athletes were to add to add the decline bench press to their routine.
Pros and Cons of a Decline Bench Press
Now that you know who will benefit from the decline bench press, it is important to understand the exact pros and cons to the movement itself by asking the following questions:
What Are The Benefits of Doing Decline Bench Presses?
The main benefits of doing decline bench presses are the following:
- Increased activation of the lower pecs:
This fact was proven during a study that took place in 1997 found here. It has thus been scientifically proven that the decline bench press targets the lower chest muscles better than any of the other bench press variations.
- Allows you to lift more weight than any other bench press variation:
Bio-mechanically, the decline bench press provides the most mechanical leverage out of all the other variations, allowing the lifter to lift a heavier weight than they would normally with a flat bench press. This of course can help powerlifters train their central nervous system to handle a greater intensity of load which could lead to better overall strength gains.
- Reduced stress on the shoulder joints:
This is due to the focus being shifted from the top of your upper body to the middle of your chest instead. The lift also has a shorter range of motion which minimizes the risk of injury.
- Reduced stress placed on one’s back:
Most other bench press variations require the lifter to maintain some semblance of a back arch in order to perform the lifts properly. With the decline bench press however, there is almost no back arching required which could prove highly beneficial to those with mid or lower back injuries/pain.
- Increased strength transfer to the back arch during flat bench presses:
The back arch required for standard competition bench presses places the chest in a decline position relative to the bar, quite similar to what is experienced with the decline bench press. However as the decline bench press does not require you to maintain a back arch, it allows you to train this position at a higher intensity than one would usually. This higher intensity training routine could lead to huge benefits in normal bench pressing.
What Are The Reasons NOT To Do The Decline Bench Press?
Whilst the decline bench press is a useful lift, there are of course many reasons as to why we may not want to do it:
- Awkward starting position:
It is not a lift that feels very natural and it may take a while to get used to. If staying comfortable in the gym is one of your priorities then this may not be the best lift for you.
- Takes a longer time to get used to than other variations:
Due to the awkward positioning, it also takes longer to learn the correct form for this lift. This could put off a lot of lifters who want a more pick up and go style of lift.
- Reduced strength output and increased risk of injury at first:
Due to the clumsy form a beginner will usually use due to the awkward positioning, this also results in not being able to apply the appropriate muscle groups to lift the bar in an efficient manner. Due to this inefficiency, it may seem like this lift is not good strength training. However, once the form is mastered, it becomes the best variation for strength training.
The Programming Of The Decline Bench Press
Here are the 2 most common goals to have with this lift and what to do for each of them:
Building Muscle:
-Load: 60 to 80% of 1RM
-Sets: 3 to 6
-Reps: 6 to 12
-Resting time: 1 to 2 min between sets
Building Strength:
-Load: 65 to 90% of 1RM
-Sets: 4 to 6
-Reps: 2 to 5
-Resting time: 3 min rest between sets
Frequently Asked Questions
Here is a list of extra questions that a person may have regarding the decline bench press:
Are there any different variations of the decline bench press?
The only difference you could establish for this lift, would be the width of your grip. You could adopt a slightly wider grip than the standard just wider than shoulder width grip. one must be careful however because the range of motion is already short and going to wide creates an opportunity for injury. A person should also never go narrower than shoulder width as this will create an incredibly unstable position to lift from.
Is this lift a vital component to all training routines?
No, this lift is not as important as squats or the standard bench press. It is one of those lifts you do for a very specific reason, such as increasing your flat bench strength or for growing a bigger lower chest.
Do I need a spotter/friend to help me with this lift?
Yes, a spotter is most definitely needed to avoid the risk of injury. This lift takes some time to get used to and during that time you want to make sure you have some sort of safety net to fall back on.
How do I work out my one rep max?
Knowing your 1RM is important to accurately load the bar with the right intensity of weight. There are 2 ways to do this:
1. The hard way: load up the bar inclemently with a spotter until you can no longer perform 1 rep with the weight on the bar. Then you take the previous weight you could lift as your one rep max.
2. The easy way: there is an online calculator that will work out your one rep max for you. It works by taking the amount of weight you can lift and comparing it to how many reps you can do with that weight. It then uses an algorithm to calculate how much weight you should be able to lift for just 1 rep. I suggest you use a weight you can perform for around 6 reps for safety reasons. Here is a link to the calculator.
