Help ! Cant do decline bench anymore!

[Skyblob]

Hey guys , i have a serious problem.. ive ripped couple of fibers in my left pec and had to stop for 1 month! Now im back on the track and I was at 3 plates each side incline and ive ramped up to 2 plates each side.. but i cant do decline cause it hurts so much! What could i do to build a strong lower chest? Am i ****ed with no declines or i can get a good lower chest without it! Note that my chest is my weak point also!

Thanks alot ! :)

[St]

I can't do Decline with free weights,but only on a smith Machine.Also have you ever had a Massage for deep tissue,or active release by a RMT,it helps get you back fast.

[bigtavi8]

i usually throw in decline no more than 3 sets a chest workout olympic bar. But since you are injured why dont you try the lower cable crossovers. I find that to hit my lower sweep even better than declining. A lot of ppl here advise against doing decline movements at all. But try the lower cables its good. 3 sets 10-12 reps moderate weight.

[tex]

no need for declines unless you are a pl'r with a good arch.......flat bench will do just fine......

[Skyblob]

Hey guys thanks for advice! But no never tried deep tissue massage bro! Howmuch it cost?
So you think I should do cable cross overs.. The problem is im doing a program and i can only do 3 different exercise per muscle! :S So my chest is this : Incline smith .. flat and another incline .. but i wonder if i should replace the other incline press movement for cable cross overs .. Give me your advice please :P and Tex, yeah thats what i thought but i lack lower chest :S

[Drummer]

whatever you do to heal, either rest, physio or massage, make sure you heal before you push hard again. I know it sucks to stay away from a certain muscle, but its the best way. I would suggest weighted dips (wide, leaning for the chest) as an alternative, works for me!

~D~

[tex]

Hey guys thanks for advice! But no never tried deep tissue massage bro! Howmuch it cost?
So you think I should do cable cross overs.. The problem is im doing a program and i can only do 3 different exercise per muscle! :S So my chest is this : Incline smith .. flat and another incline .. but i wonder if i should replace the other incline press movement for cable cross overs .. Give me your advice please :P and Tex, yeah thats what i thought but i lack lower chest :Sflat bench will build lower pecs just fine.....or weighted dips as the others suggest......

[Ritch]

I wouldn`t worry about decline`s. I never do them or flat even. It`s all incline, every workout.

[GYMBRAT]

I've seriously only ever done decline about 10 times if that in the over 20 + yrs of training, my lower chest is always still a step ahead of my upper, so I do incline 70% of the time and flat 30% of the time and it seems to keep them in balance.

[Drummer]

Id agree to make incline #1

[Canadian Protein.com]

I'm with everyone about incline...the bigger you look up top the bigger you'll look overall! Look a triangle pointing down...

2 inclines presses + flat + Incline flyes is my chest day!

I also totally agree with Drummer. You might be sorry if you start hard again and you're not healed!

[cog]

Franco said to avoid if you feel any pain.Trying to train around it could invite disaster.

[punkrock]

Alot of good advice this thread! Everything I was thinking was stated in the last 4 posts on page 1!!

whenever I do decline I just do higher sets for more definition. I also do lots of dips and strait arm pullovers when ever I'm filling stiff in my chest. Usually after those two I can go do flys and cable cross overs better than before. Usually a massage in my pec minor helps alot too!

[Dave]

Agree with everyone here. Lower chest is already stronger than the rest so I would stick with incline or flat. I always do incline first too and more often than flat and usually never do decline.