increasing dumbell incline bench

[Vitamin S]

hey p,

currently able to do 130s on incline chest for clean 10 reps on my own, what kind of weight would i b using and sets and reps to get up to 150, i tried it and was barelay able to do 1 on my own.

thx

[Praetorian]

Very heavy DB presses put you at severe risk of injury...I dont see the point of going heavier than 130lbs. Trying to balance 150lbs and get it into place even with assistance can be very risky on the shoulders...I do DBs at the end of my chest workout and will go as high as 125lb (largest in the gym) for incline flyes...thats more than enough. How much are you bench pressing and incline pressing...can you press 405lbs for 10 full reps? If not I would suggest that as a goal instead.
P

[JonnyO]

I found all my pressing went up after a few good weeks of band benching. I highly recomend them.

[Vitamin S]

2 years ago i flat benched 405 for 4 reps needed help on the fith one. i no longer do heavy flat benching as it was hurting my shoulders i believe my shoulders have recovered to be able to flat bench heavy again but i like the movements i do now with less weight and control and have added new growth to my chest esp upper chest. i just thought if i can do heavier weight for the same reps i would grow even more thats all. kind of like how one goes from doing 100s to 130s and then onto even heavier weight. just makes sense to get bigger u kinda have to get stronger each year up too a certain point.

[count]

If you switch to flat barbell, don't be surprised if you're a lot weaker. I went from incline db to flat bb and I have as much difficulty doing 315 now as I did with the 140s.

If you want to stick with dbs and 130s are too light, 150s are too heavy, why not do the obvious thing and go with 140?

[natenator]

Or 135 lol

[Delt King]

incline barbell press with 405 is a whole new ballgame than incline db's with 150. The barbell would be more impressive and safer on the joints.

[#8]

Any time I have tried to make the switch from DB to BB my shoulders take a severe beating. Even when I bench with perfectly strict form, anything over 225-250ish starts to REALLY hurt my shoulders a few weeks in. I get frustrated and switch the back to DB again. I have never experienced shoulder pain from benching with DB. Im over 6ft tall and my arms are pretty long. Not sure if thats relevant or not.

[JonnyO]

incline barbell press with 405 is a whole new ballgame than incline db's with 150. The barbell would be more impressive and safer on the joints.

How would incl BB be safer on the joints than DB's? Just curious because I have bad shoulders and I feel much better performing incline DB over BB. Smith machine I am totally fine with. But I do perform incl BB now and then, I feel it helps build my shoulders as well as I do not do much shoulder pressing at all so I find that helps them with mass.

Another thing I find is the BB benches are on too much of an incline. I prefer a slight incline of 20-30%, seems to be a lot easier on my shoulders and works the chest just as well.

[JonnyO]

Any time I have tried to make the switch from DB to BB my shoulders take a severe beating. Even when I bench with perfectly strict form, anything over 225-250ish starts to REALLY hurt my shoulders a few weeks in. I get frustrated and switch the back to DB again. I have never experienced shoulder pain from benching with DB. Im over 6ft tall and my arms are pretty long. Not sure if thats relevant or not.

I find that too and it could be the angle, because on DB we can adjust the angle of the bench, with BB benches they are set in position and I feel its too steep of an angle.

[Delt King]

I find that too and it could be the angle, because on DB we can adjust the angle of the bench, with BB benches they are set in position and I feel its too steep of an angle.

Agreed that most incline benches are at the wrong angle. I also prefer less of an angle. Now what i mean by safer is that although DB will allow a more natural range of motion it also demands huge amounts of stability in the shoulder to keep them from straying off track. Smith machine requires virtually no stabilizers at all. Barbell moreso. (granted it's not my favorite exercise by any means but the logic is growing on me)

[JonnyO]

I really like the Smith for inclines, but like everything I change it up alot, but its my preferred for inclines.

[count]

If you don't like the angle on the incline bb bench just use the adjustable bench in a power cage. Problem solved.

[Praetorian]

2 years ago i flat benched 405 for 4 reps needed help on the fith one. i no longer do heavy flat benching as it was hurting my shoulders i believe my shoulders have recovered to be able to flat bench heavy again but i like the movements i do now with less weight and control and have added new growth to my chest esp upper chest. i just thought if i can do heavier weight for the same reps i would grow even more thats all. kind of like how one goes from doing 100s to 130s and then onto even heavier weight. just makes sense to get bigger u kinda have to get stronger each year up too a certain point.

If your shoulders are hurting doing bench your form is incorrect...quite common actually. Thus most guys instead of correcting their form go lighter because they start to believe the myth that BB dont need to bench heavy or it doesnt build the chest well...all a load of crap. If you are worried about your shoulders think what will happen if you are off just a bit with 150lbs DB's...and you try to correct them...it can get real nasty. I know everyone has seen Ronnie do 200lbs etc but that is very risky...I would never do it.
P