TheLonelyPhoenix
Diamond Member
When I focus on chest exercises in the gym, my chest usually feels fine afterwards, but my forearms and triceps ache like hell. Am I doing something wrong or are my arms just disproportionately weak?
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Weight lifting question
- Thread starter TheLonelyPhoenix
- Start date
ironcrotch
Diamond Member
Well, what are you doing for chest exercises?
TheLonelyPhoenix
Diamond Member
Dumbbell bench presses (incline and flat bench) and fly.
Did you just recently start working out? If so, there's a good chance that the muscles in your arms (especially stabiizer muscles) are fairly weak, and will end up hurting. Anytime you use freeweights you're going to work your forearms, and as someone mentioned, triceps are secondary muscles in many chest exercises.
TheLonelyPhoenix
Diamond Member
I didn't work out most of the summer, and I've only been at it regularly for about a month or so now... so yeah, recently.
Still bothers me a bit that the soreness isn't in the right muscles, but I guess that will even out with time.
How do you figure? Flys are pecs, but the other main muscles involved should be biceps and anterior delts, assuming he's doing the normal lying-down version.
OP, bench presses (and presses of any kind) work the triceps are synergists, but they should develop to proportionate strength so they won't be as sore from chest workouts anymore. I'm surprised the flys don't make your chest sore, though, if you recently started this workout. They still make my chest sore.
Have you tried dips for your chest?
I think I remember reading that soreness doesn't necessarily equate to a good workout, nor to muscle growth. However, if you aren't noticing gains, then maybe try throwing in a few more chest exercises. The chest is a large muscle group, and two exercises might not be enough to reach fatigue, and to hit all different areas of the chest muscles. Throw in some incline presses, and either decline presses or dips...see how you feel after that.
TheLonelyPhoenix
Diamond Member
No, my gains have been just fine... I'm benching about twice what I started with a month ago (which still isn't a terribly impressive amount, but hey, like I said, I'm only a month into it).
I do some incline and decline presses with my usual chest workout, haven't tried dips yet.... maybe I'll put that on the list for the next time.
IHateMyJob2004
Lifer
If you are new to lifting weights, do compound exercies.
lavagirl669
Diamond Member
flys are only triceps workout if done as a
Reverse Fly
you lay flat, stomach facing the bench and execute
the motion like that upward.
Reverse Fly
you lay flat, stomach facing the bench and execute
the motion like that upward.
StageLeft
No Lifer
Nope; if you are on the bench doing flys and your arms are not straight, you're using biceps to slightly pull the weight in (creating that bend in the arm). If your arms are straight, you're simply allowing the weight to fall against your elbows. Dumbell press may use a bit more tricep to help stabilize the weight, but for all intents and purposes flys should not be using the tricep whatsoever. Remember that biceps induce a bend in your arm, and triceps make the arm straighten out. Since flys are done on your back, then gravity straightens them out. If you were doing flys on your stomach, then you'd be using tris, but on your back you use bis to help stabilize it.
IHateMyJob2004
Lifer
Actually, I think the tri-ceps are heavily worked out in benchpresses and simlar exercises. Hell, that's been my limiting factor in the past, not chest muscles.
Done right there should be little in the way of tri involvement in a bench/chest movement.
Have someone that knows what they are doing to check your form.
If you feel that you are using more arm in the chest movement then you need a wider grip on the bar, or a more circular motion on the flys. Keep your arms out to the sides, if you bring them into the body you will start to involve the tris. I suffered with this for a while before a trainer saw me struggling and said: Hey, try and grip the bar a little wider. I was able to put another 40 lbs on the bar, my chest went BLAM in about 6 months, my tris stopped hurting and I'm a much happier person.
I am up to 280 5 times on the peck deck low grip, and 255 upper grip.
350 Decline bench x5 300 flat x6 (time to bump up the weight) A bum shoulder does not allow me to say how much I do on the incline. 🙂
Have someone that knows what they are doing to check your form.
If you feel that you are using more arm in the chest movement then you need a wider grip on the bar, or a more circular motion on the flys. Keep your arms out to the sides, if you bring them into the body you will start to involve the tris. I suffered with this for a while before a trainer saw me struggling and said: Hey, try and grip the bar a little wider. I was able to put another 40 lbs on the bar, my chest went BLAM in about 6 months, my tris stopped hurting and I'm a much happier person.
I am up to 280 5 times on the peck deck low grip, and 255 upper grip.
350 Decline bench x5 300 flat x6 (time to bump up the weight) A bum shoulder does not allow me to say how much I do on the incline. 🙂
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