Press ups.. worth it in the end?

escos

Does anyone on this forum include this as part of their training?

Im finding it hard to get a decent pump out of my chest at the mo. Im currently unable to do bench presses (gym still waiting for the equipment)

SO im currently using the chest press machine, and the pec dec. But im finding it hard to get my chest feeling like its really worked out and pumped (85kg im only a beginner remember ). I also am doing dumbell chest presses ( 22-24kg dumbells) but find this is putting more strain on the tops of my arms than my chest..

Press ups seem to be giving me the greater feeling of a workout for my whole chest area :?

can anyone else advise?

cheers

Nick500

I find incline dumbell press to be the king of chest pumps....

press ups I sometimes superset with dips if i'm feeling really mental...

Nick

jarman

Dips are great, especially if you lean forward a bit to let the chest do most of the work. If your pumping out reps like they're nothing, try doing them weighted.

Some disagree, but I find heavy dumbell pull-overs to be quite an exhaustive excercise, and a great way to get a killer pump in your upper chest (squeeze your upper pecs at the top of each rep).

Also, try ditching the pec-dec for a while and try doing free-weight dumbell flys on flat bench and incline.

FierceFrets

I agree. Nothing digs deeper into the chest for me than flyes, flat or incline.

I also love to use dumb bells for presses. I'm convinced that a smith machine is no good for my shoulders and thats all there is at my gym so DB's it is...

:twisted: Fierce

crazycal1

muscle pump does not always lead to muscle growth-
i know you havent got access to it at the mo but you should really stick to compound exercises-
i dont do press ups but saying that i think theyre a good exercise.
when i do 20 rep rest pause dead/squats i get massive systemic fatigue,but little pump-
my legs feel like theyre on another planet and theyre growing well-
i generally include a backdown set of 70% of the working weight for a pump after usually 3 working sets-
i only do one exercise per bodypart-
dont worry about how much youre lifting(its more than me)

supermod@musclefreaksuk

Young Gun

Great points totally agree with everything you said :shock: well almost

Pump from Squats and deads I find to be less noticeable however no one would argue they are the best mass builders.

Again as regards to a pump set I certainly think there are benfits and I tend to do a few lighter sets on exercises where pumps are good ie bench press just because it feels awesome.

Press ups are good but for most are not taxing enough they are too high rep.

'I only do 1 exercise per bodypart' ah well almost buddy.

Don't worry about how much your lifting. Best piece of advice in the world. The only person your in competition with (unless you compete I guess ) is yourself. Just be the best and lift the heaviest you can and try to make the best progress you can. Keep a log book of lifts and measurements and take regular pictures.