Lately I’ve been seeing guys in the gym setting the bench at a 60 or 70 degree angle when doing incline dumb bell bench presses. This is alright if you’re going for an almost all shoulder workout, but not alright if you’re trying to hit your upper chest.
Just a quick word of advice, setting the bench at a 30 to 45 degree angle is all you really need in order to target the upper regions of your chest – not 65 or so like some people would have you believe.
One thing that I’ve become used to after a workout is thinking to myself “On a scale of 1 to 10, how would I rate this last workout?” If it’s anything less than a 7, I then think to myself “What could have I done differently to make it a better workout?”
Doing this I become more aware of what I’m doing in the gym (Or not doing some days) and in time I have realized that I am becoming more efficient in the gym and training my muscles more effectively.
This is something simple and easy to remember: When it comes down to it, never sacrifice good form for high weight. Even when maxing, always try to maintain perfect form to avoid injury. It would be a shame tearing a muscle and putting yourself out of commission for months for something as silly as trying to lift too much.
Always focus on getting a full range of motions in your lifts instead of “half reps” in which you don’t go down all the way, or don’t extend all the way. Doing this will yield better results in the long run. True, half reps have their place in a workout routine, but for those who are relatively new to lifting, half reps won’t really have any benefits to make them worth it.
