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https://www.t-nation.com/training/the-best-exercises-period
"The bench press is not the best exercise to build the pectoral muscles. It's the dip."
"The dip builds the best pecs.
The best exercises for individual body parts can vary from one person to the next because of leverages or muscle dominances. But the chest is one exception. And while most people think the bench press builds the best pecs, most people are wrong.
To this day I haven't met one person who was very strong on dips (in perfect form) who didn't have a very good chest, but I have seen my fair share of big bench pressers with very ordinary pecs.
The first sign of a good/bad dip is body swing. Those who aren't doing the dip properly tend to have their torso and legs moving during the exercise, whereas those who are very good at dips seem to have their torso and legs fixed on a sliding rail.
Another sign is whether the shoulders stay in the pocket or not. Bad dippers (and those who get shoulder problems from dips) often allow their shoulders to move forward and up relative to their torso when they go down. If you took a picture of only their shoulders, it would look like they were doing a shrug.
When you dip down you should flare your lats – think of rubbing the inner part of your upper arm against the lats – and "open up" the chest, not unlike during a bench press."
"The bench press is not the best exercise to build the pectoral muscles. It's the dip."
"The dip builds the best pecs.
The best exercises for individual body parts can vary from one person to the next because of leverages or muscle dominances. But the chest is one exception. And while most people think the bench press builds the best pecs, most people are wrong.
To this day I haven't met one person who was very strong on dips (in perfect form) who didn't have a very good chest, but I have seen my fair share of big bench pressers with very ordinary pecs.
The first sign of a good/bad dip is body swing. Those who aren't doing the dip properly tend to have their torso and legs moving during the exercise, whereas those who are very good at dips seem to have their torso and legs fixed on a sliding rail.
Another sign is whether the shoulders stay in the pocket or not. Bad dippers (and those who get shoulder problems from dips) often allow their shoulders to move forward and up relative to their torso when they go down. If you took a picture of only their shoulders, it would look like they were doing a shrug.
When you dip down you should flare your lats – think of rubbing the inner part of your upper arm against the lats – and "open up" the chest, not unlike during a bench press."
