In pursuit of a bigger and broader chest, the bench press is most gym-goers’ first port of call. The lift is one of the best for building pec power, as well as adding size to your triceps and front shoulders –but if you only ever press from a flat bench, that’ll limit your gains. To maximise your muscle you need to do more pressing on an incline bench, set at either 30° or 45°, according to research published in the European Journal Of Sport Science. This found that doing incline bench presses alongside heavy flat benching was the most effective way to activate more muscle fibres across all parts of the pectorals. We’d add that you should also include dumbbell bench pressing, both on a flat and angled bench, in your training plan – that way you’ll work each side of your chest independently and therefore harder.
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July 2019
 
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