What are some lifts you didn't use to rate, but have grown to love?

[thebelovedofgod]

I have recently come back to doing dumbbell flyes after not having them in my program for like a year and damn, they are MASSACRING my chest. I used to rate it as a C-tier movement, now it makes me sore and pumped like nothing else.

What are some lifts you used to dislike, or just not get much out of, but have grown to love?

 

[gronam]

@thebelovedofgod Ex-powerlifter turned bodybuilder: basically all bicep and side delt exercises.

6 years of low bar back squat, barbell bench, deadlift, box squat, barbell overhead press, pendlay row gets really fucking stale to the point that I haven't done any of those movements since switching to bodybuilding.

 

[xerokitsune]

@gronam The guy saying: basically all bicep and delt exercises.

Me: yeah, thst would pretty much do it..

 

[righteousbyfaith]

@gronam I’m in the same boat, 10 years competitive powerlifting and I have absolute zero interest in barbell benching and squatting. And I’m loving training without it. Focused more on RDL’s or SLDL

 

[gronam]

@erigsby Dumbbell bench at varying inclines, machine presses, cable work.

 

[erigsby]

@gronam I’ve really tweaked my shoulder and have been looking to find something other than bench (flat incline) and dumbbell. I have really long arms and have benched with terrible form, pretty much all shoulders apparently lol. I tried incline bench on the smith yesterday and it felt like my shoulder was about to explode. I have no idea what I’m going to do for chest now. I really need to find a connection from my mind to my chest. I have such a hard time feeling anything in my chest.

 

[gronam]

@erigsby Try pec deck, or some kind of machine press. Probably less strain on the shoulder. Also, go lighter for reps and see how it heals.

 

[dawn16]

@erigsby You could try a decline dumbbell press. That tends to take the delts more out of it. Another thing to try is go a lot lighter weight, and really slow down and focus on feeling your chest move, then eventually start going back up once you’ve established that mind-muscle connection.

 

[brianiqllis]

@erigsby Try very light weight on any variation of bench, and perform it extremely slowly, pausing for a second or more at the bottom of the rep.

See if that does anything for you.

 

[erigsby]

@brianiqllis I’ll give that a try. I really need to put my ego to the side. Thank you.

 

[quentsy]

@erigsby Something that has really worked for me lately is pre-exhaustion through something like a very slow cable fly for a few sets so I can “feel” the pecs prior to hitting bench or dumbbell press. By the time I get to pressing, I need much less weight and can focus on slow eccentrics and pause reps at the bottom to ensure scapular rotation. As someone who also had my shoulders dominating my chest pressing movements, I really feel like I’ve been able to isolate my pecs better like this. Give it a shot