What do flat bench flies actually do for your chest?
- Thread starter mozzwigan
- Start date
flies are just a way to hit the muscle at a different angle than a traditional pushing exercise like bench. like xeno said it is just one muscle, flies do nothing for seperation. you get your shape and seperation from genetics. all you can do is make the muscle bigger and harder. i don't like doing flies with dumbbells, i prefer the cables. i feel it more in my chest this way, and can really focus on contracting my chest with each rep than i do with the dumbbells, which i feel more in my arms trying to stabilize that weight. and yes after doing flies i feel the soreness more on the outside of my pecs rather than the inside. still a great exercise!
Harnold
New member
flyes put your shoulders in a very vulnerable position, thus risking injury with poor form or too much weight. trust me, that is what started a shoulder problem I've been training around for about 20 years.
they are a shaping movement for the chest, but people insist on going heavy on them instead of concentrating on form as they should.
I see these skinny little bastards doing cable crossovers all the time, and I've actually said to a few of them, that is a chest shaping movement, and you don't have a chest yet, so hit the bench or dumbells.
they are a shaping movement for the chest, but people insist on going heavy on them instead of concentrating on form as they should.
I see these skinny little bastards doing cable crossovers all the time, and I've actually said to a few of them, that is a chest shaping movement, and you don't have a chest yet, so hit the bench or dumbells.
i honestly don't see how flies can hurt your shoulders if doing them properly. you can ruin your shoulders doing overhead presses or bench improperly as well. you can hurt your back doing deads improperly. etcetera etcetera. now when i say cable flies i don't mean the machine that is strictly for flies and reverse flies. i mean the cable machines where the arms can be set at different heights and depths, or the station that has the cable pulley system on each side where you can do flies. i agree harnold, seeing guys trying to move weights they shouldn't be attempting whether it's flies or not. i especially hate seeing guys doing bent over bb rows, but they're not bent over, they just want to move that weight and feel good. or the guys doing squats with 315 but barely breaking 45 degrees. on cable flies i lean forward and do more of a pushing movement like dumbbell press, but make sure i'm bringing my hands together at the end and really focusing on contracting my chest. also myhands end up more infront of my belly which would be near impossible with dumbbell press on a flat bench with heavy weights, and would take my chest out of the equation completely. flies have there place. now i also use this exercise more for hypertrophy and to get a good stretch. compound lifts i go 5x5, these maybe 3x8 or even 2x8, 37.5 pounds is where the pin is set on each arm, what that actually equates to i don't know. and i have no shame in the weight i move, as long as i am doing it correctly. sorry for the long winded post guys, just wanted to defend my beloved cable flies!!
Harnold
New member
donjob,
I was just trying to point out that at the extended position of a flye movement, your shoulders are in a very vulnerable position. basically, any exercise where your arms are further away from your body, no matter what it may be, puts the shoulders at more risk. ex: wide grip bench press.
didn't mean to pick on your beloved cable flyes.....lol
I was just trying to point out that at the extended position of a flye movement, your shoulders are in a very vulnerable position. basically, any exercise where your arms are further away from your body, no matter what it may be, puts the shoulders at more risk. ex: wide grip bench press.
didn't mean to pick on your beloved cable flyes.....lol
oh definetly dude, i see where you are coming from. however i think they are a great exercise if done properly and with the right amount of weight. people need to put their egos aside and realize it's not a lift meant to be done heavy like say bench or squats. same with say bicep curls, no need to go extremely heavy and put all that stress on your elbow when all you're doing is hitting a small muscle which isn't hard to damage and one that has already been hit hard when doing back.
zephyr_987
New member
in my experience they gave my pecs an awesome stretch & was great for overall pec development. is an awesome exercise. i did them last after heavy dumbell presses (incline & reg) so that i wouldnt have to go all that heavy w/ them
Smitherine
Sponge
I learned how to do dumbbell flyes from watching the man in your avatar...(not arnold) Franco!! I love flyes but you do need a chest to get the most out of them.
TripDaddy
New member
This is how I use flat bench db flyes also. At the end of a workout, after the chest has been pre-exhausted. IMO, the mind-muscle connection is especially important for db flyes. You must focus on keeping the shoulders out of the movment and concentrate on squeezing the chest, no just on moving the weights from point A to point B.
BeastinTheEast
New member
I think you can somewhat isolate the upper from lower part of chest cause otherwise everybody would have a complete chest from just flat pressing.
As far as flat flies i actually like doing a fly style press, hold the dumbbells by the inner part and they will try and "fight you" outwards causing you to put tension on your chest, the purpose is to never straighten your arms so it's like a fly but press at the same time. I tried them the past couple workouts and i get an insane pump and feel like i get more isolation.
I would say flies are made to cause stretch position tension towards the end of a workout to stimulate the last amount of fibers by the stretch reflex since you usually can't go heavy because of muscular fatigue. They need to be done slowly and avoid tapping the dumbbells together at the top which is kind of stupid considering you lose all tension in your chest. Bring them up just outside of shoulder width, the pump and stimulation are 100x better. Train smart and hard!!
As far as flat flies i actually like doing a fly style press, hold the dumbbells by the inner part and they will try and "fight you" outwards causing you to put tension on your chest, the purpose is to never straighten your arms so it's like a fly but press at the same time. I tried them the past couple workouts and i get an insane pump and feel like i get more isolation.
I would say flies are made to cause stretch position tension towards the end of a workout to stimulate the last amount of fibers by the stretch reflex since you usually can't go heavy because of muscular fatigue. They need to be done slowly and avoid tapping the dumbbells together at the top which is kind of stupid considering you lose all tension in your chest. Bring them up just outside of shoulder width, the pump and stimulation are 100x better. Train smart and hard!!
I think you can somewhat isolate the upper from lower part of chest cause otherwise everybody would have a complete chest from just flat pressing.
As far as flat flies i actually like doing a fly style press, hold the dumbbells by the inner part and they will try and "fight you" outwards causing you to put tension on your chest, the purpose is to never straighten your arms so it's like a fly but press at the same time. I tried them the past couple workouts and i get an insane pump and feel like i get more isolation.
I would say flies are made to cause stretch position tension towards the end of a workout to stimulate the last amount of fibers by the stretch reflex since you usually can't go heavy because of muscular fatigue. They need to be done slowly and avoid tapping the dumbbells together at the top which is kind of stupid considering you lose all tension in your chest. Bring them up just outside of shoulder width, the pump and stimulation are 100x better. Train smart and hard!!
i guess it's sort of like any muscle, say you don't get a good full stretch on eachr ep of bicep curls, almost like doing half reps, your arms are going to look different over time. however, yeah i think you will get total chest development over time by doing just flat bench or just decline bench. well with flies as well of course. the top of my chest is sore after doing only decline on chest days.
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