Chest Presses Etc

The Red Cardinal said:

I've been working out now on a programme for about 4 weeks and I'm happy
about how it's going.

Part of the programme is chest presses and these are the things I'm really
struggling with. With every other exercise I can feel real stretching in the
muscle, and so know I'm working the muscles right. But no matter how I do
the chest exercises, I feel no 'exertion' from my chest.

I even moved onto the chest machine itself in case it was my form which was
wrong, but nothing changed there.

The tiredness always comes in my arms (triceps) rather than my chest.

Is this normal?

It could very well be your technique. It sounds like you're letting
your shoulders and triceps do too much of the work. Try lying on the
bench and squeezing the shoulder blades together. Work on the pressing
motion with the shoulder blades tight. This could help isolate the
chest a bit more. Try to visualize the chest doing the work.

--
Ed
http://everythingec.com/startingpoint

"The Red Cardinal" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I've been working out now on a programme for about 4 weeks and I'm happy
about how it's going.

Part of the programme is chest presses and these are the things I'm really
struggling with. With every other exercise I can feel real stretching in

the

Quoted message said:

muscle, and so know I'm working the muscles right. But no matter how I do
the chest exercises, I feel no 'exertion' from my chest.

I even moved onto the chest machine itself in case it was my form which

was

Quoted message said:

wrong, but nothing changed there.

The tiredness always comes in my arms (triceps) rather than my chest.

Is this normal?

--
The facts above belong to everybody; the opinions to me; the distinction

is

Quoted message said:

yours to draw.

I'd recommend you do a set of pullovers (see:
http://exrx.net/WeightExercises/PectoralSternal/DBPullover.html) right
before doing your bench press. When I was starting out I found it helped me
out. Another thing to try is dumbbell bench press (rather than barbell).
Using dumbbells will allow you to bring your hands closer together at the
top of the movement (picture a "press" with a little bit of "fly" to it).

Overall, I'd guess your problem is form related (which the above suggestions
should hopefully help you with). Less likely, though maybe possible, is
that your arms are much weaker than your chest so they tire before you've
really worked your chest. With correct form this really shouldn't be an
issue though, and even if it was your arms would eventually "catch up" to
the point where they're no longer the weak point.

Use a relatively easy weight and press it slowly, concentrating on using the
pecs to raise the bar and not your arms.

HTH

Could be your form. If not, factor in the fact that some just don't
respond well to presses. Instead, do various fly motions-dumbbell,
cable, bent over cable, pec deck, which are often more intense for the
chest.