Being a chesty man i dont need a lot of pec work. So one of the things i have been doing is playing around with angles of thoracic extension for pressing  and fly movements. Decreasing the poundage and focusing my intent towards increasing the stretch from the thoracic spine has saved my shoulders, elbows and even my low back.

The shoulder blades (scapula-thoracic), shoulder (glenohumeral joint) and pecs all connect and sit on the rib cage. Altering rib cage position is not ideal unless your sport calls for it, i.e. the bench press in powerlifting.  However, altering your thoracic positon by increasing extension and stabilizing your low back can offer a different angle, create a new stimulus and save some body parts in return.

Here are some of the exercises i chose to modify in order to create a different stimulus via thoracic extension. Play around with the angles and see what feels best for you. Remember to always slightly posteriroly tilt your pelvis in order to brace your low back.

 

1. Incline DB bench press: Sit up a bit higher on the incline so part of your traps are off the bench. Keep enough on the bench to feel stable but it will be a new position so it might feel awkward at first. Push your sternum up to the sky while keeping your butt on the bench and tucking your tailbone. Press as usual. I worked up to 120’s x 10. The elbow and shoulder is still a little weak so it felt a little wobbly.

2. Seated Cable Pec Fly Machine: Same principle applies from above. Lift the sternum without arching the low back, tuck the glutes and drive the biceps into the pecs. Dont worry about where your hand position is. If you focus on driving your biceps and elbow into your chest your hands will follow. Worked up to a heavy set of 10 reps and then did a strip set, and mechanical drop set.

3. Lastly, we moved onto a floor smith press. We stuck a rolled up towel between our shoulder blades to get more retraction and stretch. We also attached bands to resist our humerus coming to the midline. Having this added external resistance helps us drive our upper arm towards the middle instead of focusing first on driving the weight away. Again, intent is the key not just moving weight.