Working-out Wrong?

Today at the gym me and a friend did dunbells for chest. We did a flat bench and then inclined, followed by machine fly's and chest press. At the end he felt toight and my biceps hurt.

Why when I work out my chest I only feel it in my bicep? Same goes for back.

your not using JUST your chest when doing benches. you use alot of other muscles too, just the MAIN one is the pecs(chest). you probably didnt stretch right, or used more weight than you should have.

the reason you felt it in your biceps and not your chest can also be because your chest is stronger than your biceps. the amount of weight and reps you used was nothing straining for your chest, but it was for your arms. try working out everything together, like dont just do chest do all upper body, and lower body the next day, etc.

Good points, Talented. Bench press is a complex exercise utilizing a great deal of your upper body and arms. Biceps are secondary, but definitely worked out.

biceps arent even assisting muscles in the benchpress.. you might be putting your arms too far to the side causing your biceps to overstretch and it'd be causing you a small amount of pain. you should try using a barbell since you're a beginner + it will be alot easier to build foundation strength and then you could work with dumbells later for a bit more stability and balance.

It wasnt a pain, more like a "wow these got worked today" feeling. Even when we are working our back, I feel it so much in my bicep and not at all on my back. It's kind of annoying because I think my arms are going to get huge and my chest is going to be a fluffy bunny. I was doing the exact same motions as him, he even stopped to watch and make sure I was.

Is it possible that my arms are so underworked that they are feeling everything, as upposed to my chest/back.

Speaking of feeling "tight," that's usually called a pump if it comes after a few tough sets. Pumps are usually what gym rats aim for when they workout.

The trainer I worked with one day said he judges how good he did at the gym on how well he can drive his car on the way home.

It's completely normal.

Muscles worked in bench press:



Muscles worked in incline:

that's just stupid. you can go to the bodybuilding.com forums and look it up or even ask half the gym rats on their. the muscles primarily worked in the bench press are chest , triceps and interior deltoids.. and the traps are only used if you're doing a very steep incline. the only thing you'd be doing to your biceps would barely be enough to call a warmup.


and as for kazilla, if you get more of a pump in your biceps on backday, it is probably because your back isn't strong enough to haul most of the weight your pulling, so your biceps would be doing more than assisting and they'd be taking most of the weight..have you been doing lat pulldowns for back? if you have, switch to an iso-lateral rowing machine in your gym, you should try using that more on back day it'll help alot. with gaining thickness and strength on your back like it did for me.

If it hurts, keep doing it.

depends what muscle group you're you wanto work ;P i'd experiment with different variations of the BP if your biceps feel like theyre getting more work. you want your chest to tire before anything else or else you wont see results as quick as other people.

that's just stupid. you can go to the bodybuilding.com forums and look it up or even ask half the gym rats on their. the muscles primarily worked in the bench press are chest , triceps and interior deltoids.. and the traps are only used if you're doing a very steep incline. the only thing you'd be doing to your biceps would barely be enough to call a warmup. and as for kazilla, if you get more of a pump in your biceps on backday, it is probably because your back isn't strong enough to haul most of the weight your pulling, so your biceps would be doing more than assisting and they'd be taking most of the weight..have you been doing lat pulldowns for back? if you have, switch to an iso-lateral rowing machine in your gym, you should try using that more on back day it'll help alot. with gaining thickness and strength on your back like it did for me.

I do lat pull down yea, Ill try some rows next time. My back is very hard to workout, along with my chest. We will see how it goes. Thanks

i used to have the exact same problem, if you find you cant keep proper stability in your bench press you could try switching to a smith machine as well, i switched to SM for my benchpress because i had problems with my shoulders and i've found that my strength gains have been awesome since you do not have to worry as much about your stability through the lift.

and if you're wondering what a smith machine is:
it keeps the bar stabilized and its guided so you only have to worry so much on using your strength which can also allow you to lift more weights. it can also be used for deadlifts and squats if you do not have a spotter.

I always saw those as not as good for you because it doesnt work your stabilizers. Free lifting would work them a lot faster, no?

they're just as good imo. most of the time i do not have a spotter so i use them since it's alot safer. and you can work your stabilizer muscles as well. i work each muscle group atleast twice a week, for chest and back i go free weights once a week, then i go all out on the smith machine and try and break my PR then the next week try and go heavier on free weights. as long as you have a foundation of strength you'll always have stability as well. you just have to make sure you're doing all the right exercises.


or else if you work chest one day a week. an easy way to make sure you're working stabilizer muscles as well is to do dumbell presses before you use a Barbell.