Big, strong chest muscles and rounded, wide shoulder muscles are built with barbell bench presses and barbell shoulder presses. Increasing the size of these key upper body muscles enhances your appearance by creating the illusion of a smaller waist. For optimal performance in each exercise, do the exercises on separate days. Ensure there are at least two days between each workout.
Muscle Action
The shoulder press and bench press exercises both involve the pectoralis major, deltoid and coracobrachialis muscles. However, the degree of involvement differs between each exercise because of the direction of the movement. During a bench press, your pectoralis major muscle is primarily responsible for bringing your arm closer to the midline of your body in a horizontal direction; there is moderate activation of the deltoid muscle. During a shoulder press, your deltoid muscle is the prime mover in drawing your arm closer to the midline of your body in a vertical direction; there is slight involvement of the shoulder end of your pectoral muscle.
Variations
Bench presses may be done on a decline bench, a flat bench or an incline bench while shoulder presses must be done with your trunk nearly perpendicular to the floor. Barbells and dumbbells may be used to perform shoulder presses and bench presses. Machine weights are also available for the different variations of these exercises.
Benefits
Both exercises strongly engage your triceps to extend your elbows, straightening your arms as you press the barbell up. This means you are toning the back of your arms with either exercise. When you are short on time and you must choose the best exercise for your upper body, do bench presses because you will engage the bulk of your chest muscles and a good portion of your shoulders. Bench presses also improve your capacity to perform push-ups, an exercise commonly used to assess muscular endurance and upper body strength.
Considerations
Though shoulder presses and bench presses are fundamental exercises for your pectoral and deltoid muscles, include other exercises to reduce your risk of overuse injuries and to enhance muscular development. Lateral dumbbell raises and bent over flies more strongly engage the medial and posterior aspects of your deltoid muscles compared with shoulder presses and bench presses. Dumbbell and cable chest flies focus on your pectoral and deltoid muscles without much assistance from your triceps.
References
- "Anatomy & Physiology"; Gary Thibodeau, Ph.D., and Kevin Patton, Ph.D.; 2007
- "Personal Trainer Manual"; American Council on Exercise; 1997
- "Essentials of Strength Training and Conditioning"; Thomas R. Baechle and Roger W. Earle; 2000
Member Comments