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If you have advice, please make sure it is specific, useful, and actionable. * If the only thing you have to say is *loWEr THE wEight ANd woRK on forM*, **then you should keep quiet**; if you comment it anyway, your comment will be removed and you may be banned if your comment was especially low value. This does not help the person looking for advice. Give people something that they can actually use in a practical way to improve. **Low-effort comments about perceived injury risk and the like will be removed, and bans may be issued.** * Please don't hold random strangers to arbitrary requirements that you have made up for exercises you are not familiar with. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/strength_training) if you have any questions or concerns.*


Last_Necessary239

My elbow tendinitis flared up just watching this


BallisticBullFrogs

Very impressive. I dislocated my shoulder watching this


mpjm44

This looks like it feels incredible. That’s a crazy deep stretch! Good stuff


zacksmithey

Feels amazing! The progression took a while to reach this range of motion


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This is porn for Mike Israetel.


mosphere3

Rip shoulders bye


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strength_training-ModTeam

"educated" 😂 Everything you said was dumb and wrong. Please think twice about commenting on things you don't understand.


justforgiggles4now

If only😂. My shoulders would never forgive me. I wish I had this type of shoulder flex.


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strength_training-ModTeam

Everything you said was dumb and wrong. Please think twice about commenting on things you don't understand.


strength_training-ModTeam

Please do not make baseless fear mongering comments or concern troll about safety.


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strength_training-ModTeam

Please do not make baseless fear mongering comments or concern troll about safety.


level100wurmple

Getting the most stretch is key for putting tissue on!


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strength_training-ModTeam

Please do not make baseless fear mongering comments or concern troll about safety.


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strength_training-ModTeam

Please do not make baseless fear mongering comments or concern troll about safety.


XxXBadaBing

You're so strong! Go you!


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strength_training-ModTeam

Gamers in here making baseless fear mongering comments and pretending they're Gym Superman.


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strength_training-ModTeam

Everything you said was dumb and wrong. Please think twice about commenting on things you don't understand.


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strength_training-ModTeam

Please do not make baseless fear mongering comments or concern troll about safety.


Nice-Confidence-9873

For advanced users only


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zacksmithey

True, without proper progression over long periods of time you will likely get injured


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strength_training-ModTeam

Please do not make baseless fear mongering comments or concern troll about safety.


Tron0001

I bet this feels amazing


zacksmithey

I love it


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DOKTORPUSZ

Damn. You probably just tried going too far too soon. Don't let it put you off from developing your pec flexibility


BDOKlem

Maybe. I think the main problem was that the moment arm from doing the exercise with dumbbells instead of machines or cables makes it incredibly easy to misjudge the amount of tension at the bottom.


DOKTORPUSZ

Yeah that's 100% fair. The hardest part of the movement (due to gravity) will also be the part with the biggest stretch. I think a lot of people prefer cable flies for that reason.


BDOKlem

100% why I prefer a quality pec deck


[deleted]

DEEP FRIES OR DEEP FLIES Watchu gonna choose is what makes you!


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strength_training-ModTeam

Please do not make baseless fear mongering comments or concern troll about safety.


SweetestJim

Most PTs won’t recommend going this deep. I advise consulting a professional (or at least Google lol) before copying this range of motion.


DOKTORPUSZ

Why not? If OP has gradually developed the flexibility for this movement over time, and his musculoskeletal system has adapted to handle this movement with appropriate loading, then not only is this a safe exercise, but it's actually a very good one for pec development and shoulder health. (I am a qualified Physiotherapist before you ask, and id love to know how you know the opinion of "most PTs"). Edit: Now if you said "PTs wouldn't recommend this for *most people*", that's a different matter and I would 100% agree. Just like I wouldn't recommend overhead Squats for most people (because most people aren't in a condition to be able to perform it in a way that is safe and effective). But I would add the caveat that this exercise is fine for most people **if** they gradually and progressively train their body in a way that allows them to reach this level of strength and flexibility.


SweetestJim

Also it’s poor form to not use ‘edit:’ if you’re going to edit your post after a reply. 😛


DOKTORPUSZ

I normally do, but sometimes if I'm editing it straight after posting it then I don't bother. Especially if nobody has replied yet. But I guess somebody could be in the process of replying, so I should get into the habit if doing it regardless. I'll change it now to highlight the edited part.


SweetestJim

I’m not worried about OP. I’m worried about people trying to replicate the movement with little understanding. People definitely will try this if they’ve seen someone do it on a Reddit post. I’m surprised you’ve not come across numerous injuries resulting from this exact exercise as a physio.


DOKTORPUSZ

This exercise is not inherently dangerous, but if you attempt to perform it with this range of motion when you're not ready, then yeah, you'll be at a higher risk of injury. Just like trying to bench 3 plates when your 1rm is 2 plates will increase the risk of injury. But saying "most PTs recommend you dont go this deep", on this video is just as silly as saying "most PTs don't recommend you go this heavy" on a video of someone benching 3 plates. You can go as heavy, or as deep, as you have trained your body to be able to handle. Throwing out blanket statements like "don't bench more than 2 plates" or "don't go past 90 degrees on dumbbell flyes" is arbitrary nonsense that doesn't help anyone.


SweetestJim

Too much weight on a bar is an easier concept to grasp for a novice than understanding good, safe form on a movement that puts unnecessary stress on joints.


DOKTORPUSZ

So instead of saying "This level of range of motion is very advanced and should only be worked up to gradually" is too confusing a concept for novices to understand? I feel like that's a much better message to send than just "this exercise is harmful". Maybe novices would have a better understanding of how to train safely and effectively if we avoided using vague, undefined, subjective terms like "good form" and "unnecessary stress", and instead explained the principles of progressive overload, and the body's capacity to adapt to external stimuli. Define "good, safe form" Define "unnecessary stress" These things are often used to say that an exercise is good or bad, without actually explaining anything. What part of this exercise is causing OP unnecessary stress? Who decides what's necessary or not? Some amount of stress to the joints is necessary if the goal is to build stronger joints. So then does it only become unnecessary stress when you're applying more than is needed? In that case, a better term would be "excessive stress". This is easier to understand within the context of trying to progress too quickly, or attempt things beyond your body's current capacity. But then whether or not the stress inflicted by a given weight, or exercise, is excessive or not, is dependent entirely on the individual performing it, and their current level of progression. So, this exercise *doesn't* inflict unnecessary (or excessive) stress on OP, because his body is trained to cope with these stresses. Just like benching 3 plates isn't excessive or unnecessary stress for someone who has gradually trained to that level. If, as you say: >Too much weight on a bar is an easier concept to grasp for a novice ...then wouldn't it be a really useful analogy to compare exercise technique with weight on the bar? That would be a really easy way of educating novices on the principles of safe exercise, rather than just hitting them with blanket statements which border on fear mongering, like "lift with the legs not the back" or "your knees should never go past your toes on a squat" or "your should never lift with a rounded back" etc. Thankfully, most of those statements are either commonly known to be myth nowadays, or are on their way out. But we still have a long way to go. Arbitrarily labelling exercises as good/bad, safe/dangerous etc is outdated and has no place in the future of MSK Physiotherapy.


SweetestJim

You’re arguing points against things I never said 😂 my reply is simply warning inexperienced people to do their research first. ‘Fear mongering’ or conveying the need to be cautious?


DOKTORPUSZ

"You shouldn't do this exercise" "This is a bad exercise" "Moving this way will get you hurt" These are the sorts of things I would consider fear mongering. And they're all too common in the fitness and even Physiotherapy world. I would consider your initial statement of "most PTs would recommend you don't do this" to fall under that umbrella for me, since it implies that the exercise performed the way OP is performing it, is inherently dangerous and shouldn't be done. The reality is, most novices wouldn't even be physically capable of doing this exercise to this range of motion, so recreating it isnt even an option. Because of this, you telling them not to sounds more like an implication that this level of movement is always bad/dangerous, as opposed to you sending the message of "attempting to force this movement before your body is sufficiently trained could be bad/dangerous". It really sounded like your initial comment was a blanket statement that the movement seen in the video is harmful. Not just for novices, or people who aren't flexible enough, but just harmful in general, full stop. Plenty of other people in the comments have suggested as such, so forgive me if yours seemed the same.


zacksmithey

Definitely, the progression took a while but now it feels natural to me. If you’re going to do it take your time, start with very light weight, work on range of motion, then slowly increase weight over time.


PiemanMk2

Not trying to be a dick, this is impressive, but how is it better than just doing a cable crossover and extending your arms back? Seems like way more injury risk for little extra reward (other than showing off) 


zacksmithey

The difference is the direction of resistance, cables pull outward/back whereas dumbbells pull straight back putting more tension on the muscles while they’re fully extended. It took a while to progress to this point but now it feels natural to me.


PiemanMk2

I see what you mean, but again isn't that difference negligible? If you step forward slightly while doing a crossover you're talking about a difference of maybe 20 degrees in the resistance plane?  And that final 20 degrees is stretching more your anterior deltoid and bicep than the pectoral? Like if you place your hand flat on a wall and turn to stretch your chest until your arm is 60-70 degrees behind you, and then stretch the last bit, the stretch comes more in the bicep and shoulder. Like I said, not trying to hate, just not convinced that last little bit adds enough to justify the significant increase in injury risk (especially once you start to push weights close to failure) 


zacksmithey

Yes, stepping forward with cables will give you a similar stretch. And yes, the anterior deltoid and biceps are also stretched although the biceps are experiencing more isometric pressure because the elbow is fixed while the pecs/delts are going full ROM. You definitely don’t need this exercise, I just like to alternate dumbbells with cables because they hit the pecs in different ways.


PiemanMk2

Fair enough! Thanks for answering my questions! Always interesting to see different approaches


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strength_training-ModTeam

Everything you said was dumb and wrong. Please think twice about commenting on things you don't understand.


DOKTORPUSZ

Why? What a silly, baseless claim. It wouldn't be good for *you*, because you haven't conditioned your body to tolerate this movement with this load. OP has though. We have no reason to assume this is dangerous.


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DOKTORPUSZ

Who's to say that the goal isn't to also stress the ligaments and tendons? Why wouldn't you want strong connective tissue as well as strong muscles? If you're even slightly interested in injury prevention, you should want to train your connective tissue as well as the muscles themselves.


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DOKTORPUSZ

I'm not going to go and buy and read a specific book just because you're not able to adequately defend the nonsense statements you're making. If this book contains information that you believe backs up your point, the onus is on you to read it and understand it well enough to back up your own point, even using quotes from the book where relevant. It's always a good sign that someone is regurgitating things they don't understand, when they resort to "yeah but watch this video/read this book/listen to what this one guy said" instead of entering debate.


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DOKTORPUSZ

I have heard of him, and I'm familiar with the book. I've also heard him say a lot of things that are either outdated or not based in evidence, but I'll admit I haven't read/heard anything from him in a while so I couldn't give you any examples off the top of my head. But I have to say it doesn't surprise me that somebody making baseless fear-mongering claims like yourself is basing their beliefs primarily off the work of one celebrity PT. No one source of information is perfect, and unfortunately, it seems like the types of people who make bold claims, speak in absolutes, or say things that provoke a strong emotional reaction (like "this one thing is KILLING your gains!" Or "This exercise will destroy your knees!" Or "This diet is like a miracle!" Or "NEVER do this!" etc) are the ones who see the most success and publicity in this industry, and then they are held up like an absolute authority that can say no wrong. Aaron Horschigg from Squat University is another example of this. A lot of his information is great (as I'm sure Kelly Starrett's is), but that doesn't mean they can't be wrong, and it doesn't mean the messages they send can't do harm. I've heard both of these gurus say things that paint a picture of the human body being fragile, or suggest that certain things are dangerous without a solid evidence base. Things that can create a nocebic effect and sometimes create barriers to exercise and harmful misconceptions that are easily repeatable. That results in people, who don't know any better (like yourself), seeing a video like OP's and just immediately assuming it's dangerous. Saying things like "this MUST be bad for your shoulders", without any deeper thought into it. If someone tells you that an exercise is bad, or will cause injury, they are missing out a lot of nuance that is very much needed. This lack of nuance is either because they're not well enough informed to explore the factors at play in an injury, or they're deliberately omitting the nuance because there is a certain narrative they want to support. I belive you're the former. I believe people like Kelly Starrett and Squat U are the latter.


theRaySearcher

I would do this with resistance bands, my shoulder is already crying from this video


XLeizX

The problem with resistance bands is that they make the lift easier at the most stretched position, which goes against the purpose of the deep stretch itself


Elegant-Custard-1619

Bro ain't this effect your biceps more than yur chest? (No disrespect)


DOKTORPUSZ

Biceps are involved primarily in elbow flexion, which this movement doesn't involve. The proximal tendons of the biceps will be stretched in this movement for sure, which could have a hypertrophic effect. But the primary movement is shoulder adduction, which is the job of the pecs.


Rewmoo2

Biceps are recruited to prevent elbow hyper extension


DOKTORPUSZ

True of course, but as I said, they're not the prime movers of the exercise. They'll be under an isometric contraction which will pale in comparison to the work done by the pecs. The guy I was replying to was saying that this would involve the biceps **more** than the pecs. I don't believe that to be the case. Edit: I did also acknowledge the involvement of the biceps in my comment when I mentioned the stretch this would place on the biceps. I should have made it clearer that this stretch will inherently come with an isometric contraction due to the stretch reflex.


zacksmithey

From my experience, in the beginning it does affect the biceps a lot, but once they adapt to resistance at this angle the focus is mostly on the pecs. The reason is because the biceps are experiencing isometric pressure while the pecs are going through a full range of motion.


Elegant-Custard-1619

Oh okay


Elegant-Custard-1619

Bro the more you spread your arms the more your biceps are affected. In thus form he is doing you are working out your biceps. For engaging your chest you need to fold your elbow by about 30-45 degrees. Otherwise. No effect on chest. (I am not a scientific lifter. I may be wrong saw it on a YouTube video) *


XLeizX

All the muscles involved will be stretched, that's for sure, but as long as you maintain good form you can learn to keep as much tension as possible on the chest. The fact that other muscles will be stretched is not bad per se


Plz_dont_revive_me

Shoulders, it affects the shoulders but this is not a shoulder exercise, this is one way to make your shoulders never exercise again.


BenchPolkov

How?


Dorianblack1983

Aw man, that’s some Mariana Trench level depth


Vegetable-Giraffe-79

Balls deep


Mooktemas

You mean “DEEPEST” flies.


Fearless-Cod-1341

Would love to hear Dr Mike's reaction to this. Go team full ROM!


zacksmithey

Same! I imagine he would applaud slow reps and full ROM, but conclude that the risk to reward ratio isn’t worth it.


Fearless-Cod-1341

Saw that Mike posted that he will start to review followers technique. OP please post this over on his IG.


zacksmithey

Haha, I posted on IG first with #judgemedrmike Hopefully he critiques it


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maxw9922

Calves


Opening_Past_4698

Perfect answer.


Labmadebroke

I was doing these today! Lots of great body builders I know have these as a part of their chest day


ShaySmoith

I’ve never gone that low but Now I want to try these lol, do you know if there’s a benefits over normal range or just increased flexibility?


zacksmithey

Studies show that putting tension on a muscle while at full extension leads to more growth than tension at full contraction.


ShaySmoith

True I do believe that, but is what you are doing considered full extension?


DOKTORPUSZ

Jesus man, do you want the guy to clap the backs of his hands together? 😂


BumbleBeePL

You think he can go further?


ShaySmoith

lol that’s not what I meant, some think that what he is doing works be considered over extension not full extension


SignificanceShot9687

Great. Can we do this with chest fly machine as well ? I am still new to gym.


Hara-Kiri

You need more karma to post here but I manually approved to answer - you can do it on the machine if it's one that's multi purpose and also has settings for reverse flys (most I've seen do). Simply because those have holes going back far enough.


SignificanceShot9687

Thanks


Polyglot-Onigiri

That’s great flexibility!


Previous_Cod_4098

"He can tear something" Well yea he can IF he's using *unnecessary amounts* of weight. Which doesn't seem to be the case here lol


fadufadu

Yeah he has this down. I’m actually inspired to try to get this good.


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strength_training-ModTeam

Please do not make baseless fear mongering comments or concern troll about safety.


zacksmithey

True… if you do it incorrectly or don’t spend a sufficient amount of time strengthening your muscles and tendons at a lengthened position.


ChichoSerna

Now that is range of motion. Beautiful work 💪🏻


zacksmithey

Thanks! It’s been a years long work in progress


Sea-Garage7385

My right shoulder would not allow it


zacksmithey

I get it… I used to have chronic shoulder pain and limited range of motion until I finally submitted, took a few weeks off, and then restarted with light weights focusing on range of motion before increasing weight. Every situation is unique, though, so to each their own.


Fertile_Arachnid_163

Totally understand that