I have the flat barbell bench press as the foundation for my current chest routine. The problem is that my anterior delts alway fatigue way before my chest does. This happens on the bench and on fly's too.
I do a handfull of things to take my shoulders out of the equation for chest day, but they still get worked...I don't want them to get worked on chest day.
Here is what I do. Pinch shoulders back, contract lats to pull shoulders down, slight arch in back, feet flat on the floor and pushing through the lift, I try to flex my chest all the way through the lift, and at the top of the lift I push my hands together like a fly (more of a static movemment to engage the chest more).
Typing all that makes it sound really complicated...but it's not.
Last week I noticed that if I stop about 2 to 3 inches off of my chest (elbows at or just below 90 degrees) instead of touching my chest with the bar, I don't work the delts as much and my chest still gets worked well.
So, here is the question...
Am I just shoulder dominant and should pick a different exercise? Is stopping short on the bench form going to hurt the gains?