Chest routine

[RJ DRIVER]

I need a new chest routine.  I've been doing the same routine for some time now and Im looking for suggestions on how to switch it up.
Here's my current routine. I cant do flat barbell because I got bad shoulders.  All tips are appreciated...except from pumpster
flat dumbell 4 sets
incline smith 4 sets
decline smith 4 sets
wide smith 4 sets
dips 2 sets
cable crossovers 4 sets

[Rinc]

Smith, smith, smith. You really need a change. Try freweight, freeweight, freeweight.

[RJ DRIVER]

yeah I got shoulder problems but I meant to write hammer strength instead of smith.

[ngm21084]

how about something like this...
incline DB press
flat DB press
decline DB flyes Superset w/ Dips

someone correct me if im wrong but its my understanding that wide grips presses put more stress on the shoulder then regular grip so if you do have bad shoulders i wouldnt do them...also i know from experience get off the smith machine and stay away from barbells if you do have bad shoulders because when doing things on a smith or any other kind of machine where your ROM is on a track and limited to movement can hurt you more then anything else which is why im suggesting all DB work

[RJ DRIVER]

Thanks I'll try that.  Yeah I gave up on barbell presses a while ago because of the shoulders.  When I do wide grip on the hammer stength it doesnt seem to bother my shoulders but I might be subconcously changing my form to compensate for my shoulders.

[ngm21084]

yea give the DB a fair shot i never really did till like 1.5 years ago and now thats pretty much all i use whether im at a gym or working out at myhouse...play around with the order if you like i do something similar to this but i also do tri on the same day ...mine looks something like this....
incline db press
flat db press
DB overhead extensions SS diamond inclined pushups
close grip press
flat db floor flyes SS Dips

i have shoulder problems also and i had to work hard on a couple things especially when pressing...not locking out my elbows on the top half and not bringing the db all the way down to my chest stopping about 2 or so inches from touching to ease the pressure on the shoulders...and they are also the reason i do my flyes on the floor to only go out as wide till my elbow almost touches the floor this is to make sure i dont go below parallel which can put an extreme amount of pressure on your shoulder if you do....also what does your shoulder workout look like?

[dyslexic]

I wouldn't use machines much if I had a shoulder or joint injury. The machines don't really allow you to work around an injury. They would more likely force you to "work through" the injury, which won't help the healing process.

Machines follow a fixed path. Free weights will allow you to manipulate the path and give you more of a realistic crossover from the gym to your daily life. Rarely do we come close to duplicating machine movements in our daily multi-directional/dimensional lives.

That said, if you are dealing with a joint injury, experiment with exercises. Find exercises that do not cause pain during the R.O.M. If you feel pain (the wrong kind, not lactic acid kind)-- get rid of the exercise.

It may take a while to find what works for you without hurting you and still allowing you to work the muscles efficiently.

I personally like to incorporate a lot of triceps into my chest routine. I will always go for closer grips with dips and barbells. If I want to isolate the chest, I will use dumbell flyes or pulley flyes.