Alright, that is definitely proof.Sorry for calling BS man,it was nothing against you.
Have you tried bottom range of motion partials on flat, incline, and decline?They really hit the chest hard and minimize tricep involvement.Also,as hungry4more said HS bench is a really good chest isolater.Try supersetting HS with pec deck flies for 4 sets after benchpressing.Really gives an amazing pump and makes the chest grow.
Your very heavy work (1-3 rep stuff) isn’t going to do much for size.
I see you are a powerlifter. Why not add some repetition bench work on an assistance day or after your hevay benching? If that 405lb bench single wuld turn into 405 for 10 reps, you bet your chest would get bigger.
Widen that grip bro! I see alot of “smaller” dudes lifting way more than I can, and part of it is their grip is closer than the grip I use, not that I have a super wide grip, and not that your smaller than I am, your def. larger. But I hear the wider your grip the more your working chest, so maybe give that a try?
I usually have my index fingers on the rings of the bars(I know some bars have the rings in different places, but hopefully yours is like mine).
[quote]js385787 wrote:
I consider myself pretty strong, but I don’t think my chest is as proportionally as big as it should be given my lower body. Also need to work on arms and deltoids, but main problem is that I’m not sure how to build bigger chest. I don’t think bench is that effective, even though I can bench a lot for my size.
What do people consider biggest mass builders for chest, also deltoids and arms? In past I’ve usually gone with some sort of spilt of lower/upper 4 days a week or full body 3x week. Usually combined heavier and light days working to max or triple or something over few sets, and lighter stuff usually keep around 30 reps total. I generally do 4 main exercises workout and couple accessory things afterwards. For heavy stuff I do compound movements.
I eat 6x a day, 20-40g protein each meal, around 4500cals day. [/quote]
I don’t think you need that much help, honestly. I think the hardest thing for you to do will be to back off in weight on your movements and increase the volume. Focus on making your chest do the work.
You obviously have enough of a strength envelope to make GREAT mass gains. I am profoundly jealous. I say you take the weight on flat and inclines down to 315, overhead press to 225 or so, do tons of laterals and flys and watch yourself grow.
Definately use a wider grip, also someone said more volume. You need to be doing higher reps.
Also some of it is genetic or the way you initiate a movement. If you are a shoulder dominant bencher than maybe some isolation work is needed. Have you tried pre or post fatigue methods?
Personally chest size has not been much of a problem to me but I had to do alot of work on my triceps and delts to get my bench weight moving in the right direction.
what rep range are you using now and for how long?
Good ideas everyone. Ok, so I think I need to try some of the exercise variations mentioned here, widen my grip out, and increase the volume. Doesn’t sound too complex, but I honestly wouldn’t really think of these things myself unless people point it out. Well volume I have, but don’t think I’ve really stuck with increasing it enough and sticking with it long enough when I have tried it.
[quote]Doyle wrote:
Definately use a wider grip, also someone said more volume. You need to be doing higher reps.
Also some of it is genetic or the way you initiate a movement. If you are a shoulder dominant bencher than maybe some isolation work is needed. Have you tried pre or post fatigue methods?
Personally chest size has not been much of a problem to me but I had to do alot of work on my triceps and delts to get my bench weight moving in the right direction.[/quote]
What do you mean by pre or post fatique methods? Like fatigue shoulders first
[quote]jp_dubya wrote:
what rep range are you using now and for how long?
[/quote]
Ah don’t really have set one right now, work up to heavy single or double with bigger movements and with lighter movements 3 sets 8 or something similar. It varies slightly, but not much from that
What’s worked for me:
Bigger Chest - I can’t help you here, I’m struggling myself. I’ve found that keeping my chest up and letting the chest stretch for 2 seconds at the bottom of the movement.
Bigger Shoulders - Focus on presses, lots of volume.
Bigger Arms - Pullups/Chins, believe it or not.
None of this will work however, without proper nutrition and rest. Good luck!
[quote]js385787 wrote:
Standard Donkey wrote:
js385787 wrote:
Standard Donkey wrote:
no it’s not that at all. I just see all of these chest and shoulders articles clogging up the airwaves in this forum, people asking the same exact questions yet creating new threads for the same material…
but to answer your question…
chest
Incline barbell 4x8
Flat Dumbbell 4x12
Shoulders
Seated Dumbbell 3x12
lateral raises,
bent over laterals…
elementary…
I suppose. Not really looking for elementary stuff though. I already do the above mentioned chest exercises along with flies pretty regularly and find it doesn’t help with chest size. I’d like to have chest >52" and found that I have stalled in progress size wise in that area. For context my max bench is 405-415 raw touch and go.
For shoulder stuff let me rephrase, do people find compounds, such as standing press and push press to be more or less effective than say lateral raises for adding mass?
[/quote]
What do you bench in the 8-10 range… That’s what gets you big, not lifting something once (or have you ever seen a huge bodybuilder do ME work on a regular basis?).
My .02. When its time to add size and shape to chest it becomes a matter of concentrating on CHEST! This may mean adding intensity and “time under load”. Lighter weights are the answer in many cases. Dumbell presses on a slightly inclined bench work well for most. But you may have to get used to doing more sets than you are used to for a month or so.
Also on the other hand heavy dumbell flys work wonders for alot of guys. This was one of Arnold’s favs. Concentrate on feeling the muscles you want to work and not so much on the weight. If you are getting sore in the chest region that’s what you want.Also stretch the chest out with some push-ups on the days afterwards when you are still sore. It feels so good !!
[quote]js385787 wrote:
Doyle wrote:
Definately use a wider grip, also someone said more volume. You need to be doing higher reps.
Also some of it is genetic or the way you initiate a movement. If you are a shoulder dominant bencher than maybe some isolation work is needed. Have you tried pre or post fatigue methods?
Personally chest size has not been much of a problem to me but I had to do alot of work on my triceps and delts to get my bench weight moving in the right direction.
What do you mean by pre or post fatique methods? Like fatigue shoulders first[/quote]
Pre-Exhauston: Performing and Isolation movement immediatly followed by a compound movement for the same body part(superset). D.Bell Fly followed by Bar Press. Leg Extension followed by Leg Press. etc.
[quote]js385787 wrote:
cyph31 wrote:
chest ? really heavy pec deck (machine)
Have you found this to be personally more effective? What kind of rep/set scheme did you use? [/quote]
i have it as part of an old pulley machine at home for the past 7 years or so
i maxed it out a while ago at 170 lbs
on my chest day i do sets of 13, 12, 10, 8, 6 reps mixed up with regular flat benching, pushups and other variations
i have actually found it so effective that my regular benching along with my shoulders and triceps are pathetic compared to my chest strength and size, something i’ve been trying to correct over the past year
when i seriously bring up the size and strength of my triceps and front delts then maybe benching will actually give some feeling in my chest again, until then i rely on the pec deck for maintenance
Thibs talks about hand placement on bench as the number one reason why some get good chest growth and others don’t out of the bench.
looking at your grip definitely go wider. You might even want to lighten the load and do ultra-wides.
One of my highschool friends who had the thickest chest i’ve seen in my life on a normal sized guy (non bb’er) used to always talk shit about how much he could bench. Blah, blah. I never believed him.
One day we where in my garage and I called him on it.
He proceeded to unrack 315 and knocked off a good TWENTY reps with ease in combine like fashion. His grip was so wide it touched the collars. He said that is how he always benched.
Serge Nubret also believes in wide grip benches. He said always did wide grips.
Then later, I remember reading that article where Thibs was talking about the same thing.
You also might want to try wide Gironda chest dips.
Yeah use more of a bodybuilding grip.
Also your a strong guy but you don’t appear to be extroadinarily large, can’t tell if your chest is deflated but it appears to be of the same proportion to the rest of your upper body, which means first and foremost you need to raise your calories. (not advocating getting fat just enough for some growth)
While your eating more, you may want to try a superset of flyes 5-10 reps. Then benching in the 8-15 rep range for about 3 weeks. From the preset to the the bench focus your mind on the chest and the squeeze, after a few weeks as you begin to feel it, switch the order bench first then flyes.
Last but not least try the Thibs dumbell press exercise where you squeeze the dumbells together as you press them.
didnt read any of this thread but…
Squats and Milk
or
Dips and Incline Bench and Milk and Squats
Why dont you try CT’s specialization programs for chest, shoulders & arms.
Chest: HSS-100: Chest Specialization
Shoulders: HSS-100: Shoulder Specialization
hey,
im in the same boat as you. i have a pretty big lower body compared to upper. bench, especially barbell, doesn’t do much for me, it hammers my triceps and bi’s more than chest, change of grip doesn’t do much either. what i have found works are weighted pushups. i do them with a dip belt, elevate myself between two platforms so i can go all the way down without the weights resting on the floor. much better on my shoulders as well. but i still do some dumbbell presses, ive found it hits my chest better than barbell.
[quote]Goodfellow wrote:
Why dont you try CT’s specialization programs for chest, shoulders & arms.
Chest: HSS-100: Chest Specialization
Shoulders: HSS-100: Shoulder Specialization
Arms: Your Ticket to the Gun Show! [/quote]
thanks for links, I’ll check em out