hey guys, ive been having trouble developing a larger chest. It seems that no matter what the workout or how often i work it, i never seem to gain size at the same rate as my other muscule groups. any tips or chest routines that may help shock my system into better development?
also how do you know if your ratios are correct between mucles. for example, my upper arms are 15.5 inches while my forearms are only 12.5, my chest is 46 yet my shoulders are 50, legs are 25 and calves are 18 are these ratios in the ball park of proper balance?
thanks
You need to find movements where you experience a mind/muscle connection in your pecs. Find machines that target the pecs with minimal stress on the delts and triceps.
Go with dumbbells for all your pressing work. Try Dumbbell and Cable Flyes on different degrees of incline.
Be creative, but go for that “feel”. It may mean going much lighter than you’re used to, but if bodybuilding is your goal, who cares what the numbers are.
What is your current routine and what weights and rep scheme have you been using?
That info would help alot, but a general guide that might help -
-very low incline and/or very low decline BB and/or DB presses
-Slightly wide DB presses with 1-2 second pause at bottom and/or top of movement
-Slightly wide BB incline presses with slow megatives (2-3 secs), pause on chest and no lockout
-BW dips with pause and stretch at bottom
-vary rep ranges from 6-15
-use a high volume approach to exercises and sets
-Generally speaking, get stronger.
With any wider grip or paused stuff, just see how your shoulders react if it is painful or very awkward stop doing it as you could develop shoulder problems over time. Don’t go super wide, it’s not necessary.
[quote]Forcesguy wrote:
hey guys, ive been having trouble developing a larger chest. It seems that no matter what the workout or how often i work it, i never seem to gain size at the same rate as my other muscule groups. any tips or chest routines that may help shock my system into better development?
also how do you know if your ratios are correct between mucles. for example, my upper arms are 15.5 inches while my forearms are only 12.5, my chest is 46 yet my shoulders are 50, legs are 25 and calves are 18 are these ratios in the ball park of proper balance?
thanks[/quote]
John Romaniello has an article on this site called “How To Look Freakin Awsome” explaining symmetry.
flat bench- 185-190 without spotter 225 for one
inclined - 155 - 165
decined 185-190
flys 40-60 per hand( depends on how tierd i am)
and i do this for 5-6 sets of 8- 10
then some pushups mixed in when i need a quick rest, you mentioned i may be tricep or deltoid dominant. is that a bad thing? or is there a way to find out and correct it?
[quote]Forcesguy wrote:
thanks guys, and my current routine for chest
flat bench- 185-190 without spotter 225 for one
inclined - 155 - 165
decined 185-190
flys 40-60 per hand( depends on how tierd i am)
and i do this for 5-6 sets of 8- 10
then some pushups mixed in when i need a quick rest, you mentioned i may be tricep or deltoid dominant. is that a bad thing? or is there a way to find out and correct it?
[/quote]
Try this for next 4 weeks: DB bench press: 3 sets of 8 (1 sec stretch at bottom, 1 sec squeeze chest at top…no lockout) Incline BB: 12, 10, 8, 6…ramping in weight Stretch push-ups: put both hands up on 6 in blocks so you get extra ROM and stretch at bottom…bring chest as low as possible…do two sets to failure without locking out elbows at top
I would ditch all barbell work entirely
Start with an incline exercise be it Dumbbells or some machine
Do a flat version or some type of dip
Then a fly
All things 8-12 reps and flys 12-20
Pounds of meat
That all makes a big chest
Give incline guillotine presses on the Smith machine a try.
Set the bench for a low incline, and align yourself so that the bar drops on your neck. Spread your hands as far apart as possible - try to touch the plates if you can reach that far.
Try various chest movements that you feel the best in your pecs, without delts or tris taking over the motion. Get stronger at those movements over the next 2 years.
Also, lose fat. You’re chubby; it’s hard to see a good chest with chubs covering it.
[quote]hungry4more wrote:
Try various chest movements that you feel the best in your pecs, without delts or tris taking over the motion. Get stronger at those movements over the next 2 years.
Also, lose fat. You’re chubby; it’s hard to see a good chest with chubs covering it. [/quote]
use partial repetitions. When doing bench press it is very likely that your triceps and shoulders will fail first and your chest will not get the stimulation it needs. By doing reps in the lower half of your full bench range of motion, you minimize the role of the triceps and shoulders and give your pecs a taxing set.
also you can choose a weight that you can only lift 3-4 times and do just one or two reps. In next set the weight is lower and reps are higher (8-10 reps). Doing only 1-2 reps with an extremely heavy weight forces your nervous system to recruit the maximal amount of muscle fibers in your chest. When you do the set with lighter weight, the nervous system still recruits the same amount of muscle fibers as for the heavy weight. This will make the weight much easier so you can get several more reps.
do more dynamic work. When performed with light to moderate weight, dynamic bench press will activate more fast twitch fibers in your chest.
[quote]texas man wrote:
I would ditch all barbell work entirely
Start with an incline exercise be it Dumbbells or some machine
Do a flat version or some type of dip
Then a fly
All things 8-12 reps and flys 12-20
Pounds of meat
That all makes a big chest[/quote]
Good post.
OP, you asked if tricep or delt dominance is a good thing. I would say not for bodybuilding if your goal is big pecs.
Please take a few days in the gym and be creative with experimenting with how things feel. Keep the weights moderate for this.
i wont fight that i am chubby. believe me i have been trying as hard as i can to cut down. any tips? ive tried almost everything cant shed a pound but keep getting bigger and stronger but look flabby -.-
[quote]Forcesguy wrote:
i wont fight that i am chubby. believe me i have been trying as hard as i can to cut down. any tips? ive tried almost everything cant shed a pound but keep getting bigger and stronger but look flabby -.-[/quote]
You definitely look strong and put up some solid numbers, but I agree with cutting down. It definitely improves how you look exponentially. It’s hard to give you tips without knowing what your diet looks like. Eat clean and about 500 cals over maintenance on training days, maintenance on off days.
[quote]Forcesguy wrote:
i wont fight that i am chubby. believe me i have been trying as hard as i can to cut down. any tips? ive tried almost everything cant shed a pound but keep getting bigger and stronger but look flabby -.-[/quote]
You definitely look strong and put up some solid numbers, but I agree with cutting down. It definitely improves how you look exponentially. It’s hard to give you tips without knowing what your diet looks like. Eat clean and about 500 cals over maintenance on training days, maintenance on off days. [/quote]
[quote]Forcesguy wrote:
i wont fight that i am chubby. believe me i have been trying as hard as i can to cut down. any tips? ive tried almost everything cant shed a pound but keep getting bigger and stronger but look flabby -.-[/quote]
You definitely look strong and put up some solid numbers, but I agree with cutting down. It definitely improves how you look exponentially. It’s hard to give you tips without knowing what your diet looks like. Eat clean and about 500 cals over maintenance on training days, maintenance on off days. [/quote]