I have always had a nice thickness to the lateral and superior portion of my pecs but no matter how hard I try to build up the outer bottom portion, it seems they will not grow there. I have been doing weighted dips with elbows flared and upper torso bent over, and also decline flies. I just would love some suggestions on any other techniques as I’ve become pretty damn strong on these lifts without a proportional increase in development of the area being worked.
Pick better parents.
the rock had lil bitch tits when he first started. i believe it was a series of power cleans jerks and push presses that worked for him. i doubt it’ll do much for you but go for it.
You can NOT work differant parts of the pecs with differant exercises. It is ONE big muscle (with an extra small muscle near the clavicular), therefor benchpress make the pecs grow the exact same way as dips or flies. So just make your pecs bigger allover, because they NEED mass allover (just like the rest of your body) and you will probably be happy for them.
[quote]Misterhamper wrote:
You can NOT work differant parts of the pecs with differant exercises. It is ONE big muscle (with an extra small muscle near the clavicular), therefor benchpress make the pecs grow the exact same way as dips or flies. So just make your pecs bigger allover, because they NEED mass allover (just like the rest of your body) and you will probably be happy for them.[/quote]
You’ve just declared war on half of the forum! o.O Let me go get my lawn chair and powerade cheat drink.
Don’t forget the marshmallows.
[quote]kinein wrote:
Misterhamper wrote:
You can NOT work differant parts of the pecs with differant exercises. It is ONE big muscle (with an extra small muscle near the clavicular), therefor benchpress make the pecs grow the exact same way as dips or flies. So just make your pecs bigger allover, because they NEED mass allover (just like the rest of your body) and you will probably be happy for them.
You’ve just declared war on half of the forum! o.O Let me go get my lawn chair and powerade cheat drink. [/quote]
Hmm Marshmallows ~ now I just need some Graham Crackers and Chocolate and something to burn.
[quote]Misterhamper wrote:
You can NOT work differant parts of the pecs with differant exercises. It is ONE big muscle (with an extra small muscle near the clavicular), therefor benchpress make the pecs grow the exact same way as dips or flies. So just make your pecs bigger allover, because they NEED mass allover (just like the rest of your body) and you will probably be happy for them.[/quote]
Are you the 16 year old poster with the same name from Iron Age? If so it explains a lot.
[quote]DaBeard wrote:
I have always had a nice thickness to the lateral and superior portion of my pecs but no matter how hard I try to build up the outer bottom portion, it seems they will not grow there. I have been doing weighted dips with elbows flared and upper torso bent over, and also decline flies. I just would love some suggestions on any other techniques as I’ve become pretty damn strong on these lifts without a proportional increase in development of the area being worked.[/quote]
How much do you weigh and what are your lifts?
[quote]ZeusNathan wrote:
the rock had lil bitch tits when he first started. i believe it was a series of power cleans jerks and push presses that worked for him. i doubt it’ll do much for you but go for it.
[/quote]
Id like to see a source for that.
[quote]Misterhamper wrote:
You can NOT work differant parts of the pecs with differant exercises. It is ONE big muscle (with an extra small muscle near the clavicular), therefor benchpress make the pecs grow the exact same way as dips or flies. So just make your pecs bigger allover, because they NEED mass allover (just like the rest of your body) and you will probably be happy for them.[/quote]
This is incorrect. While it is not possible to focus tension across the chest (inner/outer) because of the direction of the muscle fibers, it is possible to focus on upper/lower. Sounds like someone needs to stop parroting his favorite authors and get some experience instead.
I got a six pack a bag of doritos.
Its on.
[quote]ZeusNathan wrote:
the rock had lil bitch tits when he first started. i believe it was a series of power cleans jerks and push presses that worked for him. i doubt it’ll do much for you but go for it.
[/quote]
Alot of misinformation being passed around. First I hope you are joking Zeus. It is pretty simple. If you are trying to target a certain muscle group you want to be stretching the fibers that correspond with the area you are trying to hit. Therefore overhead pressing and cleans and shit are not going to target the lower pecs you can be sure of that much.
Additionally, I beleive the rock had liposuction on his chest to remove that fat.
“Benchpress makes the pecs grow the same as flies”
Priceless.
[quote]Misterhamper wrote:
You can NOT work differant parts of the pecs with differant exercises. It is ONE big muscle (with an extra small muscle near the clavicular), therefor benchpress make the pecs grow the exact same way as dips or flies. So just make your pecs bigger allover, because they NEED mass allover (just like the rest of your body) and you will probably be happy for them.[/quote]
Yea Um… you have no idea what you are talking about. At least you could mention that you werent sure or something in your post. Talking like such an authority when you must know yourself that you really dont have a clue is kinda weird.
The pecs are one big muscle but there are many different attachments and the fibers spread out like a fan which means the fibers in the best position to contribute force to the movement are usually going to do the most work. This is one of the reasons (but not the only reason) most people are stronger with downward pressing movements (decline bench, dips) than incline pressing, there is more muscle mass in a position to exert force on the bar. It is also largely a mechanical issue as well but both factors contribute quite a bit.
To the OP dips are just about the best thing you can do for your lower pecs, decline flyes and decline dumbell and barbell presses are up there as well. A few things are probably going on. First, most people do not have a problem gaining mass in this area usually as the chest grows, more muscle develops throughout the lower pecs relative to the middle and upper. Second, it is possible that you are naturally weak in this area and you began doing exercises with too much resistance for your pecs to be doing the majority of the work and thus as you gained strength you gained it in such as way as to strengthen the muscles you were using selectively over the pecs.
So you could be doing very tricep and shoulder dominant dips and presses. It could also be that you naturally are strong in those areas, but either way you will have to find some exercises in which you can rely on your chest strength and somewhat remove the power of the shoulders and triceps from taking over.
A few thoughts.
1- I too have always believed that how much you can work each ‘area’ of the chest is somewhat limited, and has been way overstated in a lot of BS muscle mags. My own chest looks soft on the bottom during most of the year, but when I cut, it sharpens up nicely because I have a good amount of ‘meat’ overall (if you look at most natural pros, you’ll notice the same thing).
2- the Rock had surgery to ‘fix’ his pecs. Craig Titus had a similar operation.
3- If you build a decent amount of mass in your mid/overall chest area, gravity will create the ‘ledge’ that you are probably seeking, so long as you’re not a fat bastard.
S
to shadow, that was basically what I was thinking so thanks for that. To stu, I believe your right about the fat bastard thing, because I was 255 almost 3 months ago and have got down to 228 as of today, this being on a 6’1" frame. I think I did build much more of my anterior delts and this is the reason I will start focusing more on movements/weight to really target the pecs.
Also, I think as the fat drops off it is starting to get better. I 've realized that I have much more muscle on my chest than I thought before because I believed it was a lot of fat and now that the fat is really melting off im pretty suprised to see the amount of muscle under there.
And I have got to say this too, I thought Misterhamper was going to unleash pandora’s box with his comment about all exercises hitting the pecs the same, funny stuff man.
[quote]kinein wrote:
Misterhamper wrote:
You can NOT work differant parts of the pecs with differant exercises. It is ONE big muscle (with an extra small muscle near the clavicular), therefor benchpress make the pecs grow the exact same way as dips or flies. So just make your pecs bigger allover, because they NEED mass allover (just like the rest of your body) and you will probably be happy for them.
You’ve just declared war on half of the forum! o.O Let me go get my lawn chair and powerade cheat drink. [/quote]
we had a 30 page thread on wannabebig on this. People were posting links to full studies, it really was a fascinating thread. In the end they showed that you could NOT target different portions of your pec, but different exercises could focus more on the pectorals themselves as opposed to recruiting more secondary and tertiary helpers.
[quote]Shadowzz4 wrote:
The pecs are one big muscle but there are many different attachments and the fibers spread out like a fan which means the fibers in the best position to contribute force to the movement are usually going to do the most work. [/quote]
The lower pectoral cannot be isolated.The pectoralis major works as a whole to allow adduction of the arm from the shoulder joint. ‘inner’ pecs, and ‘lower’ pecs do not really exist, just exercises for the pecs as a whole. You CAN perform exercises that recruit more secondary & tertiary movers but you CAN NOT ISOALATE PORTIONS OF THE PEC. That’s like saying you can build a peak on your biceps by doing 21’s
[quote]AccipiterQ wrote:
you could NOT target different portions of your pec, but different exercises could focus more on the pectorals themselves as opposed to recruiting more secondary and tertiary helpers. [/quote]
Isn’t that what everyone else is saying though. The focusing on the pectorals is the point despite any literal or subtle meaning behind the term “targeting”.
I think an easier way to avoid misunderstanding is that one can develop muscle fibers that are recruited from certain regions of the pectorals to create more depth density and size. Going by a fiber by fiber basis all of which comprise the pectoral.
Therefore it is not entirely inaccurate to state that one can develop one region of the [pectorals] more then another just by individual fiber recruitment that happens to be stimulated more then other fibers because of the strain, stimulation, and increased recruitment of aforementioned fibers.
Hence from a bodybuilding perspective this is a distinction worth making for size and illusion not for overall muscle strength and total pectoral power.
It’s a grey line that is not always observed between strength/power and size/aesthetics.
Just my social commentary on the landscape of fitness from my lawnchair, with marshmallows.
[quote]DaBeard wrote:
I have always had a nice thickness to the lateral and superior portion of my pecs but no matter how hard I try to build up the outer bottom portion, it seems they will not grow there. I have been doing weighted dips with elbows flared and upper torso bent over, and also decline flies. I just would love some suggestions on any other techniques as I’ve become pretty damn strong on these lifts without a proportional increase in development of the area being worked.[/quote]
I find dumbbell pressing hits my outer portion a lot better due to the stretch, have you considered decline dumbbell press?
P.S I am *DEFINETLY not sure if this will work!
for me personally decline BB presses give my outer lower chest a sick ass contraction compared to other presses. as for flyes i do them every so often with a 6’9 wingspan it doesn’t go over with my shoulders to well. maybe you should try dips from another angle, more upright/elbows out and squeeze your arms together like your doing a crossover at the top thats helped me build size nicely too…