2nd progress pic. I was hoping to be down to 170 at this point but I like beer too much. I know all my points are weak points, but am I crazy thinking my chest is unproportionally weak? 42 y/o 194 to 178
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Very impressive progress!
I mean, compared to what? Overall, things are looking pretty good Iād say.
I dunno i often just feel my chest should be way bigger compared to my upper arm for example. Iām starting to incorporate some incline flyes and such to help fill it in. Overall Iād like to be bigger but I know itāll be slow going. I think i just need to stop comparing myself to guys at my gym.
I feel like a āhow much do you benchā question would fit in right about here. Or more specifically, what does your chest routine even look like.
Some people are just built differently.
Iām not very strong overall. Iāve been in and out of the gym for years but sticking with it now. Never lifted as a young man but found t-nation around 2004 I think. Iāve always felt pressing in my front delts, particularly with a barbell and with incline so Iāve always done DB pressing. Lately Iāve been using flat DB press, flat DB squeeze press, and decline BB press. My new routine is push/pull/legs and has more to it. In truth I HAVE made some gains recently since Iāve been consistent. Iām sure I just need to stick with it.
Seriously, though, how much weight on those DBs and barbell presses?
My most recent chest day started with decline BB press with 135 x 12,12,15. Iāve been doing mostly higher rep ranges as I ease these old joints back in to things. Flat DB press was recently 55s 3x15. Not sure what my 1RM or 3RM is on any lifts at the moment. Iāve been adding weight and reps every workout though consistently. I always beat the logbook.
Okay, soā¦I would say you need to focus on getting more weight on the bar. Ease your way into it if you have joint issues, but objectively speaking, 135 on a BB is only going to get you so far. There is a whole different discussion on rep ranges and programs, etc., but you have a lot more strength potential you can tap, which will in turn help you grow.
But that said, as I said before, we are all different. My shoulders are probably my strongest body part relatively speaking, but they donāt look like it. Sometimes thatās just how it is.
I donāt agree here Iām afraid. If the chest isnāt being stimulated well in a press and is not the muscle that reaches failure then the same issue will be present with more weight on the bar and chest growth will still be an issue.
Some peoples chests respond well to pressing, in which case the advise to keep adding weight would prob be okay, but then again they prob wouldnāt be worried about a lagging chest as pressing would be working.
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Have you seen anyone who can bench 4+ plates have a small chest?
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Yeah, I get what you are saying and donāt disagree as suchā¦but having a bit more strength will help. Even if it is not in the standard bench movements.
We are splitting hairs, though. Dude looks like he lifts.
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Have you seen all the thousands of people benching day in day out with tiny chests and never getting close to a 4 plate bench.
If you have a small chest and you cant involve your chest properly you wont anywhere chasing a huge bench.
Itās a very inefficient way of getting your chest to grow.
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I see your point, but itās a chicken an egg thing.
So it looks like we more or less agree: find a chest exercise or two that makes your chest sore and get stronger on it?
I like slight incline dumbbell presses and dips.
Good progress!
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Pretty much yeah.
If chest growth is the key then the chest has got to be failing. If itās something other than the chest failing then your missing out. So for some pressing is great for others pec dec or cables to pre exhaust and then a press is going to work better.
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Not by side by side standards, but look up Mark Bell, Matt Crock,etc and their forays into bodybuilding. All power lifters that could bench 6,7 or however many plates, and they look like an assembly of body parts, their chests being the weakest.
So no. More weight doesnāt equal better chest, if having an outstanding chest compared to their other parts is the goal.
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Not sure if itās my place to say because my chest isnāt big by any means, but the most/only growth Iāve seen is from incorporating dips a couple times a week. I kind of add weight in wavesā¦ a couple weeks BW, a couple weeks with weightā¦ so on and so on.
In the past, I couldnāt figure out why so and soās chest looked better than mine. Why donāt I have a nice line defining the upper chest where one could balance a quarter? Iāve come to the conclusion that the answer is that I need a bigger chest.
I canāt pick the shape; I just need to grow.
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