Plan of Action


Howdy, I am new here so anything you can tell me i am sure will help. First, I have been lifting (half heartedly at times) for a couple of years; mostly because i was completely out of shape, and chicks don’t dig that. I feel i have come a long way, but know that i have much more to do. So i am finally buckling down. I plan to one day become “swole”, or atleast just big enough to beat up any male movie star and steal their chicks. This thread is for a specific, immediate, problem I have. My chest is killing me, I can’t stand the way my pecs look.

Which brings me to the old question…should i go ahead and bulk (and the man boobies will go away when i add mass to the chest?), or only way to let me take my shirt off with confidence is to cut till my chest shows the muscle (come to think of it, it would be nice to see my abs for once.)? I realize there will be alot of different opinions about this question. But a couple of opinions/points in the right direction from people who have seen this before will always help.

Currently I am on the Optimized Volume training plan outlined by Thibaudeau. I am getting towards the middle period of what i planned with the OVT. I picked this program because it gives me alot of new excerises to work on. My nutrition flows from the t-dawg diet, and have been staying around 2500 cals a day.

Stats
5’8"ish
170-166 consistent weight

I have no Idea what “man boobies” you are talking about?? you are already pretty lean.

If you have some hard tissue in the area that you highlighted you may have gyno and should get it checked by a doctor.

I think i look pretty lean because of my arms. There is something about that area though that just brings me down 4 points on a leaness scale.

If I was 5’8 170-166lbs with a long term goal of being “swole” I would not let a minor set of moobs send me into the downword spiral of weight loss. You may see your abs but is that really what you want if it means your barely breaking the buck-and-a-half mark? If your predisposed to holding fat in your chest even if you cut the fat now it is likely the first place fat will reappear when you start eating to gain again.

You have alot of mass to gain to get where you want and your not currently carrying a ton of fat. I would keep with OVT but up the calories a bunch until your at least closer to 200 or when the moobs can’t be hidden with a t-shirt.

regardless of what you decide get a good plan and get after it. Staying the same weight is helping you build more muscle or cut away the minimal man boobs.

Keep building my friend. A lot of guys have that until they build up their chest substantially. I had that same little bit of fat deposit combined with not a lot of muscle in that lower pec area. As I have built my whole chest to a fuller more muscular degree that is vanishing. It took building muscle there to improve it.

Good luck

D

[quote]Dedicated wrote:
Keep building my friend. A lot of guys have that until they build up their chest substantially. I had that same little bit of fat deposit combined with not a lot of muscle in that lower pec area. As I have built my whole chest to a fuller more muscular degree that is vanishing. It took building muscle there to improve it.

D[/quote]
Same deal here, mine were just like yours. It will go away. It’s not man boobs, you just have a line of tiny fat from the lower pec to the armpit area.

Good luck

Think long term. You tend to store fat in your chest, like me. If you want to get “swole” you’re going to have to bulk either way, so you’re going to have to deal with it eventually.

By the way, from your avatar you look fine. I doubt any girl is going to inspect your chest from each side to check for excess nipple fat.

Thanks alot for the advice, I imagine i will bulk then. I feel just too in the middle. Muscular enough to cut, but just getting ready to add some real mass if i put on a few pounds. I just wanted to make sure what i am seeing is not abnormal. For those that had this, what methods did you feel worked? Or maybe how much were you benching before you felt like it was gone… just so i can gauge myself. Thanks alot everyone for your responses.
Cheers,
Joe

numbers of how much you bench are different for everyone. i bench 315 and have a crappy chest i know guys who bench alot with better chests than i

Just as a follow up, i have decided against bulking first. I am assuming i am right at 15% bf (i would have included a shoe if i wanted second geusses…). After reading Appetite for Construction, By Berardi, the 3 question really hit home with me.

I still appreciate the response about my less then appealing chest, and realize if i would have dug deeper in the gold mine of information, T-Nation would have answered everything for me already…Thanks!
Joe