Once again I am here with more questions…first off, I was approached by an ex-bodybuilder at the gym the other day who complimented my build. He told me he had been watching me workout for a few days and also complimented my routine as well as for not overtraining certain body parts (biceps, chest) as many guys my age tend to do. He also had some advice for me as to really try and cut my lower chest because it would add so much more to my physique.
My body is developing nicely and I get complimented all the time on the mass on my arms and my chest. However, when I take my shirt off it is rather dissapointing (at least to me). My chest lacks shape in some way…My outer chest is cut very well and from a side view it looks stunning, from the front, it looks as if my lower chest forms into my stomach if you can get a mental picture. As for my inner chest, it is very defined also. I’ve been doing many many sets of decline bench for about a month now on my chest days and it just doesn’t seem to be doing the trick. I was wondering if I should be doing a cutting workout for my lower chest (lighter weight, more reps) but then I thought to myself, my lower chest isn’t near the size of my middle/outer chest so maybe i should be trying to add mass to the bottom of my chest and it would naturally cut itself off. Please advise me on what I should be doing for my lower chest. Any input is appreciated.
Damn, you’re a man, stop freaking so much about your boobs… keep working your chest heavy and things will go the way they are planned to be, pecs shape is more about genetic than training.
[quote]Kael231 wrote:
I’ve been doing many many sets of decline bench for about a month now on my chest days and it just doesn’t seem to be doing the trick. I was wondering if I should be doing a cutting workout for my lower chest (lighter weight, more reps) but then I thought to myself, my lower chest isn’t near the size of my middle/outer chest so maybe i should be trying to add mass to the bottom of my chest and it would naturally cut itself off. [/quote]
There is no such thing as spot fat reduction.
Just because you work your abs hard doesn’t mean you’ll have a six-pack. Put on more mass and it may show through the fat. If you want to cut fat eat leaner or do cardio, or both.
Chest shape is largely genetic, and the chest does function as a unit. But certain exercises still hit the upper or lower chest better than others and can result in better hypertrophy which improves overall shape. Incline bench hits the upper chest better than flat bench, and decline hits the lower chest better. You should of course be doing flatbench. Probably dips as well. But adding incline and decline work can be a very good idea. CW and CT both have bench/chest specialization programs that you might benefit from looking at. But I’m guessing you would benefit most from focusing on overall development and gaining mass at this point as opposed to a specialization program.
[quote]pomanatschool wrote:
Well, there is a misconception afoot here that may be tripping you up. The chest (pec major) is a single muscle, not a muscle group. Be ing a single muscle, and spanning only one joint, it can only contract one way. All the incline, decline, up down, in, and out really doesn’t matter when “shaping” the chest. Your chest can hypertrophy, or atrophy…thats about it. It sounds like you just need to get more experience under your belt, especially with heavy loads, to develop the muscle density you are after. It takes a while, but keep at it…you can definitely tell the difference between the guys who’ve benched heavy and those who haven’t. Good luck[/quote]
I don’t agree with you when you say decline, incline, flys, etc. dont matter when shaping chest at all. I’ve seen guys workout flat bench only…and yes their chest is huge but it has no shape, their upper chest lacks in mass and their inside chest isn’t even there. It looks ridiculous. And btw, skaklight, i guess i failed to mention that I’m 173 lbs. and 4.1% BF. Any muscle on me is practically lean muscle tissue…so my problem isn;t building “through the fat” it’s defining my lower chest because right now it looks like I have two huge rocks for pecs.
if you want your chest to extend past your gut you need a smaller gut or a bigger chest… sounds like you got a smaller gut (p.s. your not 4% body fat) so build a bigger chest
what i would recommend for creating the lower pec line would be dips bent forward along with decline butterflys…since it seems you are more on a bodybuilding routine(as i am), i would not concentrate as much on decline presses as most bodybuilders feel it makes the pec too “bottom heavy,” also would go with something like:
incline press
flat press
declne flys
bent forward dips or decline press
personally i’m working on upper chest more so i do incline flys instead of decline…either way, feel the muscle work, hit it hard and hit it heavy and shape will come…
[quote]JNeves wrote:
if you want your chest to extend past your gut you need a smaller gut or a bigger chest… sounds like you got a smaller gut (p.s. your not 4% body fat) so build a bigger chest[/quote]
Yes I do have a small gut…and p.s. I went to the doctor 1 week ago to get my B.F. tested and yes…I am 4.1% you dumb fuck.
Thanks for all the constructive help…yeah I have heard that doing dips while bending forward helps get the lower chest so I will give that a try as well. My current workout for chest looks like this…
are your crossovers beign done from the high or low pully?..for what ur seeking it should be from the high pully(which my guess is that’s what ur doing) with hands coming down towards your groin, basically hitting a most muscular pose…
[quote]Kael231 wrote:
JNeves wrote:
Yes I do have a small gut…and p.s. I went to the doctor 1 week ago to get my B.F. tested and yes…I am 4.1% you dumb fuck.
[/quote]
No, you’re the dumb fuck and so is your doctor. Do you have any clue what 4.1% bf looks like? You can pretty much see veins in your ass. You’re definitely NOT 4.1% bf if you have a small gut.
How did your doctor do the BF test? Skinfolds? BIE? 4.1% is ungodly low. Like the other guy said, to the point of seeing veins in your ass. Your doctor probably didn’t pinch enough for skinfolds (if that was what was done) or, well, BIE is pretty much crap to begin with. Error can be huge on that one.
That’s a crapload of volume for your chest - are you doing it once a week supposedly “isolated?” You may see better results dropping it to two exercises, say dips and declines, for 4 or 5 sets each with heavier weight, going in the 6-8 rep range, and training it twice a week.
And to the other poster, what the fuck is a “bottom-heavy” pec?
[quote]randman wrote:
Kael231 wrote:
JNeves wrote:
Yes I do have a small gut…and p.s. I went to the doctor 1 week ago to get my B.F. tested and yes…I am 4.1% you dumb fuck.
No, you’re the dumb fuck and so is your doctor. Do you have any clue what 4.1% bf looks like? You can pretty much see veins in your ass. You’re definitely NOT 4.1% bf if you have a small gut. [/quote]
[quote]randman wrote:
Kael231 wrote:
JNeves wrote:
Yes I do have a small gut…and p.s. I went to the doctor 1 week ago to get my B.F. tested and yes…I am 4.1% you dumb fuck.
No, you’re the dumb fuck and so is your doctor. Do you have any clue what 4.1% bf looks like? You can pretty much see veins in your ass. You’re definitely NOT 4.1% bf if you have a small gut. [/quote]
I do believe I have a heavy volume for my chest. I do train chest once a week at this volume but I will definately look into a lighter volume and for 2 days a week possibly.
Do I have any clue what 4.1% bf looks like? huh I do believe I have a mirror and no I don’t have veins sticking out of my ass. And what the hell are you talking about Im not 4.1% BF if I have a small gut? If I had a huge gut would I be 4.1% BF? Since no one seems to believe me when I say my BF is 4.1% I will be attatching pictures to this thread very soon.
I still say your problem is 100% a lack of chest size… if your chest was bigger it wouldnt blend into your stomach… “shaping” exercises won’t fix this
I also think you need to vary your training a bit… heavy weight/low rep and lower weight/higher rep are both effective at building muscle so why not incorporate both? Also training a muscle group more often like mentioned above is very benificial, expecially when trying to bring up a lagging part.
Finally you may have to lose your glute striations and “4.1%” body fat to pack on some mass.
[quote]Kael231 wrote:
I was approached by an ex-bodybuilder at the gym the other day who complimented my build. He told me he had been watching me workout for a few days[/quote]
Maybe he was hitting on you.
Hmmm. Why exactly do you suggest lighter weight, more reps for cutting?
