tips for chest development.

[VanDyke]

My shoulders and arms are huge compare to my chest. Obviously my arms and shoulderS are getting most of the work instead of my pecs ? Any tips on the mechanics , chest high ,shoulder blades in ,back arched,? anything?..lol

thanks.

 

[big ronster]

Yes what u just said for one. chest high, shldrs back for sure. Also, depending on the state your shoulder health is in, go wide on the bar with your grip. it will broaden your pecs and really develop them. stat light to avoid injury and do higher reps at first, 12-15 for a couple months. Also, gradually move it out if its narrow, and ALWAYS point your elbows to the outside no matter what your grip is, otherwise a lot of shoulder comes into play. I would do a combo of flat barbell, incl bb or db, dips and db or machine flyes. One or the other on the incl and flyes per wkout using dbs for at least one those per wkout. keep it basic tho.I would also vary your reps from heavy sets of 6-8 one wkout to 12-15 the next to give the joints a break. Also you can go 8-12 wks workin chest 1 time/wk and then go 4-6 2x/wk chest. Chest can handle and grow from 2x a wk training but u gotta be careful not to over do your shoulder pressing when you do or hello tendonitis. Another tip is to not bring the dbs completely together when you flye. watch arnold on pumping iron to see some chest growing form. his chest wasnt too bad haha and ive had good results doing his style of wkouts on the basics over the years.

 

[iw1]

man i wish these forums were around when i first started lifting. i'm very similar to the op "all limbs" i spent years training bench instead of training the chest a couple things i found to help were warming up on the pec dec first with an isometric squeeze at the top 2x15 it helps get the blood flowing to the pecs and will help recruit them more when you move on to bench. another thing i do is end my chest workout on the smith machine just working the top 1/3 of the bench movement with about 20 lbs more than i can bench normally. hope this helps it has for me. as the other poster said varying grip also helps a lot and different rep ranges. also i find supersets a great addition eg. bench -> fly etc. also changing workouts every 3 weeks or so. not every one is the same so finding what works best for you is whats important.

 

[sbv]

i find that putting mental focus on my chest helps it grow. dont just do an exercise that you think is a chest builder, actually think of your chest muscles while performing it, and do it so you feel that your pecs are squeezed at the top. cable crossover for example... I used to do them 'with my triceps' so to speak, of course I used my pecs but to a lesser extent than I do now that I actually 'put my mind' into the pecs.

it's just like back training... to get the best results you have to build a mind-muscle connection with your back muscles and learn to minimize the biceps

my problem is the opposite of you guys, i have no problems with the torso. it's the arms that I cant get to grow. gonna be working on the mind-muscle connection for those.

 

[tatteredxangelx]

I know thismay be somewhat crumby device, but find an experiecned powerlifter, and havehim teach you how to put use yourlegs andyour whole upper body to bench press.

 

[inoverdrive]

The hammer strength works well for me. But i dont have the damn chest half of these guys got, but i think it helped mine develop!

 

[forcedreps13]

Try pre-exhausting your pecs first ( flat db flys, incline db flys, low cable flys ). Also when you flat bench , try bringing the bar down closer to the base of your neck. It will require you to drop the wgt off some. The old Vince Gironda dips work pretty well too.

 

[Ashop]

My shoulders and arms are huge compare to my chest. Obviously my arms and shoulderS are getting most of the work instead of my pecs ? Any tips on the mechanics , chest high ,shoulder blades in ,back arched,? anything?..lol

thanks.

try training with dumbells,,,also do cable work like crossovers.

 

[Chrysler]

In addition to the other advice given, try lifting the weight by flexing your chest, instead of just pushing the weight with your arms. If you hold your arms out to the side of your body like you were to do bench press flex your chest and only your chest and you'll notice that you're arms will move forward as if you were pressing, now just apply that to the bench. Obviously you're gonna have to use other muscles when you do bench otherwise you won't be able to lift any weight, but keep the flexing of your chest the primary focus to lifting the weight. That and keeping your shoulder blades squeezed together throughout the whole movement should help you develop that mind muscle connection with your chest.

As for back, focusing on lifting the weight by pulling with your elbows has made all the difference in the world for me. I was never able to build good upper back thickness until I applied that. Thanks to ex-board member km2000 for that advice.

 

[TooPowerful4u]

I know thismay be somewhat crumby device, but find an experiecned powerlifter, and havehim teach you how to put use yourlegs andyour whole upper body to bench press.

lol yes bad advice. Hes not looking to bench more, hes looking for chest development. In this case, we cant LESS of the assistance and leverage and MORE chest brought into play.....


I destroy my chest as well as anyway. Chest workouts are PAINFUL and the pumps are insane and the soreness lasts for days. I dont do a ton of sets....yet its only mediocre....i guess just keep hammering at it

 

[buselmo]

From a guy who probably has the worst chest on this board and still developing it ...

TIME

really... it's just genetic... nothing you can do about it... some pros have really weak chests too... but you don't see them changing year after year... and these guys have the genetics too!... with time, it will grow... it will still be your weak part... but it will grow.
just keep on doing what you're doing.

 

[VanDyke]

thanks.

 

[TooPowerful4u]

From a guy who probably has the worst chest on this board and still developing it ...

TIME

really... it's just genetic... nothing you can do about it... some pros have really weak chests too... but you don't see them changing year after year... and these guys have the genetics too!... with time, it will grow... it will still be your weak part... but it will grow.
just keep on doing what you're doing.

good advice

 

[tatteredxangelx]

lol yes bad advice. Hes not looking to bench more, hes looking for chest development. In this case, we cant LESS of the assistance and leverage and MORE chest brought into play.....


I destroy my chest as well as anyway. Chest workouts are PAINFUL and the pumps are insane and the soreness lasts for days. I dont do a ton of sets....yet its only mediocre....i guess just keep hammering at it

Take a look at the improvement my chest has made over the past few months next time you see me

 

[Moen]

One from scott abel: 'above the eyes for flyes and presses'

I think phil said on here to not go too much behind your back with your elbows when doing presses, especially this one is important, I'm 6"2 so I have long ass arms and I used to go WAY past that point on db presses. Until I saw myself in action in a mirror and it looked like deep flyes instead of presses.

 

[supertrucker212]

From a guy who probably has the worst chest on this board and still developing it ...

TIME

really... it's just genetic... nothing you can do about it... some pros have really weak chests too... but you don't see them changing year after year... and these guys have the genetics too!... with time, it will grow... it will still be your weak part... but it will grow.
just keep on doing what you're doing.

No, I have the worst chest on the board, lol. I do agree its genetic. All I can do is keep training it. I did notice improvement when going back to heavy bench presses and dips. Then on occasion I throw in dumbell pullovers and triple drop sets on the bench.

 

[BALDNAZI]

Your answer....

Smith Machine Inclines and Low inclines.....since I started doing these it really helped my chest. You can really focus on the squeeze and negatives.

 

[TooPowerful4u]

Take a look at the improvement my chest has made over the past few months next time you see me

Thats called "beginner results' from learning to properly use your chest and actually prioritizing it. First time you really put effort into a muscle consistently its going to get that spurt of growth. Sorry....you can say "look at my chest" all you want...your post was off lol

 

[aw1218]

weighted Gironda Dips!

 

[mike1107]

try training with dumbells,,,also do cable work like crossovers.

yeah same here, a lot of people keep cable crossovers for pre competition but I have been using thme year round and I gained a lot of it, seems like my chest are now fuller and rounder