Need advice for lifts for chest and triceps

[Kobaltic]

I need some help with my upper chest and triceps. My pecks look pretty good but the area above them (just under my collar bone) has no muscle at all. I have seen many pics where the pecks look almost square and defined at the top. I do bench, incline bench, flies and bear hugs using the 5 X 5 sets (alternating weekly). I go up in weight all the time but no luck in defining the top area.

Also my triceps are horrible. My biceps good. I do Tricep pull downs, Tricep extensions, and tricep extensions over my head. I have definition when I flex but it looks more like my skin sucks in around the muscle then the muscle bulging outward. Again I use a 5 X 5 set.

Any thoughts on changing or adding to my routine. Thanks

 

[suncloud]

for tricep mass, go with two exercises :

weighted dips
close grip bench

if you have a tricep only day, here's a pretty decent routine:
weighted dips
close grip bench
rope pushdowns
tricep pushdowns on a "W" shaped bar (underhand grip)

remember the tricep has three heads, so this does not qualify as overtraining them.

always do the compound moves first. the reverse grip will finish the horseshoe in the back of the arm, and the rope pushdowns kind of tie the two compound moves together and help bring the tricep all the way to the elbow. for the rope pushdowns, make sure you squeeze your triceps at the bottom position, and push all the way to elbow lockout. your wrists at this point should be close to your knees with your arms just over shoulder width. go light on these the first time, so you can understand the movement.

for upper chest, you need to think about your mind muscle connection. if you're going up in weight on incline bench, but no muscle is forming, odds are you are using your delts too much in the movement. you can either preexhaust your delts, or try flexing your upper pec the whole time you're doing your set.

hope this helps.

 

[jtp217]

Triceps-
PJR Pullovers
DB Floor Press
Barbell Floor Press
Weighted Dips
Close Grip Bench
Reverse Grip Bench
Incline Close Grip Bench
Incline Hammer Grip DB Press
Skullcrushers
Floor Skulls
Incline Skullcrushers

Upper Chest-
Incline Bench (smith or free)
Incline DB
Weighted Dips
Incline Hammers

Make sure on the chest movements (like suncloud said) be sure you are feeling the muscle work and not just moving the weight.

How long have you been using the 5x5 rep scheme?
Have you tried incorporating DC's extreme stretching?

 

[striking]

For a chest/Tri Weighted dips take the cake!

I saw a much better size increase when I started upping the weight on the dips then anything else I ahve done.

The biggest problem with the Tricep is gettign all the heads to come to really give that full look.

Close grip
Weighted dips

I go for as heavy as possible with good form shoot for reps of 8-10.

 

[Joshua86]

This is a chest workout I'm about to try out:

Incline DB Press 3 x 8,6,4
Flat BB Press 3 x 8,6,4
Incline BB Press 3 x 8,6,4
Triset: DB Flyes, Incline DB Flyes, Cable Crossovers 2 x 6-10


As far as triceps training goes, I do a lot of instinctive training, switching up my routine often. I do, however, always start with a heavy compound lift (usually glose-grip bench press), and add in some isolation work, with my goal being to hit the triceps from every angle possible, stimulating the maximum amount of muscle fiber. Start with a compound lift such as close-grip bench, or dips (weighted), and then concentrate on hitting the muscle from as many angles as you can. There are plenty of good exercises.

Good luck!

 

[Kobaltic]

Thanks guys. I am glad to see that alot of the answers are the same. I will add these to my workout. I used to do the 8,6,4 in high school and college. I was bigger back then. I am now in my 3rd cycle doing the 5x5. I now lift more weight then I did in highschool but I am smaller now and weigh 15 lbs less.

I don't even know what DC's extreme streching is so the answer is no I haven't done it.

 

[jtp217]

Check out this thread for info on DC and the stretches I mentioned.

http://anabolicminds.com/forum/exercise-science/73635-everything-anything-dc.html

Give them a shot at the end of your workouts, they kick ass for growth. They will make you sore as **** though.

The close grips and dips will blast your shorter 2 heads of your triceps. To hit the longer head try incline skullcrushers or the PJR pullovers I mentioned.

To do the PJR's you use basically the same form as a DB pullover except that at the top of the movement the DB shouldn't come past your eyes and as you lower the weight bend your elbows and let the weight drift down towards the floor. If you try them and don't feel them in your tri's then you are probably either bringing them to far up or not getting a good enough stretch at the bottom.