Chest will not grow!

Got2bbig

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I believe i may have tried everything to get my chest to match the rest of me but it refuses to grow. Im 5'9 about 190 n around 8-9% bf. Need some urgent advice on how to get some maximal pec growth. I dont have a prob puttin on muscle until it comes to my chest. Someone has to have some secret insight or something and the help would be greatly appreciated.
 

handzilla

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I hear it man. I'm in the same boat as you but I should be gettin off at the next island. One of my problems was that I was overtraining. This overtraining would lead to shoulder injuries which would keep me from training chest for 2 weeks at a time. Imagine not being able to train a muscle as soon as you started seeing an increase in strength, having to take 2 weeks off, and then start all over. I did this for about a year, which is why my chest is still lagging.

My solutions have been using different exercises each time I train chest. Somedays I'll do DB Incline instead of barbell; decline instead of weighted dips; or flat flies instead of incline. Basically I hit my pecs from each angle and then do a fly movement. Sometimes I'll finish off with my own variation of machine press. I also train heavy with 4-6 rep sets, but not every session.

My chest has definitely improved within the last year, but some of my b-building buds say that chest can never be big enough. Ha!
 

Got2bbig

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Thanks alot for the tips. The only thing is that i do wut u were talkn about already. I do alot of variations of exercises and all that. I get stronger always it just seems my chest always looks underdeveloped not matter if i get stronger or not. Its mainly my lower chest in which i cant get that under cut so to speak that forms a good chest and my middle is laking as well. Maybe its just genetics or something but something has got to work.
 

handzilla

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How many times a week do you train chest?
 

Got2bbig

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Usually just once with around 3 diff. workouts. Sometimes if not sore ill work it out a second time but with only 1 wo with like 3 sets or so. Compound exercises i do 4-5 sets. Supportin exercises like 2 sets with maybe a superset somewhere in there.
 

handzilla

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Well my man, maybe the rest of you is just so big that it makes your chest look not as big. I could also be a posture thing. But maybe you should just be patient. Some say that chest is the last thing to grow.

(Whistles to summon Bobo)
 

Got2bbig

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My shoulders do kinda slump fwd but thats not the whole prob. I jus hope it finally gets tired of lookin outta place and gets off its ass and grows. Thanks for your input bro.
 
jminis

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What rep range are your hitting? Whats your tempo ratio? The reason I ask is because you should be training specifically for hypertrophy both myofibullar and sarcoplasmic. It sounds like PL results, stronger with no size increase.
 

Got2bbig

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On my compound exercises i do 4-5 sets starting at 10-6-4-4. Supporting exercises i do 2 sets of 8-10 reps. 2-3 min rests on compound and 60-90 sec on supp. exercises. I usually throw in a superset somewhere in there.
 

Phoenix rising

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I believe i may have tried everything to get my chest to match the rest of me but it refuses to grow. Im 5'9 about 190 n around 8-9% bf. Need some urgent advice on how to get some maximal pec growth. I dont have a prob puttin on muscle until it comes to my chest. Someone has to have some secret insight or something and the help would be greatly appreciated.
Here’s a crazy suggestion: Quit training legs! No not forever but for a cycle. Look at the the meatheads strutting around the gym with impressive upper bodies but have spaghetti legs. Me thinks this might not be just a coincidence. You might want to try training legs at a maintenance level or give them some time off all together. This will give your body more opportunity for growth and repair.

 

Phoenix rising

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Another thought I had:
Maybe you are going to need some more calories. You might have to sacrifice single digit body fat to pack on mass for your chest. I'm talking about lean bulking here. Would you mind bumping your body fat up in the 10-12 % range if that means packing on quality slabs of chest muscle?
 
LakeMountD

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How long is the eccentric (negative) portion of your lift take? Sometimes lowering the weight but increasing the negative time to as much as 3-4 seconds can really help. Helped me for sure. I have the same problem with my chest, i dont have an upper chest really, it also has a lot to do with the fact my shoudlers are monsterous in comparison to my chest. Heavy, weighted dips are a good addition as well.
 

Phoenix rising

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I did not here you mention any dips. I think that would be a great exercise for your lower chest. Middle Chest region try this out: The Synder press incorperates dumbell bench presses with palms facing each other. You start with the dumbells touching each other on your chest (palms facing each other) and you then press the dumbells up untill the elbows are extended. Throughout the exercise the edges of the weight plates touch each other. Take a short pause at the top of the lift.
 

Phoenix rising

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Training frequency is another variable. I use to train my chest 1 time per week. I have found that training my chesy every 5 days is even better.

If you are training with out gear I think its time you put more thought and plan in your workouts. You are going have to do a chest routine long enough to see what works for you. Keeping a log of this will help yiou go back and evaluate what works and what doesnt.
 

Phoenix rising

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Insert Bobo plug: When Bobo starts taking clients again you might want to give him a shot.
 

Got2bbig

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I will definitely give weighted dips and the other dumbell workout a try adding in more sec on the negative portion of my workouts. My shoulders are also big compared to my chest which may contribute to my uneven look. Do yall think that heavy barbell or dumbell lifts would be better for my main compound lift to get maximal growth? Thanks for all yalls help so far.
 

Phoenix rising

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I will definitely give weighted dips and the other dumbell workout a try adding in more sec on the negative portion of my workouts. My shoulders are also big compared to my chest which may contribute to my uneven look. Do yall think that heavy barbell or dumbell lifts would be better for my main compound lift to get maximal growth? Thanks for all yalls help so far.
I would go with dumbell presses and to more specific incline dumbell presses with the incline set aprox 30 degrees. I would quit doing any type of shoulder presses if you are currently doing them. Concentate on the lateral and posterior delts. If you are slumping foward with your posture you might want to take a tricep rope and attach it to a low pulley. Set the pulley chest high and row it to your neck. Take a brief pause and realy concentrate trying to squeeze your shoulder blades together.
 

Got2bbig

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Sounds good so i think im gonna go with incline dumbell press 5 sets 4-6 reps, snyder press 3 sets 8-10, and weighted dips 3 sets 8-10 reps. Ill start workin chest once every 5 days as well. If you think i should add or take away anything just let me know whatcha think. Again thanks alot bro.
 

handzilla

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Go ahead and throw some decline flies in there since your main focus is your lower chest.
 
LakeMountD

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Sounds good so i think im gonna go with incline dumbell press 5 sets 4-6 reps, snyder press 3 sets 8-10, and weighted dips 3 sets 8-10 reps. Ill start workin chest once every 5 days as well. If you think i should add or take away anything just let me know whatcha think. Again thanks alot bro.
I still think that kind of volume is a bit high for once every five days especially if your going to be doing slow controlled movements. Remember keep the negatives to a MINIMUM of 3 seconds and dont cheat them. Keep your shoulders pinned back sot that your using your chest more. A downfall of a lot of people , including myself, is having your shoulders take over in the movement.
 

builtolast

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Thanks alot for the tips. The only thing is that i do wut u were talkn about already. I do alot of variations of exercises and all that. I get stronger always it just seems my chest always looks underdeveloped not matter if i get stronger or not. Its mainly my lower chest in which i cant get that under cut so to speak that forms a good chest and my middle is laking as well. Maybe its just genetics or something but something has got to work.
I seem to have this same problem. It seems with me my front delts are SUPER strong, but my chest is much smaller and weak as a kitten (where in your case it's strong and smallish). I think it has to do mostly (as far as Im concerned) with posture: my serratus is weak so my shoulder blades don't stay back, and my shoulders are rolled forward. Speaking of which, will strengthening the serratus ant. help with recruiting more chest (opposed to delts) during chest presses?

PS> sorry if this sounds like a thread hijack, but im just trying to keep answers coming.
 

Got2bbig

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If the volume is too high then i can just take a set off each workout and concentrate on quality controlled reps. Ill also look at throwing in some decline flyes.
 
Pioneer

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Go ahead and throw some decline flies in there since your main focus is your lower chest.
hey you know any other exercises that dont inlcude decline benches to work lower chest? unfortunetly my gym doesnt have a decline

weak... i know.
 

handzilla

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hey you know any other exercises that dont inlcude decline benches to work lower chest? unfortunetly my gym doesnt have a decline

weak... i know.
Not even an adjustable bench that can be use for sit-ups?! Wow!

Well you can always do dips and add weight as you progress. You can also use the cable cross to simulate decline flies.
 
Pioneer

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Not even an adjustable bench that can be use for sit-ups?! Wow!

Well you can always do dips and add weight as you progress. You can also use the cable cross to simulate decline flies.
thats on a different level. i cant be carrying DBs up there either.
 

Striate

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i agree with some of the other posts that you may be incorporating your front delts too much in your compound lifts. To roll your shoulders as far back as possible helps. But another good thing to try is to pre-exhaust the chest prior to compound moves. That way it will definately give way prior to your shoulders. Do a definitive "all chest" movement like a fly or crossover. When your chest is burning and fatigued, then go to a heavy, compound move. You will not push as much weight around, but that is not the goal. This could help.
 
Pioneer

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that part in the end when he explained how to work each part with the cables was great, thanks for the link.
 

goes4ever

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Another thought I had:
Maybe you are going to need some more calories. You might have to sacrifice single digit body fat to pack on mass for your chest. I'm talking about lean bulking here. Would you mind bumping your body fat up in the 10-12 % range if that means packing on quality slabs of chest muscle?
this is the best answer I see here, IMHO
 

handzilla

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Quote:
Originally Posted by Phoenix rising
Another thought I had:
Maybe you are going to need some more calories. You might have to sacrifice single digit body fat to pack on mass for your chest. I'm talking about lean bulking here. Would you mind bumping your body fat up in the 10-12 % range if that means packing on quality slabs of chest muscle?



this is the best answer I see here, IMHO
I've heard that having some body fat on you is good for building muscle, is that true?
 

Got2bbig

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this is the best answer I see here, IMHO
I would do whatever i needed to to get my chest to pack on some mass. If that means a little extra fat the so be it cause i can always get rid of the fat.
 
Beowulf

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I agree with Jminis and LakeMount's attention to rep ratios as key to development. Drop the weight, slow down the tempo and get ready for more pain and growth than ever before :thumbsup:
 

Phoenix rising

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Quote:
Originally Posted by Phoenix rising
Another thought I had:
Maybe you are going to need some more calories. You might have to sacrifice single digit body fat to pack on mass for your chest. I'm talking about lean bulking here. Would you mind bumping your body fat up in the 10-12 % range if that means packing on quality slabs of chest muscle?



I've heard that having some body fat on you is good for building muscle, is that true?
I would hate to give out any false scientific information here because I'm no expert. In saying that though I believe there would some positive hormonal shifts (testosterone, leptin, thyroid, etc) for males to be in th 10-12 bf% range rather than in single digits year round that would be benefical to the drug unassisted athlete. Where is Bobo when we need him to say I dont know what I'm talkiing about ? :)

Please someone feel free to correct me if I'm way off base.
 

Phoenix rising

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You might want to check out Chad Waterbury articles. IMHO he writes some good stuff on training. His articles are over on testosterone.net.
 

ryano

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I am wondering how poor back development can affect chest growth and vice versa?
I have herad that poor back development can hinder chest growth.

I have had problems with chest growth as well. Part of my problem was my delts were
doing all the work on my compound movements. Also my back needs some serious
attention.
 
Dungeon1

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Start your back workouts with hanging-chins on the pull up bar. If you can't do hanging chins, try to just do regular pull-ups. Once you work your way up to weighted hanging-chins (with good form) you should notice some decent development. Depens on how heavy you are. I like to do stupid heavy one arm dumbell rows as a second movement. I break my back workout up into width/thickness/width/thickness/detail/detail movements. My favorite detail movement right now is a seated low cable one arm row for high reps.


Hanging-chins: Grasp pull-up bar with a pronated (Hands-foreward) grip, pull your body up until the bar is below your chin or up to your upper chest, lower body slowly with emphasis on controlling the motion, stop just before extending your shoulders (don't just let your weight hang), pause for a 2 count, repeat. If you can get 12 reps, add weight until you struggle for 8-10 or less depening on your goals.
 

tony2085

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I have the same problem. I learned a good way to gain made muscle size in my exercise physiology class. Supprisingly the eccentric contraction is much more stronger then the concentric, so negatives would deffinitely help. Number of sets should be greater then 3 and the load should be set with a range of 6RM to 12RM. Also, the rest interval should be short, usually not more than 90s (taken strraight from my textbook). Goodluck
 

davisville64

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I believe i may have tried everything to get my chest to match the rest of me but it refuses to grow. Im 5'9 about 190 n around 8-9% bf. Need some urgent advice on how to get some maximal pec growth. I dont have a prob puttin on muscle until it comes to my chest. Someone has to have some secret insight or something and the help would be greatly appreciated.
Use to have this problem. Two words....


DECLINE BENCH.


I do it instead of flat every other workout. Works great for me :study:
 

ryano

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Dungeon:

I fortunate to have a weight assist chinup and dip machine at the gym. My back workouts have been getting better since. I am staying away from the one arm dumbell rows for now until my lower back is doing better. I have been using hammer machines instead. I have been concentrating on wide grips for everything lately. What are you doing for thickness?
 
Dungeon1

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Basically when you pull a weight from overhead with a medium to wide grip the bulk of the movement is stimulating muscles that are responsible for widening. Conversly when you pull a weight in toward your stomach from a bent over position or seated it works toward thickness. My favorite is HEAVY one arm dumbells. I will usually set up a back workout like this:

Weighted chins
body weight +25lb/45lb/90lb/90lb
1 set of hanging chins till nausea

4 sets of One arm db rows
HEAVY usually up to 2 sets of 120lbs (they are the biggest db's in the gym:rant: )

Seated overhead cable pulls
These are cool, you sit on a bench below the high cable pulley with a D-handle in each hand (think crucifix), as you pull the weight down and back rotate your wrists from pronated to supinated.
4 sets (pin weight to the rack)

Dorian style bent rows. 4 sets as heavy as I can go without bouncing the weight.

Seated one arm cable pulls/Reverse close grip chins. 4 sets in superset fashion with high reps/moderate weight. When I finish puking, I drive home slowly.

You can sub in T-bar rows for the DB rows. And i personally think that the Dip/chin assist machines are good, but they deemphasise the hardest part of the lift: stabilization. Try to work up to free-swinging bodyweight stuff.

Sorry for highjacking!
 

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