Chest Lagging need HELP!!!

**D00fy** · 12-02-2004, 12:01 AM

Alright my current routine for chest put mass is

BENCH 2set warmup -light , 4sets heavy
Hammer Strength Bench 2sets Heavy
Incline 4Sets Heavy
DB Incline 2sets heavy
Pullovers 4sets

any other suggestions to grow the chest, everything else is getting big, back,shoulders,trapz, but some fat ****er called me out and was like "BRO your arms are bigger, wtf is wrong with your chest? im like uhhhhhhh wtf"

**Ejuicer** · 12-02-2004, 12:28 AM

What has always worked for me was a program with just flat bench, incline flyes and incline press. I keep my rep range 4-6 on all of them and go 4 sets a piece or on occasion 5 sets of flat bench and 3 a piece on the other 2 exercises.
It could just be genetic too though unfortunately... my buddy has a similar problem with everything growing but no matter what he does his chest never keeps up.

**D00fy** · 12-02-2004, 01:17 AM

yah maybe genetic cause my shoulders and back is always the first to get big, even on proper diet without PH or AS even though im on my first test cycle

**Hypertrophy** · 12-02-2004, 10:05 AM

What do you mean by "4 sets heavy?"

**D00fy** · 12-02-2004, 10:07 AM

6-8reps ,with weight increase on each set

**Hypertrophy** · 12-02-2004, 10:14 AM

Ask yourself, "Am I feeling my chest contracting, or am I so focused on moving this weight up and down, I don't feel a thing in my chest?"
I would focus more on the contraction with "lighter" weights and see how that feels. Try a 12 reps scheme for a while.
Either that or pre-exhaust. Your chest when fatigued, doesn't know whether you have your normal 315lbs on the bar or 185lbs. All it knows is that it needs to activate all the muscle fibers possible to do whatever the weight might be.

**6_pak** · 12-04-2004, 05:54 PM

I think Hypertrophy called it right. Your problem may be your mind muscle connection. Meaning your arms and shoulders are doing most of the work, and your not contracting your chest.

**D00fy** · 12-04-2004, 06:36 PM

aah Hypertropy that got me thinking about my previous chest workout ,its true when i did bench i was focused on just bringing it down than up and down and up..............

do you think when i bring it down or so i should squeeze the pec and hold it for a sec ?

**AnabolicBoy1981** · 12-04-2004, 08:16 PM

whatt kind of rep cadence are you using? Maybe try 4-6 seconds. Some even do super slow 10 second reps, but i think that is unessesarry. 4-6 seconds is long enough that you know you are removing all momentum from the movement.

**decadbal** · 12-04-2004, 09:15 PM

imo your doing to much, one set for flats, one incline and flys.. thats what id do to build it up

**The Baron** · 12-05-2004, 01:16 PM

You are probably overtraining volume-wise. Your form may be off, like Hyper says. It is important to ensure that the targeted muscle gets hit good and hard. With BP, try concentrating not on pushing the bar up, but on pivoting the upper arms up, lifting the elbows, which INCIDENTALLY happen to have forearms and a barbell balanced over them. You can try consciously contracting the biceps in an effort to minimize triceps involvement. Make sure your grip is wide enough. When the upper arms are horizontal, the forearms should be vertical, making a 90 degree angle at the elbow. Remember, the joint where all the desired action occurs is the shoulder joint, which is bridged by the pecs (and other muscles of course but this is where we are focusing) and triceps are not a part of this action. They are totally incidental when it comes to BP with the goal of building your chest. If your grip is too narrow, then a lot of triceps recruitment is required to get the bar up. With a sufficiently wide grip, you can concentrate more on the pecs. Also, don't lock out at the top. Locking out turns your arms into columns that support the weight with minimal assistance from your muscles. In other words, your pecs are resting, which you don't want. Not locking out enables you to reach the point of failure with less weight, reducing the chance of shoulder injury. Keeping near-maximum stress on the pecs as they flex and extend is a good thing, too.

Speaking of shoulders, try to keep the front delts out of the picture. You can specifically train delts on shoulders day. This is CHEST day. Keep your shoulders down. Try to squeeze your shoulder blades together as if you were attempting to dig them into the upholstery of the bench. And don't go crazy arching your back. It might help if you raise your knees and put your feet up on the bench.

Try this... warm up however you prefer, then do one or two reps at a higher weight. Add some more iron and do another rep or two. Two more weight additions until you get to your max working weight. Now you go heavy, with a set of 6 to 9 reps, to absolute failure. Strip off whatever you must (typically 10% or so) to do another set of 6-9 reps, again, to failure. Two working sets is enough. If you like, do a single set of inclines in similar fashion, and maybe a set of decline flys. Finish with a set of proper flat bench flys, to failure. Most people do flys all wrong, which is why they are regarded as a crap exercise. Try it with the elbows nearly straight, and rigid. They should not bend or extend during the movement. Go down as far as possible without stretching to the point of painfulness. Power the arms up in an arc, smoothly and under control, but DO NOT go all the way vertical. That would be a rest point, a point of skeletal support of the weight. Try only going up about 45 to 55 degrees, pause, then slowly back down. This is your last set so absolute failure! The purpose of the flys is to ensure that you did at least one set with absolutely no assistance from triceps. It is a pure pecs movement, with excellent isolation. Okay, that's a max of 5 sets, total, and you can drop the incline or decline work, or one or the other, alternating with each chest session. Be sure and get your protein shake immediately post-workout. I assume you know enough to not train chest again for at least 5 days or so. I get good results hitting chest every 10 days, myself.

Some folks respond well to high volume. Most of us grow best with low volume and high intensity. The caveat here is that muscle develops faster than bone, tendon, ligament, and cartilage. The reason for beginners to stick with high volume is to keep the weight down a bit and allow some respectable muscle growth while giving connective tissue and bone a chance to keep up. I am assuming that you are beyond that point, but if there is any doubt, stick with higher reps. That, coupled with not locking out, will keep the needed weight down a bit while still allowing maximum recruitment.

**bluethunder** · 12-05-2004, 03:20 PM

Good Red Baron and I would also say incorporate db fly & cable movements as this keeps constant tension on the targeted pecs is done right. Strengthen your back too as it is worked secondary to bb benching and try dropping some weight at first to get the right feel minimizing your tri's, shoulders which many do when lifting too much benching.

**radar1234** · 12-05-2004, 03:54 PM

its a tough call.some people respond well to high reps and some to low reps.your profile says you are 5'9 160?how much do you bench with?that might give people a better idea on where you are coming from.
i used to struggle with benchpressing before.i replaced bping with pushups.i got up to 100 in a row and then went back to bp.suffice to say my bp went up dramatically!try it out.
just remember that everyone is different and what works for one person may not work for another.

**D00fy** · 12-05-2004, 05:24 PM

the profile is old now ,that was from when i was 17

im 5'11 now 200lbs im benching 205 about ,i got a bad right rotator cuff

**radar1234** · 12-05-2004, 05:27 PM

what is your approx bf?

**D00fy** · 12-06-2004, 11:24 AM

im guessing at 12

**allsaucedup** · 12-07-2004, 11:30 AM

change your tempo, lower the weight and let it fall for 4 seconds and push it up for 4 seconds, I am constantly changing my chest routine to keep it guessing. I go from dumbell to barbell about every 2 months just change things up

**slacker** · 12-10-2004, 11:32 PM

baron kick @ss post... you pretty much answered my post.. i'm gonna try it for a month and see what happens.. and if my chest doesnt grow.. i'm gonna come looking for you :| .. lol just playin..

**MotoLifter** · 12-10-2004, 11:58 PM

Originally Posted by D00fy

the profile is old now ,that was from when i was 17

im 5'11 now 200lbs im benching 205 about ,i got a bad right rotator cuff

Hey bro my rotator cuff on the left side is fuked. Killed my bench #s. gonna go under the knife soon. i'll let ya know how it turns out.

**HOLLYWOOD** · 12-11-2004, 01:11 AM

Originally Posted by Ejuicer

What has always worked for me was a program with just flat bench, incline flyes and incline press. I keep my rep range 4-6 on all of them and go 4 sets a piece or on occasion 5 sets of flat bench and 3 a piece on the other 2 exercises.
It could just be genetic too though unfortunately... my buddy has a similar problem with everything growing but no matter what he does his chest never keeps up.

i agree with this! low reps, heavy, heavy lbs and less volume!