need a meaty chest

[ah2006]

alright guys, i know everybodys body is different and responds well to different types of training. but im gonna throw it out there anyway. it seems that my body has taken a nice shape after lifting for the past 2.5years. only thing is, my chest, although decently strong, isnt as big as the rest of my body, and from a front shot, it doenst look that well. i wud just like to ask you all for advice on what exercises worked the best for yous. also, im on a 5 day training split right now ... from mon-fri its chest, back, legs, shoudlesr, arms. would it be a good idea to push it to 6 days a week, and blast chest twice a week by going mon-sat with chest, back, legs, shoulders, chest, arms? i know i would be sacrificing a bit of triceps on chest day for the arm workout, but id throw in a few sets after my first chest day on monday.

so hit me up for some advice guys!

[SwoleCat]

W/out pics it's hard to tell what would be best.

Try some kind of pre-exhaust routine for the chest to bring it up to the rest of your bodyparts.

~SC~

[stunt954]

Very interested in this thread... Swole... please elaborate a little more on the Pre-exhaust routine if you would....

[SwoleCat]

The purpose of the pecs is to bring the arms ACROSS the body, not to push them away from the body.

So, doing 4-5 sets of flyes or a similar pec movement to tax the pecs BEFORE you use the fresh shoulders/triceps to do your pressing movements, will really torch the pectoral region more than normal. This usually helps to lead to new growth and helps that bodypart catch up to the rest of the body.

Rest and nutrition are of course HUGE keys to making it all work.

~SC~

[stunt954]

Very Interesting ... and makes sense too... I'll def be experimenting with that idea... also... your leg routine sticky has worked wonders for me !!!!

Thanks again as always...
Nothing motivates me more than your posts...

[ah2006]

this is a pic of me taken back in the winter months, around feb/march. ive started a diet to get lean and ripped for the summer, but the fact still applies that i need a bigger chest. i will definitly try the pre-exhaust routine. i appreciate all ur help swole.

[SwoleCat]

Not a bad picture there and chest isn't all that bad.

If you pulled the shoulders back more and threw your chest forward a bit, it would really look a lot diff! Posing is like 90% of presenting your physique, the other 10 is what you actually have. People can have a great body, but not knowing how to pose/present it can make them look horrible, and vice versa.

Stunt954, thanks for the props bro, glad I could be of help to you.

Gym time!

~SC~

[ah2006]

when doing the flyes, would wud be the best choice for weights? should i do it like a normal set, pyramiding up each set and going heavy? or should this be just a light warmup to get a good pump going and then jump into presses?

[ah2006]

while ur giving out great advice, id also like to address my other weak area .... forearms. i usually pump out barbell wrist curls for about 3 sets after back and shoulder day, sometimes after arms too. ive also steered away from using straps for most exercises during back in order to get them involved more, but its only been for the past 2 months or so, and ive seen some results. any other ideas on how to beef up my forearms? or will in time will they just grow from the lack of straps and the constant pounding of wrist curls?

[timtim]

flyes you can do with various rep ranges. straight sets are good. choose the heaviest weight you could do for 6 - 8 - 10 - 12 - 15 and do 3 to 5 sets. the lower the reps the more likely you'll want to do 4 or 5 sets. you can do drop sets. you could pyramid up in reps or down. tempo reps are really good too. say 3 to 5 eccentric, 2 second pause, 3 to 5 second concentric, 2 second pause.

forearms could be heavy farmers walk. bb holds with the heaviest weight you can for as long as you can. bent over db toss. you take a db and toss it from hand to hand in a bent over position like a rear delt fly but your hands are in close, like a hand shuffle with the db. you do this for 1 to 2 minutes. could also use the roller.

good luck. fly motions, tempo training, and 1 1/2's really helped my chest. 1 1/2's are when you bring the bar to your chest, press up 6 inches, then bring the bar back down to your chest, and then do a full press.

[kyjelly]

The purpose of the pecs is to bring the arms ACROSS the body, not to push them away from the body.

So, doing 4-5 sets of flyes or a similar pec movement to tax the pecs BEFORE you use the fresh shoulders/triceps to do your pressing movements, will really torch the pectoral region more than normal. This usually helps to lead to new growth and helps that bodypart catch up to the rest of the body.

Rest and nutrition are of course HUGE keys to making it all work.

~SC~

I gotta try this!!!!
Um, would you use a light or heavy weight for the DB Flyes?

[ah2006]

thanks a lot timtim, i will defintly be doing the flyes, and ill give a few of those forearm exercises a shot. i appreciate it.

[helium3]

i must admit ive droped fly's from my routine at the moment however i do use hammer strength dumbell press,cross between a fly and a press seems to work well and as swole sez it makes the arms pull in across the chest.

[tank2005]

Great Thread Guys

[Liftnainez]

I always thought about using the pre exhaustion method.. I think I will be giving it a shot in the near future.. Will let you guys know how it goes..

[Liftnainez]

Very Interesting ... and makes sense too... I'll def be experimenting with that idea... also... your leg routine sticky has worked wonders for me !!!!

Thanks again as always...
Nothing motivates me more than your posts...

Yes they are very motivating.. no bullshit- just the straight up truth.. props

[SwoleCat]

Thanks guys.

~SC~

[ah2006]

yea i will also be letting you guys know how it works for me. i hit chest monday, and ill give the pre-exhaust method a try. ill be back to report the results ... if i remember.

[ah2006]

just came back from the gym today, and i tried out the pre-exhaust method. did 3 sets of flyes before flat bench press. chest felt more pumped than usual, but my bench press went down a bit. went from doing my final set of 275 for 3-4 reps, to my last set being 245 for 6. i guess it was better off neway, cuz the 275lbs was ego-training. but at the end of the wokrout, my chest felt fuller, and more pumped that it had in the past. ill be doing the pre-exhaust method for a few weeks and see if i get any results off of it, but it felt great today. thanks swole.

[biglouie250]

just came back from the gym today, and i tried out the pre-exhaust method. did 3 sets of flyes before flat bench press. chest felt more pumped than usual, but my bench press went down a bit. went from doing my final set of 275 for 3-4 reps, to my last set being 245 for 6. i guess it was better off neway, cuz the 275lbs was ego-training. but at the end of the wokrout, my chest felt fuller, and more pumped that it had in the past. ill be doing the pre-exhaust method for a few weeks and see if i get any results off of it, but it felt great today. thanks swole.

best advice ive ever gotten......leave the ego at the front door. your not a power lifter remember that.

[Testostack]

this is a pic of me taken back in the winter months, around feb/march. ive started a diet to get lean and ripped for the summer, but the fact still applies that i need a bigger chest. i will definitly try the pre-exhaust routine. i appreciate all ur help swole.

Not bad at all bro....need to widen it a lil bit, that's a good start already...i know what that is...in the same boat.

Try some kind of pre-exhaust routine for the chest to bring it up to the rest of your bodyparts.

~SC~

Interesting......i'll do that next friday when hitting chest! to Swole once again!

[ah2006]

best advice ive ever gotten......leave the ego at the front door. your not a power lifter remember that.

back about 6 months ago i made that change from lifting real heavy for 3-4 reps on my final set or two, to doing heavy weight, but managing 6-8 reps on my last sets. i didnt get the mental feeling of being 'huge' bc the weight wasnt being piled on like it used to, but over the course of those 6 months, my body has managed to take an extremely better form its terms of dense muscle. probably the best move ive ever made in terms of training. occasionally i still might go as low as 4-5 reps on my final set of heavy movements, such as bench press and squats, but every set before that was above 6 reps.

so to whomever reads this, my advice is this: check ur ego at the door, just as big louie sed. u might drop a couple pounds on ur exercises, but it will pay off in the end.

[biglouie250]

ah2006- i workout with guys that are bigger/stronger then me and accordingly they lift more then me. now any guy who is athletic wants to be competitive and try to lift just as much....that hurt my training in the early years of my lifting. you live and you learn i guess!

[Motion]

Great Info!



Thanks Swole, I always enjoy your posts as well.

[American Made]

I have been doining pre exaust my last few chest work outs.4 sets flies machine(machine).My chest sux looks like a bad pack of purdue chicken breast.Anyhow would I be better off useing dumbell flies rather than machine?

[Testostack]

yea i will also be letting you guys know how it works for me. i hit chest monday, and ill give the pre-exhaust method a try. ill be back to report the results ... if i remember.

Keep us posted bro!

[SwoleCat]

Great Info!



Thanks Swole, I always enjoy your posts as well.

Thanks man!

~SC~

[SwoleCat]

I have been doining pre exaust my last few chest work outs.4 sets flies machine(machine).My chest sux looks like a bad pack of purdue chicken breast.Anyhow would I be better off useing dumbell flies rather than machine?

If you can use cables, I'd recommend those.

D-bells can jack up your shoulders while those machines "lock" you into the movement too much. Cables allow you more freedom while making you control the movement a lot more than a machine. Squeeze like crazy at the peak contraction to really deliver the message.

~SC~

[ah2006]

i posted my results from the pre-exhaust workout above testo. it went pretty well .... jus a lil disappointed with the drop in weight with bench press, but it was expected due to the heavy sets of flyes before it. ima do it for a few weeks/months and see how it looks from there. not expecting a huge difference bc i am dieting right now, getting ripped. so when august comes around and i start bulking up again, ill keep doing the pre-exhaust and look for better results. im jus taking each day as it comes. gotta go hit up some cardio now. quick question .. does it make that much of a difference of what time u do cardio. i know in the morning is best ... but is it that much worse if u go at night? i figure as long as i get it done, its better than nothing.

[Testostack]

If you can use cables, I'd recommend those.

D-bells can jack up your shoulders while those machines "lock" you into the movement too much. Cables allow you more freedom while making you control the movement a lot more than a machine. Squeeze like crazy at the peak contraction to really deliver the message.

~SC~

damn right, i saw that this mornin'!

[American Made]

Thanx Swole.You always educate and motivate THANX!

AM

[Evolution-06]

i have free motion cables i am going to try this with. I have a fairly decent shaped chest, but I call it flat. It has thickness, but not that round bulging look, ill have to find a pic that sort of shows it.

As i definately need to shape it up some more.

[BigJames]

I gotta try this!!!!
Um, would you use a light or heavy weight for the DB Flyes?

I would do them just as you would normally...try for 12, 10, 8 reps or something and use whatever weight you have to achieve that. I find that I can flye MORE than normal when I do flyes first (which makes sense) and then my other lifts are lighter since the pecs are pre-exhausted.

[Testostack]

That seems normal to me.......

[ah2006]

by saying to do cable flyes, i assume u mean standing cable flyes. on the other hand, i have also seen people place a flat bench in the middle of the cable machines, and lie down, and use the cables as a replacement for flat dumbbell flyes. so when you say cable flyes, which do u mean?

.. just want to clarify ..

[Testostack]

Incline cable flyes, decline too can be done.......as you want bro!

[Motion]

Had to bump this one to say thanks to Swole. In just 4 short weeks of using this pre-exhaust technique I can already tell a noticeable difference.

Thanks SC!

[Liftnainez]

Had to bump this one to say thanks to Swole. In just 4 short weeks of using this pre-exhaust technique I can already tell a noticeable difference.

Thanks SC!

good for you.. did you experience strength gains as well? Major "shape" change in your chest would you say?

[Lavinco]

may I just add this link for a visual on proper lifting form for a thicker chest?

http://www.thefitshow.com/week3/milos_chest_small.htm

[Liftnainez]

milos is the man!