I've got a flat middle chest

[postel]

I've got a 47" chest which at 5'10 i think is fairly impressive. However all the size is the outer half of the pec. In the middle their is a dramatic decrease in muscle mass. This looks okay with clothes on but gets a bit embarrasing when the tops have to come off.
This is what i'm doing:
Flat flyes (pre-exhaust)
Flat bench
Incline dumbell
Incline dumbell fly
Cables
Machine presses (drop set)
If anyone can see what i'm doing wrong please let me know the help would be appreciated.

[beenie]

The flys are great for that. Are you using enough weight?

[postel]

For the incline flyes i'm using 15kg dumbells for 10 and then 2 sets of 8 with 20kg using the strict form. I have heard that using heavier weight on the last set and cheating it up might help. all i can see is a nice injury doing that. What's anyone think?

[xenithon]

bump
i have a very similar problem, and I also have the problem that my lower chest is quite big but my upper chest is seriously lacking (it doesn't jut out like lower chest and thus there cannot be any real separation). this along with the fact that I cannot train incline bb/db because of shoulder injury really kills me. any help appreciated to build inner chest size and upper chest without inlcine appreciated!

[beenie]

For the incline flyes i'm using 15kg dumbells for 10 and then 2 sets of 8 with 20kg using the strict form. I have heard that using heavier weight on the last set and cheating it up might help. all i can see is a nice injury doing that. What's anyone think?

My last set is pretty heavy for me. I sometimes sacrifice form a bit, but the gains make it worth it. You are prbably bigger than I am, but I do 30 lbs my first set, 35 my second set and 45 in my last. To tell you the truth I can usually get the first 8 or 9 in good form but the ninth or tent i bend my elbows a little on the last set (the first two set I go to 10 and stop). I don't think I am really risking injury because of it. It also gives you the negative if you are cheating on the way up so there is a secondary benefit.

Funny, now that I am describing my pattern, I think i should boost my weights to 50. On my last set I want to get at least 6. but if I can get more than 8 I think the weight is probably too light.

[postel]

Ok I'll try boosting the weight for the flyes and see what happens over the next month or so. I'll let u know what happens.

[Pete235]

Try a slower cadence. Slow on the way down and slow on the way up. At the top of the movement, pause slight and contratc the muscles in your chest....pretend you are hugging a giant tree. You may need to use less weight but form is very important. I also prefer incline flies to flat bench as it allows me to watch me formin the mirror. I have gone as heavy as 100lb dumbells but as you can imagine...form was comprimised. Currently I start with 45s and go as high as 65's for slow deep reps.

[silverfox]

yep flies and learn to go heavy with strick form. PecDeck is good as well and close grip bench.

[NightOp]

ya i too have the same prob... when unflexed my outer and lower pecs have more bulk than my inner/upper section.. i've tried lots of stuff but can't seem to find a good exercise to truly hit the inner/upper area without causing the rest of the pecs to grow..

as its been mentioned, supposedly flies are good for this, however in my experience and from what i've read in the past, they can also and often do help with the outer pecs (which is what we don't want in this situation) so im stumped. does anyone know an exercise that really hits the inner and slightly upper pec area besides the conventional flies or close grip incline (close grip incline seems to work some but also adds meat to the upper outer part of the pecs... the spot where they tie into the shoulder/delt area..) ?? Maybe pullovers with high reps?

[kamikaze]

make shure you have full range of motion during exercise.
for inner pec improvement, i think it is very important to squeeze your pec hard.

[Billy Boy]

On peak contraction hold and squeeze the muscle

[NightOp]

bump for any advice... (plz read my previous post)

[MaxoutMike]

Why not try bent over cable cross-overs?

Range of motion should be a LOT smaller than when doing this for the outer pecs (like a bent over cable flye). I'd say the rom should end where your hands cross your knees. squeeze at the end of the movement. (cables should be crossed quite far i guess)

If you simulate this movement, you can feel what part of the pecs is being hit.

It's just an idea, cause i had some questions about isolating this area too. Im just trying this lately and it seems to work...

[ironmike7000]

My chest was also lacking in the middle and upper portion years ago. I started doing more dumbell work after my flat benching and my inner and upper chest is alot better now. I do all my reps slowly and I sqeeze at the top. To hit the inner portion when you do your flys you could try this, as you bring the dumbells up to the top, turn the dumbells sideways and cross them slightly. Example- bring left dumbell over to just above right delt and right dumbell over to left delt. You will have to use less weight than normal but you definately wil feel it in your pecs.

[Nico]

I stoped using barbell pressing. Now I start off with dumbells, incline. Heavy dumbells should take care of that problem. Its been working for me.