Chest

[TampaBoy]

I have a couple of questions.

I have been training since I was about 15 I am 23 now. The rest of my body seems to grow good and pretty fast, but my chest for some reason is stubborn and wont grow any advice to get it to grow? My supps and diet is in check.

Is it ok to train it 2 times a week or only do it once a week?

My goal is to develop a full chest.

[Haro3]

depends on where the flaw is i trained chest 2 times a week but it was goal specific. post pics and training routine ie how many sets/exercises your doing

[TampaBoy]

my routine is
Bench press dumbell 3-8-12
Dips-3 8-12
Incline bench barbell 3 8-12
Low cable cross overs 3 8-12

[green22]

First of all... I hate to break it to ya but but your diet is not in check, not if you been training 8 years and still look like that. Give us your diet. Yes you can train chest 2 times a week if ya like but honestly you should focus on everything.
Oh yea, I hope Nicole is the one taking those pics. wtf???

[Amorphic]

First of all... I hate to break it to ya but but your diet is not in check, not if you been training 8 years and still look like that. Give us your diet. Yes you can train chest 2 times a week if ya like but honestly you should focus on everything.
Oh yea, I hope Nicole is the one taking those pics. wtf???

i'd have to agree, looks like you're packing a bit more bodyfat than you should be.

chest is stubborn for me as well, the key is to shake it up and make sure you hit all the parts of it.

incline bench press is your best friend to really build the chest, it works everything really hard, including your shoulders.

i would just do incline bench, flat, decline and flyes, with maybe some dips thrown in at the end...thats my usual chest day routine.

[hobbs9963]

Inclines and flies.

[dhriscerr]

Decline BB, Incline Fly's, Inlcine DB's and Weighted Dips leaning forward is the only thing I use now, I never touch flat bench. Mine chest was easily my worst part and over the last 6 months to a year I am starting to be proud of it. I only hit chest once a week.

[Haro3]

you need work on your diet and over all routine, your diet is bad real bad can tell u that right now and your training isnt so great either even with a bad diet 8 years of a consistant routine should show better results

[silversurfer]

i'd have to agree, looks like you're packing a bit more bodyfat than you should be.

chest is stubborn for me as well, the key is to shake it up and make sure you hit all the parts of it.

incline bench press is your best friend to really build the chest, it works everything really hard, including your shoulders.

i would just do incline bench, flat, decline and flyes, with maybe some dips thrown in at the end...thats my usual chest day routine.

i actually just changed my routine to that, and i still be burnin from a couple days ago!

[Amorphic]

i actually just changed my routine to that, and i still be burnin from a couple days ago!

yeah i did it today and my chest still feels pumped

[silversurfer]

also the only db i pick up during chest day is for flys. i do incline and or decline db press every once and a while to change it up and to get stabilizers going but for me i cant get a good pump or soreness from doing db.

[novastepp]

decline BB uses the most chest. start with that 12,12,10.
move then to incline BB and do 12,12,10.
then go grab some DB's and do a set flat or decline 12,12,10.
flat flies or cables to torch them and do 3 sets of 15.

[rocket22]

sorry to bump up an old thread but nova do you have any studies or anything to prove decline uses the most chest? not arguing with ya just would like to know

[novastepp]

yeah i'll dig up the old thread i had about it. post it this afternoon.

[Haro3]

sorry to bump up an old thread but nova do you have any studies or anything to prove decline uses the most chest? not arguing with ya just would like to know

not sure how much credit i put in the magazines but i just read an article in either MD or FLEX that said flat bench stimulates the most chest fibers..........

[rocket22]

thx for the help guys, yah i just thought it would be an interesting to see. i dont do much decline but i guess it might be time to start incorporating it

[benchingchamp]

This is old news but one of the ten commandments for training make sure u add weight too bench routine every week even if its just a lb this is how u grow

[novastepp]

here is the thread that i could have sworn i posted the source i had in it. however, i did not and do not know where it is. Quarry and B.E.N. name a few prominent techniques used to measure chest output, so look at those, and i would go ahead and read the whole discussion.

http://forums.steroid.com/showthread.php?t=317157

[rocket22]

thx for the help nova, i will definitely give it a read

[Ronnie Rowland]

Start with a 12 degree decline press (low decline) and end your chest training with a 12 degree incline presses and 12 degree incline flyes (low incline). Keep your chest held high during work sets. Train with lighter weights (not less reps) and better form if you want more chest size!!!

[novastepp]

so what if my form is good and i train with slow lowering stage reps and explosive upward movements and i already do those exercises??

[Ronnie Rowland]

so what if my form is good and i train with slow lowering stage reps and explosive upward movements and i already do those exercises??

Then you perodize those 3 chest exercises to milk them for everything they are worth. This includes set manipulation (training in mini cycles/PRIME-BLAST-CRUISE) and bouts of more frequent training for the chest (periodically training your chest twice a week).

[novastepp]

Then you perodize those 3 chest exercises to milk them for everything they are worth. This includes set manipulation (training in mini cycles/PRIME-BLAST-CRUISE) and bouts of more frequent training for the chest (periodically training your chest twice a week).

so i'm going to milk you for all you're worth.

if i do different set techniques, like the ones you emphasized and took a couple sets to failure. should i be training my chest once a week or twice a week every week?

how beneficial is maxing out when training chest? should i do that every week?

how many weeks should i be training chest twice a week opposed to once a week, and should those workouts where i am training just once a week be any more/less intense than those done twice a week?

[Ronnie Rowland]

so i'm going to milk you for all you're worth.

if i do different set techniques, like the ones you emphasized and took a couple sets to failure. should i be training my chest once a week or twice a week every week?

how beneficial is maxing out when training chest? should i do that every week?

how many weeks should i be training chest twice a week opposed to once a week, and should those workouts where i am training just once a week be any more/less intense than those done twice a week?

LOL...Your a funny guy novastepp..

1) Use once a week chest training as a baseline and take each work set to good failure for maximal muscle size. Training experience will determine how often to train your chest twice a week. After 16 weeks (2-8 week training cycles of hitting the chest once a week) it's good practice to change over to training each muscle group twice a week for 1-8 week cycle. Some prefer to alternate back and forth every 8 weeks between once a week muscle group training and twice a week muscle group training if their joints, CNS and mental ability can withstand the added stress induced by twice a week muscle training.

2) No need in maxing out with singles or doubles as a bodybuilder. Going down to 4 reps will be sufficient for increasing strength while still breaking down your type-2 muscle fibers.

3) The workouts where you train once a week should be just as intense as the twice a week workouts and vise versa. You can always train with great intensity as long as you PRIME/BLAST/CRUISE/!

Important Note: Do not go overboard with training volume when nailing the chest twice a week if you want good results. And yes you might get a little weaker at first until the body adapts to twice a week training. I plan to add some sample twice a week muscle group training splits to the Slingshot Training Thread in the future.

[novastepp]

LOL...Your a funny guy novastepp..

1) Use once a week chest training as a baseline and take each work set to good failure for maximal muscle size. Training experience will determine how often to train your chest twice a week. After 16 weeks (2-8 week training cycles of hitting the chest once a week) it's good practice to change over to training each muscle group twice a week for 1-8 week cycle. Some prefer to alternate back and forth every 8 weeks between once a week muscle group training and twice a week muscle group training if their joints, CNS and mental ability can withstand the added stress induced by twice a week muscle training.

2) No need in maxing out with singles or doubles as a bodybuilder. Going down to 4 reps will be sufficient for increasing strength while still breaking down your type-2 muscle fibers.

3) The workouts where you train once a week should be just as intense as the twice a week workouts and vise versa. You can always train with great intensity as long as you PRIME/BLAST/CRUISE/!

Important Note: Do not go overboard with training volume when nailing the chest twice a week if you want good results. And yes you might get a little weaker at first until the body adapts to twice a week training. I plan to add some sample twice a week muscle group training splits to the Slingshot Training Thread in the future.

good stuff. now i'm going to subscribe to this thread and post a link to it every time someone asks about chest. props to you my man. i'll probably post any additional chest questions i have in this thread to make it a powerhouse thread.

[Budk024]

Also it seems like you need to add variety. Try not to the exact same exercises, occasionally you need switch it up

[Ronnie Rowland]

good stuff. now i'm going to subscribe to this thread and post a link to it every time someone asks about chest. props to you my man. i'll probably post any additional chest questions i have in this thread to make it a powerhouse thread.

Sounds good!

[Ronnie Rowland]

Also it seems like you need to add variety. Try not to the exact same exercises, occasionally you need switch it up

It's best to always use the most productive exercises unless your joints start hurting. In other words, if you want a big bench press-you have to bench press!

[novastepp]

so when training for hypertrophy, what rep ranges are best. would a 12, 12, 10 split be appropriate with an occasional drop set to failure?

and would rep ranges from 4-8 be helpful in gaining size? just curious as to when each would be most helpful, seeing as i always train in the 10-15 rep range.

[Ronnie Rowland]

so when training for hypertrophy, what rep ranges are best. would a 12, 12, 10 split be appropriate with an occasional drop set to failure?

and would rep ranges from 4-8 be helpful in gaining size? just curious as to when each would be most helpful, seeing as i always train in the 10-15 rep range.

These are very good questions novastepp!

The 4-8 rep range does in fact help build more size along with strength. Most bodybuilders prefer to do the bulk of their sets in the 8-10 rep-range for both safety and maximum fiber stimulation. I am of the opinion that one should use a holostic rep-range (4-15 repetitions) for best results in bodybuilding.

I no longer use drop sets because it can causes severe tendonitus. The burn it produces in the muscles will most definetly carry over into the joints/tendons-hence increasing the odds of developing joint problems. In return, this will decrease ones ability to train with volume and/or heavy weights.