How do you target/ Isolate train Chest

[footyfan12]

Hey everyone just a little bit about me,

25
100kg
186cm
training for about 5 years
only every used Clenbuterol

Just wanted to find out if you had any ideas on how to target my chest more its very lacking in size and strength / definition it seems whenever i do chest excercises i get more of a burn or more fatigued in my shoulders before my chest for example if im doing flat bench it feels like my shoulders and tris are compensating for my chest and therefore they are working and not my chest some typical excercises i do but not not all together on one day can be as follows

Flat bench 4x6 or 4x8 or 6x6 (depending if on heavy week etc)
incline bench barbell
incline bench dumbell
decline bench barbell
cable flyes
dumbell flyes
pec deck
push ups
dips/ weighted dips

ive also tried changing grips up eg wider and closer to try and target my chest more. i can do like 50kg dumbell incline and flat press but cannot get over 90kg on the barbell flat press what can i do to target my chest more with every single excercise listed my shoulders and tri compensate for my weak chest any help would be great thanks

[Stephen73ta]

Cable flys, dumbbell flys and incline/flat dumbbell press have always worked well for me. try bumping up your rep range like 12, 10 and 8. Also, focus on your chest when completing the reps. I like to really stretch out my pecs when doing flys and when I get to the top of the rep I squeeze my chest hard and pause for second then go on to the next. Good luck.

[tbody66]

not an easy question to answer, post some pics and I'll try to better respond, here are some simple suggestions, your grip variance and description of what you are experiencing are contradictory. If you go too wide on barbell presses it over-stresses the shoulders, too narrow and it over-involves the triceps, there are also some other differences, you said size and strength, these can be difficult to acheive simultaniously, so I would suggest making a decision to pursue one or the other, at least for the next 2 months. Stephen's advice would be good for shape, not necessarily for strength. It could be you are over training the chest in order to get growth and putting yourself further behind. I did this and ended up having a biceps tendon issue and had to take 18 months off to recover from that. If you are feeling it in the shoulders you might be overdeveloped in the fronts and need to focus on back and biceps for proper health. I want to know your exact workout routine and make a decision for what you want to accomplish, in regards to your chest, and what you are willing to try to accomplish that. Feet placement, hand placement, tempo, rest and form all play a part.

[VWbug66]

I also have the same problem when I work chest...My shoulders seem to get burned out before I can get a good burn going for my chest. I mean to the point where I can't work the chest anymore because my shoulders are to strained to go anymore...

and I work my chest just as steven said above..

any idea on that? I have proper form, I hold the bar near the marks on the eachside of the bar...it's not a form or technique problem. I learned proper lifting technique when I was very young

[footyfan12]

Yeh ive tried the squeezing and everything with flyes only reason i tried different grips was to see if i could hit it at a diff angle and trying not to use my triceps or shoulders, ill try the higher rep thing tomorrow see if i get a decent burn. I would like to go for size first then once i got the size ill strengthen it. could only get this ATM

[BigBuck6]

Pre-fatigue your chest with some sort of isolation movement (ones that you feel the most chest involvement or highlighted in bold) and then run through a compound routine with barbell and dumbbell presses or your routine.


cable flyes
dumbell flyes
pec deck
Flat bench 4x6 or 4x8 or 6x6 (depending if on heavy week etc)
incline bench barbell
incline bench dumbell
decline bench barbell
dips/ weighted dips

[VWbug66]

I will try this for a few weeks and see if this helps out^^
Thanks bigbuck!

[Matt]

Having your shoulders burn out before chest can be eliminated by doing more flat and decline work and less incline...

[footyfan12]

Yeh thanks for the info gonna head to the gym soon so will give it a shot

[40plusnewbie]

On your bench work scoot yourself up on the bench more. Do bench presses, etc with your hands and the barbell raising up over your lower chest by your nipples, not up by your upper chest/armpit area.

[BigBuck6]

On your bench work scoot yourself up on the bench more. Do bench presses, etc with your hands and the barbell raising up over your lower chest by your nipples, not up by your upper chest/armpit area.

Good suggestion I see a lot of guys bringing the bar too high on their chest. I personally bring mine about 2 inches below the nipple to get the mechanics right because I am so tall.

[bigno5]

Kind of strange but I just mentally focus on making my chest do the bulk of the work during the exercise. I know this is somewhat opposed to growing but try your exercises with lower weight higher rep and focus on squeezing the pecs and using them as opposed to just trying to throw up a lot of weight. Once youve created the muscle memory you can start adding the weight on again.

[footyfan12]

hit the gym yesterday doing what you guys said felt a bit more in chest but only on the outer pec (joining to arm pit) not so much in the middle or inner chest thats where im really lacking. i was really squeezing my chest when doing these excercises but it still feels as though my shoulders and arms are taking the strain on light and heavy weight which is really annoying i had more of a burn in my biceps and shoulders than chest after and middle/inner chest was not sore next day at all only out pec and shoulders biceps is there any excercises that really targets the inner chest to build size ??

[karen]

hit the gym yesterday doing what you guys said felt a bit more in chest but only on the outer pec (joining to arm pit) not so much in the middle or inner chest thats where im really lacking. i was really squeezing my chest when doing these excercises but it still feels as though my shoulders and arms are taking the strain on light and heavy weight which is really annoying i had more of a burn in my biceps and shoulders than chest after and middle/inner chest was not sore next day at all only out pec and shoulders biceps is there any excercises that really targets the inner chest to build size ??

do you work your shoulders the day before your chest or anything ? cuz u keep saying ur shoulders tire first

[The_Irish_Dave]

I don't think you need to do a lot of these exercises mentioned. If you concentrate on increasing your bench press more you're chest will have to get bigger. It's only going to get bigger with heavier weights. You can do the pec dec, cable flyes all day and it won't make any difference to mass. I guarantee if your bench increases your chest will also and it will fill out more. Finish off your bench press routine with some dumbbell flyes if you want. I wouldn't overdo it though.

[sleggio]

I had the same problem - shoulders seemed to get all of the work and pecs hardly touched. I discovered that my upper torso was flat on the bench. Now, I put an arch in my lower back: chest out, butt out, both on the bench. My grip (med-wide) is such that when the bar is on my chest (about 1/2" above nipples), my forearms are perpendicular to the floor and my upper arms are about 45 degree from my sides. Size and strength took off. I train chest 2/wk (heavy 5-6 reps/set, moderate 8-12 reps/set). I do incline press, flat flyes and incline flyes after bench. Each set to positive failure. You will progress, just give it time.