My chest won't grow!

[RussianRocket]

I've had some pretty impressive gains EVERYWHERE on my body except my chest. Its flat as a board and I don't know what the hell is wrong.

Here's my routine. I change up the sets and exercises (incline, db, etc) but the core stays the same.

Bench press 8 6 4 2 + (burnout) + Superset with flyes
Dips 4x to failure

My strength on the bench press always goes up but my chest is still as pathetic as ever.

Any good chest routines I could try to speed up my progress?

 

[BlondBomber]

Where do you place the bar on your chest when you are benching? If your strength is going up, but you are not getting any more massive, I suspect that you are placing the bar below your nipples. Doing so will increase your power, but will not recruit all of the potential chest muscle fibers. I would suggest placing the bar higher on your chest.
Also, drop the supersetting. I would recommend doing straight sets.

 

[ghettostudmuffin]

IMO, if you want pure chest hypertrophy, go for dumbell bench as your main working sets or do the barbell bench like 5x5 or 10x3 for power and do DB bench after like 1-3 sets of 8-12.

Against popular advice, keep your elbows at 90 degree angles to your body, not 45 if you really want to stress your chest, but you have to use perfect form. No sloppiness or you can hurt your shoulders this way.

Maybe try cable flyes last thing? I don't get much from regular dumbell flyes I have found except pumped shoulders, but cable flyes get a better pump and stress in the pecs with less shoulder recruitment when I do them right.

Also might want to do some incline dumbell bench.

 

[MsBeverlyHills]

your training more like a powerlifter for strength, than a bodybuilder for size. Try sets in the range of 10-12 reps & dont superset!

Stick w/ flat bench, Incline DB press & weighted dips

 

[wnt2bBeast]

inline BB 5x5
flat dbell or flat bb press 2x10
flat flyes 2x10

 

[gjohnson5]

I've had some pretty impressive gains EVERYWHERE on my body except my chest. Its flat as a board and I don't know what the hell is wrong.

Here's my routine. I change up the sets and exercises (incline, db, etc) but the core stays the same.

Bench press 8 6 4 2 + (burnout) + Superset with flyes
Dips 4x to failure

My strength on the bench press always goes up but my chest is still as pathetic as ever.

Any good chest routines I could try to speed up my progress?

Beat your chest like Captain Caveman...
J/K

What's wrong with supersets. Intensity is a good thing. If you want to hit the muscle hard , I see no reason not to... Unless you're recovery isn't good.
Personally If my chest isn't pumped as hell or even numb , then I didn't do enough!

I agree with the recommendation of dropping the bar higher on the chest. Also widen your grip some. Keep the 45 degree angle. The 90 degree angle put a hell of alot of stress on the shoulder and takes away from the chest.

 

[ghettostudmuffin]

Um, actually, 45 degree takes more off the chest and recruits the anterior deltoids and triceps more. I suggested keeping the elbows out and being careful. Some people have very strong deltoids that tend to dominate in benching movements. I'm one of them. The best way to compensate for that is to use perfect form, no sloppiness and keep the elbows at 90's.

45 is the way to go and I use it on flat BB bench, but it's perfectly fine if you're careful on stuff like DB bench.

 

[gjohnson5]

Um, actually, 45 degree takes more off the chest and recruits the anterior deltoids and triceps more. I suggested keeping the elbows out and being careful. Some people have very strong deltoids that tend to dominate in benching movements. I'm one of them. The best way to compensate for that is to use perfect form, no sloppiness and keep the elbows at 90's.

45 is the way to go and I use it on flat BB bench, but it's perfectly fine if you're careful on stuff like DB bench.

It does if you use a thin grip on flat/decline. If you widen the grip you'll hit the chest. I can think of 2 peoples commercial programs that endorse the 45 degree angle on flats.

 

[gjohnson5]

It does if you use a thin grip on flat/decline. If you widen the grip you'll hit the chest. I can think of 2 peoples commercial programs that endorse the 45 degree angle on flats.

Actually after checking , my arms are angled somewhat even on inclines. This is just what feels comfortable.

 

[cwick0]

It doesnt look like your getting enough reps or work.

Here is a sampling of some of my chest routines:
Flat barbell, incline dbs
Flat barbell, incline barbell
Incline barbell, flat barbell (usually only do rest pauses on flat when I do this)
Incline barbell, flat dbs
Incline barbell, decline barbell


set/rep schemes: always varies!

3 sets of 10 at the same weight

sets of 10 as high as you can go (last two weeks)

sets of 6 as high as you can go (this is what i do on my real heavy days)

5x5 (im new to this idea)

pyramid all the way up then back done


Im pushing towards 405 for 10 on flat, should be there in the next month.

good luck,
wick

 

[d3track]

inline BB 5x5
flat dbell or flat bb press 2x10
flat flyes 2x10

this would be more of my suggestion

 

[ghettostudmuffin]

Ya, I use about 45 degrees elbow angle on flat bench because I use bench mainly for strength and power development.

For me, I have to keep the elbows way to the outside on dumbell bench and barbell incline or my delts take over too much.

45 is the way to go for most people and long-term shoulder/rotator cuff health I agree.

 

[casualbb]

Seriously, if you're doing dips correctly for the chest (wide grip, leaning forward) then there shouldn't be any issues.

Especially if you add flat bench on top of that.

Those two exercises got you covered for chest. Maybe do some inclines if you want, it's not super necessary. Could just be bad luck, bad chest shape, etc.

I mean if you're growing everywhere else, AND adding strength on chest exercises, you're probably adding chest size it just may not be in a super-noticeable pattern

 

[anthrax]

How can you keep your elbows close to your body with the BB high on your chest ?

A high BB placement puts more strain on my shoulders

 

[phasar]

hmmmm. somebody correct me if they feel otherwise but.........

if you have your arms out 90 degrees on the incline bb, you will be working your anterior delts more............in between your anterior delt and your upper chest, there is little hole, u can even see it on arnold when he isn't at full hypertrophy. on some ppl who are naturally fat, you do not notice it as much.

to try to work and "fill" that hole between the upper pec and the anterior delts, i have only found two excercises that seem to work: using any kind of a pulley where i can push upwards and towards the centre like i would with dumbells for the delts, except with the pulley, i can go further past the centre of my head to the other side. and the other excercise, is to do incline presses with the arms angling down 45 degrees or less. you can try it just sitting at home on an angle. when you push at 90 degrees, you think that little hole i'm talking about gets hard, but if you force down on it, it will go soft, wherereas at 45 degrees, when you push down in that hole, the muscle continues to stay hard.....................

agree?

 

[anthrax]

How can you keep your elbows close to your body with the BB high on your chest ?

A high BB placement puts more strain on my shoulders

BUMP

 

[RussianRocket]

UPDATE:

Did my bench press with a 90 degree angle (have always been doing 45) and over my nipple. This is the first time i've ever felt my pecs be this sore. I think we have a success, gentlemen. I can't believe I've been doing it WRONG all this time... *sigh*

Thanks!

 

[gjohnson5]

UPDATE:

Did my bench press with a 90 degree angle (have always been doing 45) and over my nipple. This is the first time i've ever felt my pecs be this sore. I think we have a success, gentlemen. I can't believe I've been doing it WRONG all this time... *sigh*

Thanks!

I'm glad that worked for you. I would watch you shoulders carefully , especially if one side is stronger than the other.

 

[gjohnson5]

BUMP

How's your shoulder doing? I rmember sending you some rotator cuff exercises and stretches because of this very problem.

 

[anthrax]

How's your shoulder doing? I rmember sending you some rotator cuff exercises and stretches because of this very problem.

I've taken a week off and I still feel I can't bench a lot of weight

I'm doing rot. cuff every WO but I guess it takes time
I'll also ask my ART guy to have a look

 

[WalkingBeast]

I agree with Ms.Beverly on the reps. Id go for 10-15 on the benches for hypertrophy. This always seemed to work well for me. Now I do the entire spectrum of rep ranges, but I built a good base within the 10-15 rep range for chest. You can incorporate supersets if you like, but I never really used them for chest personally. My routines are always a mix of strength and size training. Ive always tried to develop both at the same time. So my rest periods are longer then most people, and I take most of my sets to failure. I also try to hit PR's every session. So Ill rest accordingly. This is why supersets never got used much in my chest routines. I might do them on my free-for-all chest day, but not on my heavy benching day. Sounds like you got the form down now. That should make a big difference. Keep us updated!

 

[casualbb]

this is becoming way too complicated (I can't believe i'm saying that)

any of these motions, ON ITS OWN, will build a decent chest:
-chest dips
-flat press (db's or bb)
-slight incline (not 60 degrees like most fixed inclines, try 10-30)

Everybody's talking about rep number and rest period, saying add this, subtract that, lengthen this, shorten that

All it really boils down to for growth is are you doing
1) enough volume? Shoot for at least 20-30 reps per bodypart per session
2) enough weight? Try to increase weight noticeably at least once per week

Everything else (rest periods, number of reps in set, etc) doesn't really matter; they're just ways of handling fatigue during a training session. 10x3 and 3x10 at the same weight are equal as far as growth. Similarly, mucking with your rest periods won't achieve anything other than making you more or less tired. Just rest until you feel ready for the next set.

If you're already lifting enough weight enough times, I don't know what to tell you. Try adding a chest isolation for 3-4 sets. Other than that, I say you're genetically predisposed to have a crappy chest :/ sorry bro

 

[Dave949]

any of these motions, ON ITS OWN, will build a decent chest:
-chest dips
-flat press (db's or bb)
-slight incline (not 60 degrees like most fixed inclines, try 10-30)

What he said.

Its that simple. It really is.

 

[gjohnson5]

What he said.

Its that simple. It really is.

Aparantly not....
Everyone is defferent and you have to find what works for you. There's not enough information to draw conclusions about genetics.
If it works , keep doing it.... Just watch your shoulder

Good call Ghetto

 

[Dave949]

Aparantly not....
Everyone is defferent and you have to find what works for you.

Dips, flats and inclines will work the pecs thouroughly no matter who you are. We may all be different to some degree but bio mechanically speaking we function the same. Sure a tweak here and a tweak there with reps, sets and intensity utilizing various lifting principals like supersets, rest pause, drop sets etc. etc. but those three lifts will work the pecs...and thats what I meant by its that simple. However....in the end.....whether we want to hear it or not..... genetics has the upper hand and the final say so. Its that simple.

 

[gjohnson5]

Dips, flats and inclines will work the pecs thouroughly no matter who you are. We may all be different to some degree but bio mechanically speaking we function the same. Sure a tweak here and a tweak there with reps, sets and intensity utilizing various lifting principals like supersets, rest pause, drop sets etc. etc. but those three lifts will work the pecs...and thats what I meant by its that simple. However....in the end.....whether we want to hear it or not..... genetics has the upper hand and the final say so. Its that simple.

And those tweaks we got into heavily at the beginning of the thread. He took 2 of those "tweaks" and said he had something that worked. I dunno.
I haven't seen him or worked out with him. Without that information , making a genetics call is jumping to conclusions. Not enough information here I think.

 

[Dave949]

Its all good bro. I wasn`t making a genetics call, just stating that in the end our genetics will have the final say so.... no matter how good or bad our genetics are.

 

[cwick0]

this is becoming way too complicated (I can't believe i'm saying that)

any of these motions, ON ITS OWN, will build a decent chest:
-chest dips
-flat press (db's or bb)
-slight incline (not 60 degrees like most fixed inclines, try 10-30)

Its rather simple. These alone will do an OKAY job, but if you want more then pair things up as others have suggested.

My 1st post was very simple. Just pick a combination and go with it for awhile then switch after several months.

 

[eat big]

usually when something isnt growing im not working it hard enough, if it were me id use high reps and more sets and exercises. thats just my body though.

 

[Allon]

Have you tried HST.
I really beleive that adding weight and lowering reps every two weeks really stimualtes growth. Even if you don't go according to the complete HST rules and just play around with the reps it will work. Try the following:

For 2-3 weeks do 20 rep sets. Doesn't matter what exersizes but try to do three types and preferrably bench (incline also good), dips and flies...
then do 2-3 weeks of 10-12 reps with obviously much higher weight.
then 2-3 weeks of 4-6 reps with much much higher weight.

BANG. Your muscle explodes.

You can also try the same as above but change the rep range evry one or two times you come into the gym
I really feel the growth when I suddenly give my muscles a high weight for 4-6 rep range after a few work outs of only higher rep ranges.
Let me know if you try it and how it went...

 

[Little Boy]

I'm trying HST right now and it seems to work pretty good. It's also fun because it's so different.

We'll see how it goes after a few cycles of it.

 

[eat big]

I'm trying HST right now and it seems to work pretty good. It's also fun because it's so different.

We'll see how it goes after a few cycles of it.

If that's you in your avatar....your fucking HUGE!

 

[powerlord]

I'm kinda learning now that heavy isn't always a chest builder,I've been going as heavy as I can for about a year,my shoulders are getting most of it and my upper chest is ok,but my lower chest looks like shit,I find I have little control over the chest with heavy,say with DB's,now I've lowered my DB weight and found that I can control my muscle better,my pumps are better,and my chest is starting to look fuller underneath,so I say once you get your strength where you want it,you can isolate with lighter and higher reps and you can define your chest more,definition can bring size out.Alot of what these guys are saying is just that,I've always thought heavy and low reps will make my chest big,but only to a point,you have to bring definition in to make your chest come out.

 

[cwick0]

I've always thought heavy and low reps will make my chest big,but only to a point,you have to bring definition in to make your chest come out.

This is what i thought about 2.5 years ago, but i met a guy here at school who taught me real quick this wasnt the case. I started training with him and now my chest is massive. We use to do 315 for sets of 10. Our goal was always to hit 50 reps in as few a sets as possible. The minimum we wanted to do was 3 sets of 10, but i eventually built up to it over the course of several months. Years ago, i use to do sets of 3 reps as high as i could go and my chest was strong as hell, but not nearly as big as it should have been. Now, im working towards 405 for 10 reps and have gotten 365 for 10, 10, and 12 reps.

 

[buttbeater]

you probably have good development in delts and tri's, which makes it hard to stimulate your pecs. try lie on you benches with your shoulder blades touching (or close to it). this brings your shoulders out of the movement significantly. concentrate on squeezing your pecs together, the easiest way is to use dumbells. lighten your weight a bit (but not a whole bunch), slow your reps down and feel the squeeze. and when doing incline make sure the bench isn't on too much of an incline or else this will bring your delts in a lot.

 

[powerlord]

Yeah my upper chest has developed fine,the lower pecs look like shit,when I flex they look weird.But I've lowered the weight by about 20lbs on my chest exercises and gained more control over the muscle while working it.I still try and up my max bench every week.

 

[BOOEY]

this is becoming way too complicated (I can't believe i'm saying that)

any of these motions, ON ITS OWN, will build a decent chest:
-chest dips
-flat press (db's or bb)
-slight incline (not 60 degrees like most fixed inclines, try 10-30)

Everybody's talking about rep number and rest period, saying add this, subtract that, lengthen this, shorten that

All it really boils down to for growth is are you doing
1) enough volume? Shoot for at least 20-30 reps per bodypart per session
2) enough weight? Try to increase weight noticeably at least once per week

Everything else (rest periods, number of reps in set, etc) doesn't really matter; they're just ways of handling fatigue during a training session. 10x3 and 3x10 at the same weight are equal as far as growth. Similarly, mucking with your rest periods won't achieve anything other than making you more or less tired. Just rest until you feel ready for the next set.

If you're already lifting enough weight enough times, I don't know what to tell you. Try adding a chest isolation for 3-4 sets. Other than that, I say you're genetically predisposed to have a crappy chest :/ sorry bro

Honestly, I'm quite shocked to see this, especially from a knowledgable bro like yourself. Of course rep ranges and amount of sets matter. That's the name of the game. 3 reps for 10 sets and 10 reps for 3 sets will give you completely different results. Not talking about shape or anything of that sort, but one is strictly for strength. That's why you see powerlifters and strongmen lift in the lower rep ranges. And rest time makes a HUGE difference as far as hypertrophy is concerened. Rest too long and you're training more for strength. For hypertrophy, keeping it under 90 seconds max is ideal. I mean, these things aren't written in a scientific book, they are products of what generations of bodybuilders have experienced when working out. Trial and error. I periodically change my sets and rep ranges when I want to focus on strength or when I want to focus on size.