building a bigger/stronger chest

[bovinus]

hi guys I'm trying to bulk up a little bit and hopefully lose some extra body fat in the process and the weakest part of my body, by far, is my chest. to start out i'm trying to scheduling in going to the gym 3-4 times a week (every other day hopefully) and have been a few times already. I find bench press type exercises (either with free weights or the press machine) to extremely difficult and that I need to use my arms more than I think I should need to. my friend says that it may have something to do with weakness in other areas such as shoulders or arms. any advice would be appreciated.

 

btw I am an 18 yr old guy 6'2/155 lbs

[Enema]

If it feels like it's working the wrong area for the exercise, it's probably your technique. Though, if you've just started lifting it's natural that it'll take your body a little bit to get used to it, just power through.

 

I like the traditional dumbbell flies and chest presses.

 

Have you been over it with a rep from the gym so they can monitor your technique?

 

This site is pretty handy as it has animated gifs of the motion: http://www.sport-fitness-advisor.com/dumbbellexercises.html

[bovinus]

i haven't talked to anyone at the gym but usually go with a buddy who is in great shape and went through a body building phase. he says that after a few weeks it will get easier and my muscles will grow quickly as they have nowhere to go but up haha. i'm sure i'm probably relying on my arms because i'm not used to using just my chest so much. thanks!

[Darkzen]

Triceps are a big part of the bench press lift. This is probably what you feel in your arms. Your friend is right, just keep at it.

 

The bench press is also more work for taller people (well assuming they have longer arms), we're actually exerting far more energy per rep.

[mark982]

some of us tall people have really long arms,what really helped my chest grow was wide grip bench press.(ask your buddy)you'll have to go lighter at first.

[bovinus]

wow i had no idea my height would have anything to do with anything but that makes sense. i have very long and lanky arms and a pretty long torso and i definitely feel my triceps get the bulk of the fatigue after chest workouts. i'm going to try wider grips for the bench press and see what happens. if i go alone to the gym and use the chest press machine should i do anything differently?

[mark982]

if you go to the gym alone,use stops on press mach(hate to get trapped) i'd go light weights,high reps at first(w/wide grip) i put my index finger on "outside" the ring of the bar.i believe that will give you around a 32" grip. also do incline bench,and dips(leaning forward as you do them) you follow this, your chest will grow. keep protein levels high about 1-1.5 grams per body weight. good luck and train hard.

[shadowofman]

I also have problems seeing any results and I think it is my technic. For my chest and for my entire back. Roman Chair stuff feels great, but rowing and Lat pull down stuff feels like nothing.

 

Also, when I flex my chest muscles, you know, to make them jump, my right tit jumps up, and my left tit jumps down.

 

Is this a sign that I've been working them wrong or unequally?

[twice_shy]

If you had to pick only one exercise for a great chest, it would be butterfly/dumbell fly presses.

 

But if you really want to cut that chest, do incline bench press, regular bench press, dumbell fly presses, and lat presses(pushing yourself straight up in the air in a vertical position)

[mark982]

by doing wide grip benches you are basically doing a dumbell fly.the only difference is dumbell flyes are extremely hard on rotator cuff,and other shoulder parts. as someone who's had 2 rotator cuff surgeries,i don't do them.

[carrot10]

You probably don't want to train your chest every other day. If you train hard, the muscles need time to grow and recover. Weight training breaks down the muscle. As far as training goes, you want to keep the weight high and reps low (6-8) followed by active recovery-example bench press followed by 20 pushups -then rest and do it again. You can also try fatiguing the triceps first but go lighter when you get to chest. Only use this method of training a couple of times a month. Always make sure you have proper form and if you are going heavy with free weights-have a spotter.

[Quiksilver ca]

Have one of the bigger guys in your gym teach you proper form on the bench press.

 

Focus on Incline Bench press, Flat Bench press, and Dips. Accessory work is delts(shoulders) and triceps.

 

Here's a routine that should get you growing. Look for noticeable results in 8-12 weeks.

 

Incline Bench Press 2 x 5

Dumbbell Press (Flat/Decline) or Dips 2 x 8-10

Shoulder Press 2 x 8-12

Tricep Exercise 2 x 10-15

 

Increase the weight every week, if you stall, lower the weight by 2 weeks and continue.

 

Research all those on youtube if you don't know how to do the exercises.

[IrishCarBomb]

Unless you really love doing incline/decline and all those other sorts of bench press, you're covered if you just do a standard bench press.

 

If you want to get bigger and stronger, do a pyramid workout. You increase the weight but decrease the reps as you progress.

 

Set 1: 140 lbs 8 reps

Set 2: 160 lbs 5 reps

Set 3: 180 lbs 2 reps

 

You get the idea. If you ever successfully get the last 2 reps up, you move up the weight. Be sure to give yourself at least 2 days for recovery between workouts.

[Quiksilver ca]

Yes, I forgot to mention. All the main lifts(bench press) should be done using pyramid sets.

 

For instance, I mentioned 2x5 Incline Bench

 

Say you bench 225lbs, it would look like this:

 

bar x 12

95 x 6

135 x 3

185 x 1

205 x 1

225 x 5

225 x 5

 

For accessory lifts(triceps, shoulders), stick to exactly what I mentioned, and don't go to failure. Make sure you hit all the reps, keep increasing the weight, but make sure you can manage the weight.

 

p.s. Incline bench is superior to flat bench(it is still important though). Incline bench works more muscle than flat bench, and puts less stress on your shoulder(#1 bench press injury).

[StartFresh]

Work on your dumb-bell bench pressing to stengthen your auxiliary muscles in your shoulders. If you bench 120, dont pick up 2 60lb dumb bells either, you won't be able to do it. Make sure to incorporate sets of flat, incline and decline, and make sure your diet and lifestyle is conducive to helping your body gain muscle properly or else it won't happen no matter how many reps you do.