Upper and Inner Chest...

[Primal]

Ok before I start on this one, I know it has been butchered to death already! Everyone always seems to have problems developing their inner and upper chest and I am for sure no exception. My problem is that I can't feel my upper chest no matter what I do to hit it. I've tried everything. EVERYTHING I could think of! Incline DB press, incline flyes, incline bench press (both at the 45 and 20-30ish degree range). I've done every machine chest press I can get my hands on and still to no avail. I just can't seem to feel the upper part of my chest! There is one exercise that I recently stumbled onto just randomly searching on YouTube however. This is the only exercise that seems to work for me. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dCmY_HxrqWs&list=UUe0TLA0EsQbE-MjuHXevj2A&feature=c4-overview

So I'm just wondering, does anyone else have this problem? I know I'm still really inexperienced with lifting in general so maybe I'll be able to feel it a few years down the road? I'm at an utter loss when it comes to the upper chest. If you guys could share some tips it would be greatly appreciated! Thank you all so much! :D

-Primal

[Praetorian]

Most people have trouble feeling upper chest...the key is to build overall mass and you will end up with a bigger upper chest. Isolating the upper chest entirely is kind of impossible without also hitting the bulk of the chest....so I would suggest learning how to bench correctly...ie look on youtube Dave Tate bench press and get your weight up to where you are repping with over 315lbs. Get in your benches, inclines, flyes etc and concentrate on getting stronger and you will grow. As Ronnie used to say..."everybody wants to be a bodybuilder, but nobody wants to lift no heavy ass weight!"

P

[Primal]

Most people have trouble feeling upper chest...the key is to build overall mass and you will end up with a bigger upper chest. Isolating the upper chest entirely is kind of impossible without also hitting the bulk of the chest....so I would suggest learning how to bench correctly...ie look on youtube Dave Tate bench press and get your weight up to where you are repping with over 315lbs. Get in your benches, inclines, flyes etc and concentrate on getting stronger and you will grow. As Ronnie used to say..."everybody wants to be a bodybuilder, but nobody wants to lift no heavy ass weight!"

P

Great! Thanks so much Prae this is what I was hoping to hear, everyone always told me to 'build my chest first' but I had no idea what having a chest really meant! Now I know that I will have one when I reach 315, so that is my new goal now. Got it, I will watch Dave Tate's stuff again just to make sure I got the form right. Thanks Prae! :)

-Primal

[Odysseus]

Most people have trouble feeling upper chest...the key is to build overall mass and you will end up with a bigger upper chest. Isolating the upper chest entirely is kind of impossible without also hitting the bulk of the chest....so I would suggest learning how to bench correctly...ie look on youtube Dave Tate bench press and get your weight up to where you are repping with over 315lbs. Get in your benches, inclines, flyes etc and concentrate on getting stronger and you will grow. As Ronnie used to say..."everybody wants to be a bodybuilder, but nobody wants to lift no heavy ass weight!"

P

Prae, what are your thoughts on cable crossovers for adding chest mass? Are they better, worse, or just different from dumbbell flies? I feel like with flies I get a good stretch and I'm able to isolate the chest more. But cable crossovers seem to be more controlled. Obviously I still stick to bench presses and dips for the big basics, but I was wondering if you would recommend cable crossovers for mass.

[Praetorian]

I do cable crossovers near the end of my workout...they can help add additional mass but need to be performed correctly...they are NOT a press so do not load up the machine and start bench pressing the cables like you've seen the idiots in the gym do. They are an isolation movement so you can use them either as a pre-exhaust or after heavy compounds to really target the pec muscle and eliminate any shoulder assistance.

I do both dumbbell flyes and cables.

P

[Primal]

I do cable crossovers near the end of my workout...they can help add additional mass but need to be performed correctly...they are NOT a press so do not load up the machine and start bench pressing the cables like you've seen the idiots in the gym do. They are an isolation movement so you can use them either as a pre-exhaust or after heavy compounds to really target the pec muscle and eliminate any shoulder assistance.

I do both dumbbell flyes and cables.

P

Hey Prae, I do the chest flyes and cable flyes at the end of my workout too. When it comes to the adduction of the arm to stimulate the pecs, would you say it is good to go past your sternum? Or should you stop at the peak of the contraction? Thanks!

-Primal

[Praetorian]

Over stretching will lead to shoulder issues...get a good stretch but dont over do it.

P

[Primal]

Over stretching will lead to shoulder issues...get a good stretch but dont over do it.

P

Great thanks so much!

-Primal

[Primal]

Just wanted to update and sort of track my progress with my chest training in particular, especially if I try something new and it doesn't work I have a sort of 'log' online here that I can refer back to and see what worked for me!

Finished a chest workout and over the past month I've tried a lot of new things to really get my chest to grow. One of the best things I have done so far for me is to Incorporate guillotine barbell bench pressing as a warmup before I get to my heavy sets on the bench. I only ever use the bar and 25's on each side and I pause for a good 3 seconds at the bottom for 5-6 good reps. For some reason this really targets the upper portion of my chest very well, and I find that I have a much better mind to muscle connection on the remaining incline sets. As well, I took a lot of the pressing movements out and replaced them with loads of volume with cable flyes. This for some reason has made my chest grow tremendously and the pumps are unreal. I use a medium heavy weight and go really slow both on the concentric and eccentric. For some reason, like I said before this has worked wonders for me! I find personally doing them in front of a mirror helps out even more! Not only does it look cool as hell when you can see every individual chest fiber stretching and contracting but because I can actually see the muscle working, my mind muscles connection is even stronger and I can really focus in and rip the hell out of my chest!! Going to keep like this for my chest for a while and hopefully the good results keep coming! On an off note, I have also found that training fasted (from an hour to 2 hours) really helps a lot for me as well and I didn't know that! I get much better workouts in when I train from not eating, and I don't get any stomach rumblings or anything it feels great!

-Primal

[Praetorian]

Getting a good pump is fine but it really has little to do with muscular growth. Adaptation to a stress causes hypertrophy and progressive resistance will always trump a good pump. Removing pressing movements replacing with cable exercises will slow gains significantly and never led to maximum hypertrophy. One more observation...training fasted and the worst idea if you are a bodybuilder...its called catabolism..ie muscle breakdown. I am sure you have heard or read about the latest intra workout nutrition? This should tell you something. An hour or so after eating a good meal is not fasted.

P

[Primal]

I don't know, whenever I really push myself with bench especially I seriously can't feel my chest working and I am never sore! I don't know why and I've touched on it before... sorry yeah I didn't really mean 'fasted' I just call it that because to me it is the longest I go without eating. I should say neither full nor hungry, just a nice medium inbetween. Also Im a terrible presser (probably because of my incredibly small wrists)... Just trying to find something that works for me a lot better than what is already right now.

-Primal

[Praetorian]

Be patient and study the proper technique...but the best way is to get someone who knows how to bench correctly to teach you. It takes time to learn how to bench heavy correctly (years) for hypertrophy or strength it doesnt happen in weeks or months.

P

[Primal]

Ugh! I know, but it's really hard being patient! This year has been one of the worst years in terms of body image. I never have a huge problem with it, but I'm finding myself looking small all the time and it bugs me a lot, especially my lagging points. I'm really competitive and it bothers me that there are people my age age who look bigger and are better than me even if they've been training longer and have more experience. Back onto the topic of chest, I've had a few people at my gym try to help me with the bench press one was apparently a well respected power lifter back in the day. The guy said my arms were so long I had to put my thumb on the far ring of the bar. My hand was about 5 inches away from the bar placers were holding it. I tried it this way and it felt so awkward and put a huge strain on my shoulders... I mean with my arms it took a good 2 years to bring them up and look proportional with everything else, I'm hoping it will be like that for chest too.

I'll keep trying to nail down the form though, thanks Prae!

-Primal

[Praetorian]

You have to be very careful who you ask for help. Nine times out of ten the guy thinks he knows what he is doing but in reality it is far from correct. Good trainers and I don't mean PT's in commercial gyms i mean real strength coaches are difficult to find. That's why i suggest youtube and watching everything by Dave Tate, Mark Ripptoe, and the West Side guys. A wide grip puts more strain on the shoulders and a narrow grip benefits those with very strong triceps...you have to find that sweet spot in between.
Also you will have to get used to the idea of some guys being better than you because there always will be someone better...that's life...deal with it!! You want to get better than most...no problem...make the sacrifice. Do you want it or would you just like to have it....HUGE difference! You dont have to be THE best...just be YOUR best!

P



P

[steve_d]

Also you will have to get used to the idea of some guys being better than you because there always will be someone better...that's life...deal with it!! You want to get better than most...no problem...make the sacrifice. Do you want it or would you just like to have it....HUGE difference! You dont have to be THE best...just be YOUR best!



Solid advice right there. There is always someone better, and not necessarily people who have trained longer or harder than you. Yes, sometimes they are better because they've been at it longer. Sometimes people are just better without any effort, or consistency - whether through sports, studies, looks, anything. Optimizing your own self is what it's all about.

[Primal]

You have to be very careful who you ask for help. Nine times out of ten the guy thinks he knows what he is doing but in reality it is far from correct. Good trainers and I don't mean PT's in commercial gyms i mean real strength coaches are difficult to find. That's why i suggest youtube and watching everything by Dave Tate, Mark Ripptoe, and the West Side guys. A wide grip puts more strain on the shoulders and a narrow grip benefits those with very strong triceps...you have to find that sweet spot in between.
Also you will have to get used to the idea of some guys being better than you because there always will be someone better...that's life...deal with it!! You want to get better than most...no problem...make the sacrifice. Do you want it or would you just like to have it....HUGE difference! You dont have to be THE best...just be YOUR best!

P

I know Prae, that's why I said 'apparently' he was a respected powerlifter. Still trying to find that sweet spot you're talking about but I hit a new PR on the flat bench today (235 lbs for 1). Hit it accidentally actually. My gym buddy and I were trying to skip over 205 lbs as we worked our way up close to our maxes. So we skipped the 205 and went from 185 to 225 instead. I hit the 225 for a double with decent speed which never happens and thought I'd try to see if I could jump a bit higher!

Haha, thanks for the pep talk Prae, I guess I'll just have to get that message in my head even if it takes the hard way to figure it out :/ also nice to hear from you again too Steve

-Primal