Post: #1

Finally got a gym membership so Im getting back to lifting!

I do tons of martial arts and dancing so I still manage to keep the progress from lifting last year including six packs, legs and biceps. But my chest pecs leave a lot to be desired.

Two years ago when I was lifting 5x per week with the 5x5 stronglifts program with my best buddy who is a marine. Everything went well except the pecs. Compared to the rest of my body it just doesnt improve that much. Its like all the work I do to chest go entirely to my biceps and triceps. I rarely work these out but for some reasons they get pumped up while my chest barely get bigger.

I asked my buddy and some others if my form was bad but they couldnt detect anything.

Anyone got some tips for good chest pec building? Maybe I should add some chest routines to the usual 5x5 stronglift?

Post: #2

I have that problem with my biceps, everything else built up and my biceps refused to grow. I added a bicep curls to the end of every workout, but only 3 x 3, and that helped a lot.

So maybe just throw in an extra 3x3 chest exercise at then end of your 5x5 workout? That's what I would do, I'd probably do incline presses or dumbbell flies.

Post: #3

I have the opposite problem. My chest is great but my arms leave a lot to be desired. I've added more volume to my preacher curls and tricep pulldown's, basically doing multiple drop sets without rest at the end of the exercise. So far there has been a noticeable improvement, but it's too early to tell if it will completely fix the problem.

Post: #4

So your chest is lagging right? You got to stop messing about with a 5x5 routine if your trying to get your pecs to GROW. The 5 rep range is primarily designed to build strength.

I believe that dumbell work in the 9-12 rep range will be far superior to your 5x5 if hypertrophy is your goal. The exceptional range of motion of a dumbell press should allow you to stimulate the chest to a much higher degree than what I'm assuming is a barbell based 5x5 workout.

Also with a barbell there is a chance that if your shoulders and triceps and more developed, that they may dominate the exercise which would leave your chest lacking the stimulation it needs.

Not only this but I believe that once you've built your strength base, switching to a higher rep range will allow you to be able to attain the additional muscle growth that you desire and save your joints in the process.

For more info on dumbells vs barbell for hypertrophic goals have a browse through the bench press thread in this section.

Most of all, enjoy the process and welcome back to training.

Post: #5

Thanks guys for the answer.

(09-02-2014 04:04 AM)Blackwell Wrote:  So your chest is lagging right? You got to stop messing about with a 5x5 routine if your trying to get your pecs to GROW. The 5 rep range is primarily designed to build strength.

I believe that dumbell work in the 9-12 rep range will be far superior to your 5x5 if hypertrophy is your goal. The exceptional range of motion of a dumbell press should allow you to stimulate the chest to a much higher degree than what I'm assuming is a barbell based 5x5 workout.

Also with a barbell there is a chance that if your shoulders and triceps and more developed, that they may dominate the exercise which would leave your chest lacking the stimulation it needs.

Not only this but I believe that once you've built your strength base, switching to a higher rep range will allow you to be able to attain the additional muscle growth that you desire and save your joints in the process.

For more info on dumbells vs barbell for hypertrophic goals have a browse through the bench press thread in this section.

Most of all, enjoy the process and welcome back to training.

Yeah you got it right, 5x5 only has bar bench press as chest exercise and really it didnt help me much.

Strength is all good and Im strong enough to do everything I will ever have to do, but I dont need to outdo Hercules. For self-defense and endurance purposes I have martial arts.

If my goal is aesthetic and getting an eye catching physics, I should switch away from 5x5? What program do you guys recommend?

I did a search about bench press and just got confused. Some say barbell rocks and some say dumb bell rocks. Some say both are nut and you re better off doing push up flies instead.

For immediate use what exercises are good? Dumbells flies and press 3x12?

Post: #6

I have the same problem.

Are you tall by any chance? The length of one's levers make a big difference to training.

Switching to mostly incline presses when fresh helped me with the following routine twice per week:

10x4 incline barbell bench press

10x4 incline dumbell flys

10x3 incline dumbbell press

10x3 flat barbell press

10x3 flat dumbbell press

10 x3 dumbell pullover

1x40 flat bench flys.


You could also try doing triceps before chest to exhaust the triceps and make the pecs work harder.

Post: #7

(09-02-2014 05:14 AM)CrashBangWallop Wrote:  I have the same problem.

Are you tall by any chance? The length of one's levers make a big difference to training.

Switching to mostly incline presses when fresh helped me with the following routine twice per week:

10x4 incline barbell bench press

10x4 incline dumbell flys

10x3 incline dumbbell press

10x3 flat barbell press

10x3 flat dumbbell press

10 x3 dumbell pullover

1x40 flat bench flys.


You could also try doing triceps before chest to exhaust the triceps and make the pecs work harder.

Quite the opposite, Im 5"4. I ll try isolating the triceps, see if that works.

Post: #8

OP, are you doing any weighted dips? My chest started getting much bigger once I started adding weight to my 5x5 dip. I'm looking at strength gains though.

Post: #9

I've had the combined problem of slow chest and slow arm development.

For sheer chest size i bought some dumbbell bars from amazon. Best $20 I've spent.
I did dumbbell flies and adjusted the weight as i got stronger.





For my arms i do seated bench dips. I started out with 10lbs on my lap an I'm up to 100lbs on my lap.
My normal routine is 3 sets of 8 with 20 second rest between and the final set is until failure.
This is crazy good for tricep size and helps with my bench press.

For my biceps i found doing straight curls were somewhat useless if you can't keep the right form or keep yourself from swing back and form. Plus i workout at home and don't feel like buying a preacher curl setup for only 1 lift.

I do this instead and find i can max out my arms more thoroughly doing this instead.





I don't compensate with my back or shoulders to get the bar up.

Post: #10

Further out the weight is from the centre mass the more stretching of the pecs will occur. The closer the arms are to the body the more the triceps are engaged.

Wide grip pressing hits the pecs more than close-grip the same way wide grip pulls hit the outer shoulders and traps more than close grip pulls.

Post: #11

try mike rashid's insane chest training. literally you will get huge "Ass Titties"

Post: #12

Google Scooby's post on this. He addresses this topic specifically. In general, it will take

1) years to get a big chest
2) lots of squeezing excercises (ie., flys)
3) genetics

Post: #13

Try to SQUEEZE with your pecs rather than "pushing" or "pressing" with your arms and shoulders.

Spend more time and effort on your pecs since they are a weak spot.

Post: #14

A slight arching of your back on the bench can help the exercise hit the chest.

Post: #15

This is very easy to figure out.

In Stronglifts 5x5, only the bench 5x5 hit the chest. That's on "A" day, 25 work reps. You have 3 "A" days in 2 weeks, meaning the volume for chest is 75 reps.

In comparison, as an example, here's the chest volume in one week in my hypertrophy cycle for powerlifting:

Bench (heavy days): 40 working reps (15 reps heavy + 5x5 drop sets - I'd do 5x10 here early in the cycle)
Bench (volume days): 50 working reps (5x10)
DB Bench: 50 working reps (5x10)
Dips: 100 working reps

That's 240 working reps in a week. Higher if you count warmups and chest flyes (which I do light for stretching the pecs and getting more blood flow afterwards). In two weeks, that's 480 reps, 6.4 times more volume than Stronglifts.

I'm not a bodybuilder and this is mostly to get my bench up in powerlifting. My bodybuilder mates (the ones who actually compete, not the ones who say they do bodybuilding) do even higher volumes.

Smaller guys should be able to tolerate even more volume.

Post: #16

I think everyone's going to have some muscles that develop faster than others.

For example, my pecs built up pretty quickly, as did my shoulders (which a lot of people say they have trouble with). My lats on the other hand, are being rather stubborn (by the way, if anyone has some advice for lats, I'd certainly appreciate it).

I will also second Gio's suggestion (and Scooby's). Do both pushing and squeezing exercises, if you aren't already:

Post: #17

You have to use rep ranges that are suited more for hypertrophy.

4x8s have been a staple in bodybuilding forever. Vince Gironda used 6x6s and 8x8s with very little rest when he trained Larry Scott.

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned decline bench yet. That hits my pecs better than anything else.

You should always focus on the squeeze when benching, as others have already mentioned.

Smith press to the neck is a good change up if your shoulders can take it, especially with higher reps.

Post: #18

What's a good ratio from bench kgs to incline/decline, just so I know where to begin?

Post: #19

(09-03-2014 07:19 PM)Libertas Wrote:  My lats on the other hand, are being rather stubborn (by the way, if anyone has some advice for lats, I'd certainly appreciate it).

Do you use pronated grip and bodyweight pullups as part of your routine? Do any T-bar rows? Any bent over rows? Do you do any trap work?

Post: #20

A good starting point is to examine how much volume you're throwing at the particular bodypart.

If you feel that you're lacking in development, you can conclude that it's not enough volume. Then you can proceed to figure out how to slay that fucker with more training volume and force it to grow, either hit it with the same lifts more frequently, with more sets, with less rest, different movements.

Most trainees believe they need people's advice when they should instead rely on themselves to figure it out.

Post: #21

Hey guys, thanks everyone again for the help. I'm making some progress, still bloody slow but it's there.

Here's where I am so far. Look a bit better in real life.



I'm still hitting the arms more than I should I think. I never do any arm exercise at all and they are still growing.

How do you squeeze with your chest with bench press? With flies I can squeeze but with bench press your arms are locked to the bar.

I think for my chest right now I want to focus on the under area, the part from the nipples down and especially the separation from between the two pecs. How do I make the definition in the middle clearer? (I guess this is similar to developping a pec cleavage lol) What exercise should I focus on?

I did more dumbell flies and cable flies now and it definitely helps.

Chest day program, 3x/week:

Bench press, 5x5
Dumbell flies, 3x10
Incline dumbell flies 3x10
Cable flies, 30
75 pushs up every morning 7/7.

Should I add weighted dips? Any exercise to keep and to take out?

Post: #22

Looks like you got a solid foundation there. My chest has been lacking to... everything else is exploding.

Post: #23

There is no secret magical routine to "unleash" your pecs.

You can do more volume (more sets) and more intensity (increase strength) to make your chest bigger than it was yesterday. That is within your power.

However there is nothing you can do to make it grow AS quickly and as fully as your other body parts. Your chest will always be small relative to them. It's your genetics.

Post: #24

Yea, pec deck, flys, obscure movements like: very inclined dumbell presses, inclined dumbell flys standing with your shoulder blades hovering past the back pad (Mike O-Hearn Style).

Also, everyone shoots for lower reps higher weight on the major chest movements like bench, dips, inclined bench, dips.. reverse that and do a little higher reps on those exercises, but do heavy flies and heavy shaping exercises like I first mentioned. (but realize you really gotta concentrate hard mentally and squeeze and keep flexion constant and tight otherwise you'll ruin your joints and get injured).

My arms are small again due to an upper body injury, but when they were big I literally lifted them 3-5 days a week.. as if they were abs or something, just not super heavy. At the cost of making the rest of my body a little smaller, I used to start my workouts with 6-8 sets of arms before hitting anything else. And then a few sets before I hit the shower. Sure it takes a bit away from everything else, but they grow, and tend to get really veiny too.

I think the same approach (for looks not strength) can be done with your chest but you need to do it every other day.. B2B chest days and you're askin for a torn pec.

Post: #25

Slight incline dumbbell bench press seems to hit my chest the best.