Thread: Developing Pecs

Could be bodyfat, genetics, or maybe lack of development in other areas is preventing you from seeing your progress. How good your chest look depends on your rib cage, your lats (including your serratus anterior), your obliques and abs, and anterior and lateral delts (and probably other muscles, too).

Anyway, don't worry about this. The chest grows as one. My lower chest took about a year and three months to take off, but it did! Just have patience; a Frank Zane physique doesn't happen overnight. Keep hitting the chest with a variety of angles, grips, and forms of resistance...and EAT like you're Rocky Balboa training to show Mr.T he can pleasure his wife better than anyone and you'll have badass pecs in no time

^yup. In terms of the lower chest,... a low BF% will do wonders for appearences. Genetics also play a very big role. You can not isolate on the lower region or upper region of the pecs, but you could be more genetically dispositioned to recruit more fibers in a certain region by doing the lift differently( incline, flat, wide hand position, narrow, etc etc).

I have found for me( maybe due to my long arms) that flyes are a staple for building and shaping chest mass. For me they are just as important as presses. Presses alone tend to be the best mass/strength builder for a majority of ppl, but not me. If nothin else, throw flys into your routine, all 3 ways, high rep sets(12+) with strict form and pausing a t the bottom and judge your results a few weeks from now to see if they work for you.

High bf%. Thats got to be it. I'm bulking now so that will have to get a little worse before it gets better. Phineas, you're a comedian man. Your threads are always cracking me up. I still laugh at that chuck Norris shit. Nemesis, Flyes are a great suggestion. I could try to see if I get some results from them too. Are these considered a compound movement since they do incorporate shoulders and arms?
Thanks gents. As always, a big help.

Flys are generally considered an isolation movement because they only utilize one joint for movement (shoulders). The triceps and shoulder muscles are involved for stabilization, but the contraction of the pecs is what causes the movement to happen.

^yup yup

Originally Posted by Gazhole

Flys are generally considered an isolation movement because they only utilize one joint for movement (shoulders). The triceps and shoulder muscles are involved for stabilization, but the contraction of the pecs is what causes the movement to happen.

Yeah, I suspected it was an iso move. I'm not at a point where I need iso moves yet. Is it worth trying to incorp them to see if I can get some stimuli or just stick to the heavy compounds?

Originally Posted by FMJ

Yeah, I suspected it was an iso move. I'm not at a point where I need iso moves yet. Is it worth trying to incorp them to see if I can get some stimuli or just stick to the heavy compounds?

Its entirely your call man. One or two sets isolation here and there wont hurt. The balance should be well and truly in the compound side though, you're right.

Cook the meat first, then put on the gravy.

Agreed. I'm far from needing refinement. I'll stick with compounds for now. If I'm anything like Phineas, I've got a long time to brew. I've already proven to myself that doing years of iso did little more than waste of my training time. Patience seems to be the hardest part of any routine I've used. A common noob issue I would venture to say.
Thanks guys

Everybody does the iso stuff from the rags when they first start out. I wasted so much time with that crap its unreal. Gut busting hard work on compounds > 1 million angles with isolations, any day.

Well agreed with all on the BF% thing, but there are moves that target certain parts of the pecs more than others.
Arnolds Encyclopedia to bodybuilding has a whole big ass chapter that explains the pecs. Dips and decline bench press work the lower part of your pecs more than the rest.
I'm the same way in terms of my lower pecs being under developed and have been targeting them for a short time now and have seen some improvement.