Any "Weak Chest" success stories out there?

TapRackBang · 08-20-2003, 03:52 PM

I just started lifting four weeks ago for the first time since high school (mostly worked on legs then-nothing serious). I'm 33 years old now. Chest has always been my weak spot (and I know a month of lifting is practically nothing), but I thought I would have been able to increase my bench fairly quickly at first.

I've had no problem slapping 20 extra lbs. a week on my squats and deadlifts (maybe I started too low), but I haven't seen that kind of improvement with my upper body.

I guess I'm looking for some motivation.

Has anyone here started with a weakling chest and turned it into a strength?

TapRackBang

jadakris31 · 08-20-2003, 04:49 PM

i dont know if im a sucess story, yet.. id like to think..

i was always a very skinny kid, then i went to college.. and still skinny, but fat now too ... arms shoulders legs back all very thin and skinny, but i had a nice gut... it was nice..

but i knew i had to work on it.. ive been lifting for about 2 years now.. when i started i could only do 135 about 3 times maybe 4 if i remember right .. now i can do 165 about 5 times and i know i have a bad bench for how big i am .. i can 70 lb dumbells, which i like alot more, about 5 or 6 times now.. which is a big improvment.. the rest of my body has improved so much more in mass and stregth, my chest in mass but not that greatest gains in stregth.

the weird thing is i never really changed my weight so much .. when i went into college i weighed i think 165 .. then i gained 15 pounds in the first semester up to 185 .. all beer and doing nothing ( i played soccer alot, used to) then when i lifted and played basketball all day i was down to like 160 now back to 170 and its hard for me to get past this .. im 6' 170 - 172 right now..

OceanDude · 08-20-2003, 07:08 PM

Jad & tap, I have had similar problems with chest. I have amazing strength increases in everything else that is way high for my size and it amazes me. My chest looks pretty good too but it is just not that strong. I am thinking that it is mostly improper “technique” and incomplete muscle training that prevents me from being able to properly engage the pecs to anywhere near full capacity. I absolutely know that I am shoulder limited since I feel too much pressure there and the joints are getting sore and I back off early. Even when I flare my elbows way out and pull back my shoulder blades I just can’t seem to “feel” a lot of pressure in the chest. I only get some slight soreness in the chest on rare occcasions after a workout.

I have gotten good gains on a percentage basis but I see old men doing much more than me and they are no where near as muscular as I am. I currently only feel comfortable doing 205 lbs as my working set weight since I train solo unspotted. I am going to take a week off soon and let my shoulders get a break and heal up. Then I am going back and really going to focus on this because it’s starting to piss me off big time. I will be happy to replace my new suit I just bought last week for $750 if I gain more inches in the chest – but my wife will kick my ass since it was her gift...

jadakris31 · 08-20-2003, 08:56 PM

haha, my chest gets sore, but i just cant get gains on bench -- i can get gains with OTHER things dealing with chest just not bar bench

sabre81 · 08-20-2003, 09:08 PM

i have always had a weak chest. i used to struggle with 55lb dumbbells last year. now i can do 90's about 5 -6 times.
i also used to only max out at about 160 with a barbell. now i max out at about 205. Also, what really worked for me was doing 2 things. i started doing a bit more barbell bench, and used a wider grip.

jadakris31 · 08-20-2003, 09:56 PM

ha please explain yourself.. a bit more barbell bench?? how wide? what was your routine like .. im dieing to get my bar bench up

johhs · 08-20-2003, 11:58 PM

im the same way, i always have good gains with my other muscles but i cant seem to do anything with my chest,

whenever i do any flys or anything i feel like my arms get tired too soon to feel the workout in my chest, this is most likely from bad form but i have tried to change it before, id like to know about this chest pehnomenon as well

**Mudge** · 08-21-2003, 12:22 AM

Start hitting your back (lats), triceps and delts harder perhaps.

jadakris31 · 08-21-2003, 07:39 AM

my lats seem to be good .. my triceps are strong and i hit my delts real hard... especially front and lateral heads with presses WG upright rows and dumbell laterals... if anything shoulders and triceps are my two best muscles.. thats add to my querie about my bad bench.. boo

OceanDude · 08-21-2003, 09:38 AM

same with me - my tricpes are very strong as is my back. Now my deltoids although strong and well developed do always seem to be tired. And I think this is the problem. Somehow I am overtraining them and it is limiting my chest workouts.

Josh · 08-21-2003, 09:45 AM

My chest development was also near to none before, until I was told to revise my technique (use DBs, raise the chest when pushing while pulling back shoulder blades). After I get the hang of the technique I was able to slowly improve my chest. Although now there is still much much room for improvement, I have to say that using the proper technique has given improvement to my chest.

- Josh

TapRackBang · 08-21-2003, 12:25 PM

I'm starting to think a lot of my problem is due to my weak back, delts, and triceps. Triceps especially are a weak area for me as well. I'm working on all those areas.

One of the problems I have is that most of the chest lifts I do seem to work my arms more than my chest (dips seem that way too). I don't have access to dumbells right now, so I think I need to buy some dbs and focus on those rather than barbell benching.

TapRackBang

Freeman · 08-21-2003, 05:45 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by OceanDude
same with me - my tricpes are very strong as is my back. Now my deltoids although strong and well developed do always seem to be tired. And I think this is the problem. Somehow I am overtraining them and it is limiting my chest workouts.

Maybe try to space your shoulder day as far apart from you chest day as you can. I have the SAME problem as you, so I'm gonna do that. And also, I was recently told that I need to pull my elbows in close to my body as it places less stress on the shoulders and more on the chest.

OceanDude · 08-21-2003, 05:56 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by freeman1504
Maybe try to space your shoulder day as far apart from you chest day as you can. I have the SAME problem as you, so I'm gonna do that. And also, I was recently told that I need to pull my elbows in close to my body as it places less stress on the shoulders and more on the chest.

You were told to keep elbows in close

?! Everything I read indicates that they need to be flared out so as not to use the triceps so much. The only time I have heard to do this is when working triceps with a close grip. I need to recheck some references.

On the shoulder issues I just may be too close on the days between chest and shoulders. I have been meaning to swap my days around some but it's so hard to cut over without making some body part get screwed for a week. Also, I am finding that my back workout day is hitting my shoulders indirectly too - so its hard to keep shoulders out of the equation except for on leg days. But its time to stop fooling around since everything else is pretty darn strong and I need to get chest at the same level.

Jim1954 · 08-21-2003, 06:10 PM

A lot of this stuff seems to be genetic, my
triceps and chest have always been easy
to build, might try doing dips. I only weigh
148 lbs 5' 8" and can do ten reps with 50 lbs,
and seem to be able to add more weight
every week. Wish my biceps would respond
like this, they only improve very slowly.
My arms are mostly triceps!

Freeman · 08-21-2003, 06:20 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by OceanDude
You were told to keep elbows in close

?! Everything I read indicates that they need to be flared out so as not to use the triceps so much. The only time I have heard to do this is when working triceps with a close grip. I need to recheck some references.

I have read many things about pulling the elbows in and also heardit from many people at the gym too, including a friend of mine who is a bodybuilder. Also, I know Mudge had a thread on benching big and the proper techniques to do so. If anyone has the link, post it here.

bludevil · 08-22-2003, 08:38 AM

I've also read and heard that the correct way to bench big is to roll shoulders back, keep elbows in (not flared out) and push chest outward. It certainly helped me when I started benching like this. Once I got used to the movement, I gained like 15lbs on my bench in 2weeks.

OceanDude · 08-22-2003, 10:41 AM

OK where is Mudge - I need this info. This could be a simple fix for me...

Freeman · 08-22-2003, 07:21 PM

I tried it for the first time today. I must say, I felt weaker, but that can be contributed to two things. 1) it's a new movement, gotta get used to it. 2) I've always been using extra shoulders on bench, and they have become disporportionatly stronger than my chest (which is really weak). I did feel like it worked my chest better though..more of a stretch and pump in the movements..

**Mudge** · 08-22-2003, 10:02 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by OceanDude
You were told to keep elbows in close

?!

If you throw the elbows out, you use the delts. Keeping the elbows in, and bar LOW on the chest actually uses the triceps ALOT. Powerlifters use this with dumbells close to the body as well, VERY triceps intensive, I end up well below the nipple area, figure about 3-4". My shoulders dont bother me even when going down to as low as 2 reps.

Actually it didn't make sense to me at all until I did it for awhile, simply reading it sounded funky to me. If you try to keep the elbows tucked and go high on the chest forget it.

http://www.ironmagazineforums.com/sh...threadid=11158 (How to Bench Big)

Freeman, I told you - I went in for a solid week and just did 135 for a quicky to get used to it and try to remember everything. I would not try something new and load on the weights like that, get used to it first

Freeman · 08-22-2003, 10:10 PM

will do Grudge

**Mudge** · 08-22-2003, 10:24 PM

Here is a pic of Flex Wheeler, look at the arch - you want this not only for the back (spine) but it helps keep pressure on the shoulder blades keeping them together. This is also why you are supposed to try to "push" yourself into the bench, lean into your neck/traps/shoulder blades a bit.

Just takes awhile to get used to the movement, if I lay flat on the bench it:
1) Hurts my back
2) Never bench as much

OceanDude · 08-23-2003, 04:50 AM

Well then I need to try this since my soulders are constantly hurting me to the point of distracting me from good bench presses. Now my triceps rock so this should be very interesting...

Freeman · 08-23-2003, 08:34 AM

Hey Ocean, you and I should track our benches now that we are both starting this new (and correct) technique.

**Mudge** · 08-23-2003, 11:42 AM

I had to move to dumbells when I kept using the dead fish bench technique, I could not bench heavy without hurting my shoulders.

sabre81 · 08-23-2003, 02:19 PM

Quote:

ha please explain yourself.. a bit more barbell bench?? how wide? what was your routine like .. im dieing to get my bar bench up

well i used to do no barbell, now i usually do 1 barbell exercise every week, unlike before where i did it only every other week. And as for the wide grip, its pretty much wider than 'normal' is the best way to describe it. If you have ever watched the movie pumping iron with arnold, you can see him and most other guys doing incredebly wide gripped bench. My routine that netted the most gain for me was:

Flat bench Barbell- 3 sets / reps- 8-6-4
Incline Dumbbell- 3 sets / reps- 8-6-4
Weighted dips- 2 sets / reps 6-8/3-4
Flat bench flys or cable flys(standing up)- 3 sets / 8-6-4

heavyweight1987 · 08-24-2003, 08:38 PM

well when i started lifting in 9th grade i only benched 175 my first max on bench then up to 215 now im at 265 still rasing fast..

08-20-2003, 03:52 PM	#1
TapRackBang Registered User Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: U.S.A. Posts: 62	Any "Weak Chest" success stories out there? I just started lifting four weeks ago for the first time since high school (mostly worked on legs then-nothing serious). I'm 33 years old now. Chest has always been my weak spot (and I know a month of lifting is practically nothing), but I thought I would have been able to increase my bench fairly quickly at first. I've had no problem slapping 20 extra lbs. a week on my squats and deadlifts (maybe I started too low), but I haven't seen that kind of improvement with my upper body. I guess I'm looking for some motivation. Has anyone here started with a weakling chest and turned it into a strength? TapRackBang
	Age 33 Height 6'4" Weight 192 lbs Body Fat 13.6

08-20-2003, 04:49 PM	#2
jadakris31 jersey's here Join Date: May 2003 Location: nj Posts: 390 Photos: 1	i dont know if im a sucess story, yet.. id like to think.. i was always a very skinny kid, then i went to college.. and still skinny, but fat now too ... arms shoulders legs back all very thin and skinny, but i had a nice gut... it was nice.. but i knew i had to work on it.. ive been lifting for about 2 years now.. when i started i could only do 135 about 3 times maybe 4 if i remember right .. now i can do 165 about 5 times and i know i have a bad bench for how big i am .. i can 70 lb dumbells, which i like alot more, about 5 or 6 times now.. which is a big improvment.. the rest of my body has improved so much more in mass and stregth, my chest in mass but not that greatest gains in stregth. the weird thing is i never really changed my weight so much .. when i went into college i weighed i think 165 .. then i gained 15 pounds in the first semester up to 185 .. all beer and doing nothing ( i played soccer alot, used to) then when i lifted and played basketball all day i was down to like 160 now back to 170 and its hard for me to get past this .. im 6' 170 - 172 right now..
	somehow trying to get the abs but bulk at the same time.......

08-20-2003, 07:08 PM	#3
OceanDude Well Read Elite Member Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Cape Canaveral, FL Posts: 1,853	Jad & tap, I have had similar problems with chest. I have amazing strength increases in everything else that is way high for my size and it amazes me. My chest looks pretty good too but it is just not that strong. I am thinking that it is mostly improper “technique” and incomplete muscle training that prevents me from being able to properly engage the pecs to anywhere near full capacity. I absolutely know that I am shoulder limited since I feel too much pressure there and the joints are getting sore and I back off early. Even when I flare my elbows way out and pull back my shoulder blades I just can’t seem to “feel” a lot of pressure in the chest. I only get some slight soreness in the chest on rare occcasions after a workout. I have gotten good gains on a percentage basis but I see old men doing much more than me and they are no where near as muscular as I am. I currently only feel comfortable doing 205 lbs as my working set weight since I train solo unspotted. I am going to take a week off soon and let my shoulders get a break and heal up. Then I am going back and really going to focus on this because it’s starting to piss me off big time. I will be happy to replace my new suit I just bought last week for $750 if I gain more inches in the chest – but my wife will kick my ass since it was her gift...
	"Doc, If I had known I was going to live this long I would have taken better care of myself..." Est unusquisque faber ipsae suae fortunae. We Americans scoff at the likes of African witch doctors yet spend 100's of millions of dollars on fake reducing systems. The only regular exercise he gets is stretching the truth. His intellect is not replenished, he is only an animal, only sensible in the duller parts...

08-20-2003, 08:56 PM	#4
jadakris31 jersey's here Join Date: May 2003 Location: nj Posts: 390 Photos: 1	haha, my chest gets sore, but i just cant get gains on bench -- i can get gains with OTHER things dealing with chest just not bar bench
	somehow trying to get the abs but bulk at the same time.......

08-20-2003, 09:56 PM	#6
jadakris31 jersey's here Join Date: May 2003 Location: nj Posts: 390 Photos: 1	ha please explain yourself.. a bit more barbell bench?? how wide? what was your routine like .. im dieing to get my bar bench up
	somehow trying to get the abs but bulk at the same time.......

08-20-2003, 09:08 PM	#5
sabre81 mmmm weights.. Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Western New York Posts: 386	i have always had a weak chest. i used to struggle with 55lb dumbbells last year. now i can do 90's about 5 -6 times. i also used to only max out at about 160 with a barbell. now i max out at about 205. Also, what really worked for me was doing 2 things. i started doing a bit more barbell bench, and used a wider grip.

08-20-2003, 11:58 PM	#7
johhs Registered User Join Date: Aug 2003 Posts: 9	im the same way, i always have good gains with my other muscles but i cant seem to do anything with my chest, whenever i do any flys or anything i feel like my arms get tired too soon to feel the workout in my chest, this is most likely from bad form but i have tried to change it before, id like to know about this chest pehnomenon as well
johhs Registered User Join Date: Aug 2003 Posts: 9

08-21-2003, 12:22 AM	#8
Mudge Pizza the Hut Super Moderator Join Date: Jun 2002 Posts: 23,053 Photos: 1	Start hitting your back (lats), triceps and delts harder perhaps.
	Kinesiology Vote @ Top 25 Deads Comp Bench Motivation Bench form MaxCalc Charles Poliquin When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be. Lao-Tzu I don't know any sources so don't ask - thanks

08-21-2003, 07:39 AM	#9
jadakris31 jersey's here Join Date: May 2003 Location: nj Posts: 390 Photos: 1	my lats seem to be good .. my triceps are strong and i hit my delts real hard... especially front and lateral heads with presses WG upright rows and dumbell laterals... if anything shoulders and triceps are my two best muscles.. thats add to my querie about my bad bench.. boo
	somehow trying to get the abs but bulk at the same time.......

08-21-2003, 09:38 AM	#10
OceanDude Well Read Elite Member Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Cape Canaveral, FL Posts: 1,853	same with me - my tricpes are very strong as is my back. Now my deltoids although strong and well developed do always seem to be tired. And I think this is the problem. Somehow I am overtraining them and it is limiting my chest workouts.
	"Doc, If I had known I was going to live this long I would have taken better care of myself..." Est unusquisque faber ipsae suae fortunae. We Americans scoff at the likes of African witch doctors yet spend 100's of millions of dollars on fake reducing systems. The only regular exercise he gets is stretching the truth. His intellect is not replenished, he is only an animal, only sensible in the duller parts...

08-21-2003, 09:45 AM	#11
Josh Registered User Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Indonesia Posts: 337	My chest development was also near to none before, until I was told to revise my technique (use DBs, raise the chest when pushing while pulling back shoulder blades). After I get the hang of the technique I was able to slowly improve my chest. Although now there is still much much room for improvement, I have to say that using the proper technique has given improvement to my chest. - Josh

08-21-2003, 12:25 PM	#12
TapRackBang Registered User Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: U.S.A. Posts: 62	I'm starting to think a lot of my problem is due to my weak back, delts, and triceps. Triceps especially are a weak area for me as well. I'm working on all those areas. One of the problems I have is that most of the chest lifts I do seem to work my arms more than my chest (dips seem that way too). I don't have access to dumbells right now, so I think I need to buy some dbs and focus on those rather than barbell benching. TapRackBang
	Age 33 Height 6'4" Weight 192 lbs Body Fat 13.6

08-21-2003, 06:10 PM	#15
Jim1954 Registered User Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Texas Posts: 149 Photos: 3	A lot of this stuff seems to be genetic, my triceps and chest have always been easy to build, might try doing dips. I only weigh 148 lbs 5' 8" and can do ten reps with 50 lbs, and seem to be able to add more weight every week. Wish my biceps would respond like this, they only improve very slowly. My arms are mostly triceps!
	Half the lies they tell about me aren't true. Yogi Berra

08-22-2003, 08:38 AM	#17
bludevil To God be the Glory Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: WeightRoom Posts: 1,518 Photos: 25	I've also read and heard that the correct way to bench big is to roll shoulders back, keep elbows in (not flared out) and push chest outward. It certainly helped me when I started benching like this. Once I got used to the movement, I gained like 15lbs on my bench in 2weeks.

08-22-2003, 10:41 AM	#18
OceanDude Well Read Elite Member Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Cape Canaveral, FL Posts: 1,853	OK where is Mudge - I need this info. This could be a simple fix for me...
	"Doc, If I had known I was going to live this long I would have taken better care of myself..." Est unusquisque faber ipsae suae fortunae. We Americans scoff at the likes of African witch doctors yet spend 100's of millions of dollars on fake reducing systems. The only regular exercise he gets is stretching the truth. His intellect is not replenished, he is only an animal, only sensible in the duller parts...

08-22-2003, 07:21 PM	#19
Freeman Bearded Attacker Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Orlando, FL Posts: 2,648 Photos: 8	I tried it for the first time today. I must say, I felt weaker, but that can be contributed to two things. 1) it's a new movement, gotta get used to it. 2) I've always been using extra shoulders on bench, and they have become disporportionatly stronger than my chest (which is really weak). I did feel like it worked my chest better though..more of a stretch and pump in the movements..
	www.kingsburymusic.net

08-22-2003, 10:10 PM	#21
Freeman Bearded Attacker Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Orlando, FL Posts: 2,648 Photos: 8	will do Grudge
	www.kingsburymusic.net

08-22-2003, 10:24 PM	#22
Mudge Pizza the Hut Super Moderator Join Date: Jun 2002 Posts: 23,053 Photos: 1	Here is a pic of Flex Wheeler, look at the arch - you want this not only for the back (spine) but it helps keep pressure on the shoulder blades keeping them together. This is also why you are supposed to try to "push" yourself into the bench, lean into your neck/traps/shoulder blades a bit. Just takes awhile to get used to the movement, if I lay flat on the bench it: 1) Hurts my back 2) Never bench as much

08-23-2003, 04:50 AM	#23
OceanDude Well Read Elite Member Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Cape Canaveral, FL Posts: 1,853	Well then I need to try this since my soulders are constantly hurting me to the point of distracting me from good bench presses. Now my triceps rock so this should be very interesting...
	"Doc, If I had known I was going to live this long I would have taken better care of myself..." Est unusquisque faber ipsae suae fortunae. We Americans scoff at the likes of African witch doctors yet spend 100's of millions of dollars on fake reducing systems. The only regular exercise he gets is stretching the truth. His intellect is not replenished, he is only an animal, only sensible in the duller parts...

08-23-2003, 08:34 AM	#24
Freeman Bearded Attacker Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Orlando, FL Posts: 2,648 Photos: 8	Hey Ocean, you and I should track our benches now that we are both starting this new (and correct) technique.
	www.kingsburymusic.net

08-23-2003, 11:42 AM	#25
Mudge Pizza the Hut Super Moderator Join Date: Jun 2002 Posts: 23,053 Photos: 1	I had to move to dumbells when I kept using the dead fish bench technique, I could not bench heavy without hurting my shoulders.

08-24-2003, 08:38 PM	#27
heavyweight1987 Registered User Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: tennessee Posts: 127	well when i started lifting in 9th grade i only benched 175 my first max on bench then up to 215 now im at 265 still rasing fast..
	bench:275 squat:550+ split leg deadlift:500+ im 15 215 never takin any suppliments just now starting tho.

Thread Tools
Show Printable Version Email this Page
Display Modes
Linear Mode Switch to Hybrid Mode Switch to Threaded Mode