Thread: targeting upper chest

You can't target a specific area of the pectoral major. It's overall development is purely genetic.

good to know. i feel silly now

And so you should.



Dont worry, a lot of people ask similar questions. You'd look silly if you tried to argue the point, like some of them do.

Also remember that if you want to increase muscle definition then you should start focusing more on your diet and overall activity levels.

Originally Posted by Just because

good to know. i feel silly now

Don't feel bad, it's a topic every beginner asks.....it's been debated...

where is gopro hahaha

here this is a good read. Incline for upper chest?

Being able to "grow" a certain muscle (a muscle being a single force producing unit that contracts from origin to insertion) makes no sense at all. The body is a very efficient device and altering the proportion shape with training (by, for example, making the pectoralis major top heavy) would change the angle of pull and dramatically alter the natural biomechanical efficiency.

Also remember that these distinctions (upper, lower, and outer) have NO anatomical definition. They are what trainers will use to confuse people into thinking they have an answer to something that is probably complete bullshit. Maybe we can look further into this problem when we actually understand about the growth mechanism and it's response, but until then it simply makes more sense that you can't isolate a portion of a muscle.

Originally Posted by PreMier

where is gopro hahaha

here this is a good read. Incline for upper chest?

Have you seen him lately?
makes you think twice....

Originally Posted by min0 lee

Have you seen him lately?
makes you think twice....

I think gopro is a fantastic trainer, and SF in that thread did not articulate his "scientific" analysis well. However, there is nothing beside anecdotal evidence to suggest any of the "isolated" theory is reasonable. There are explanations for the "feel" of certain exercises being experienced in regions of a single muscle based on proprioceptive feedback mechanisms (muscle spindles, golgi tendon organ and such). This has nothing to do with growth in that region, however.

Originally Posted by PreMier

where is gopro hahaha

here this is a good read. Incline for upper chest?

I can't believe some of the shit I said in that thread, haha.

yea, looking back at some others I believed that you could target it ahh learing..

i appreciate all of the advice. i used to get on here all the time about a year or so back but pretty much forgot all the info that i learned then(to much weed ) just trying to refresh my memory a little. i think im on my way though. ive gone from 149lbs to 154lbs since july 28th and havent seem to gain much body fat at all. we will see though this weekend when i get it measured again

but i still wonder why majority of the ppl have poor genes? rather poor upper chest

Originally Posted by r00kie

but i still wonder why majority of the ppl have poor genes? rather poor upper chest

I really don't think they do. I think that a lot of people just have distorted perceptions of what your upper chest is supposed to look like because of the bodybuilding freaks who people visualize when thinking of good looking physiques.

Originally Posted by Just because

im having a real bitch of a time getting the upper part of my chest to develop. it seems like the rest of my pecs are getting bigger but there is not much definition in the upper region. what can i do other than incline presses to target this part of my chest?

As everyone just stated, you cannot isolate any particular region of a muscle per se. That said, you probably won't be able to stimulate the entire chest using only one exercise. Since your upper pectorals are lagging, I would suggest using inclines flyes or flat flyes after a chest pressing movement to activate those dormant fibers.