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Upper chest exercises

post #1 of 65
5/31/07 at 12:04pm
Thread Starter 
In the several months since I've started lifting weights, I've seen no noticeable upper chest development. Is there an exercise I can do to target this specific area, or even just the chest in general? Preferably one where I can't compensate for chest with arms/shoulders. Before anybody mentions it, I do plenty of bench press (and have seen significant tricep gains).
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post #2 of 65
5/31/07 at 12:27pm
Incline dumbbell presses work for me.
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post #3 of 65
5/31/07 at 1:46pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by dusty View Post
(and have seen significant tricep gains).

Perhaps, you use your tricept to push the weights. You need to isolate your chest to push the weights otherwise you are just doing the arm work out.

I got the following tips from old Muscle and Fitness mag by Dorian Yates, 6 time Mr. Olympia, when you do bench you push the wieghts with open palm. This breaks isolation of using arm muscle. I been using this technique ever since and my chest growth is pretty good.

Also, you need to push heavy wiehgts if you want to see any type of growth. Also, I am not big fan of bodybuilding supplements, but to see rapid growth, you need to take those shit, otherwise your result is not going to be that impressive.
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post #4 of 65
5/31/07 at 6:04pm
Alternate narrow and wide grip bench press, dips, and do some incline and decline bench presses. Also, what kind of weight are you lifting?
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post #5 of 65
5/31/07 at 6:45pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by dusty View Post
In the several months since I've started lifting weights, I've seen no noticeable upper chest development. Is there an exercise I can do to target this specific area, or even just the chest in general? Preferably one where I can't compensate for chest with arms/shoulders. Before anybody mentions it, I do plenty of bench press (and have seen significant tricep gains).

everyone's muscles grow different and respond differently. you'll just need to experiement to see what types of exercises work best for you. you may even discover that your chest strength may increase substantially before you have any visual gains. a lot of that just has to do with genetics.

btw, how are you doing your bench presses? i'm a proponent for allowing the bar to gently touch the chest (no bounching of course). i've heard arguments for the other postures but almost all pro's from powerlifters to bodybuilders advocate the full range of motion.
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post #6 of 65
5/31/07 at 6:57pm
I lie back, then lift 25 pound weights, touching them together. Down slowly, and again. My reps vary, depending on how I feel. Also, I like to stand, bend over with my back parallel to the ceiling, then take the same weights and lift them outward to the side, then back toward center.

Push ups are a great upper chest exercise, too.
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post #7 of 65
6/1/07 at 1:34am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by drizzt3117 View Post
Alternate narrow and wide grip bench press, dips, and do some incline and decline bench presses. Also, what kind of weight are you lifting?

I have been working out with 110, one rep max is probably like 135. Crummy I know, but I haven't been doing it that long and I am hell of ectomorph.

Quote:
Originally Posted by MilanoStyle View Post
Perhaps, you use your tricept to push the weights. You need to isolate your chest to push the weights otherwise you are just doing the arm work out.

I got the following tips from old Muscle and Fitness mag by Dorian Yates, 6 time Mr. Olympia, when you do bench you push the wieghts with open palm. This breaks isolation of using arm muscle. I been using this technique ever since and my chest growth is pretty good.

Also, you need to push heavy wiehgts if you want to see any type of growth. Also, I am not big fan of bodybuilding supplements, but to see rapid growth, you need to take those shit, otherwise your result is not going to be that impressive.

I might try this open-palm thing, it sounds interesting. I have read elsewhere, however, that you should clench the bar to activate chest muscles. There is so much conflicting information out there about weight training.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Coulomb View Post
btw, how are you doing your bench presses? i'm a proponent for allowing the bar to gently touch the chest (no bounching of course). i've heard arguments for the other postures but almost all pro's from powerlifters to bodybuilders advocate the full range of motion.

I let it come all the way down. I've been using the method as outlined in this article.

So is there no exercise that targets the chest only? I've been under the assumption that the chest muscles are secondary muscles at best in a proper bench press.
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post #8 of 65
6/1/07 at 1:55am
you can do bench dumbell flies if you just want to work the pectoral's exclusively
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post #9 of 65
6/1/07 at 2:49am
Yeah, flies are going to hit the chest directly, but in my experience they do less pure muscle gain than the bench. Honestly, the reason why you aren't making much progress is because you aren't lifting enough weight. You will make significant gains in size once you're doing 10 reps at your body weight (which I imagine is more than 110)
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post #10 of 65
6/1/07 at 3:01am
^^ DB fly by itself would do very little, you'd be better off sticking to bench press, rotating between DB and barball, in various positions and utilizing different grips.

Why're you so focused on chest development anyway? If you just do the essential lifts(bench+dead+squat and may be pullups) w/ enough weight (different in each case) AND pay attention to nutrition, all-around gains are inevitable.
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post #11 of 65
6/1/07 at 11:37am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by drizzt3117 View Post
Yeah, flies are going to hit the chest directly, but in my experience they do less pure muscle gain than the bench. Honestly, the reason why you aren't making much progress is because you aren't lifting enough weight. You will make significant gains in size once you're doing 10 reps at your body weight (which I imagine is more than 110)

Uhh, I would if I could. I weight about 150.

Quote:
Originally Posted by whacked View Post
Why're you so focused on chest development anyway? If you just do the essential lifts(bench+dead+squat and may be pullups) w/ enough weight (different in each case) AND pay attention to nutrition, all-around gains are inevitable.

I'm not, really. What I'm doing is basically what you just described there, but after seeing no gains in the chest in particular, I wondered if there was another exercise I should be doing to target it specifically.
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post #12 of 65
6/1/07 at 11:57am
Quote:
Originally Posted by dusty View Post
Uhh, I would if I could. I weight about 150.



I'm not, really. What I'm doing is basically what you just described there, but after seeing no gains in the chest in particular, I wondered if there was another exercise I should be doing to target it specifically.

What is your workout, exactly? I recall you posting in the fall that you started working out on a regular basis. If you've been lifting for a 6-9 months you should be made sufficient gains to be benching at least close to your bw. What is your diet?
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post #13 of 65
6/1/07 at 12:05pm
Thread Starter 
Well it's only been about three months consecutively. I went all summer last year but then stopped once school started. I started again at the end of winter this year. I usually do bench, squats, bent-over rows, curls, and sometimes dips/pullups, plus 10-15 minutes of treadmill. I go three times a week.

Diet is not great. I eat 3-4 times a day, but that's about all that can be said for it. I have no idea how many calories/how much protein I'm taking in.
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post #14 of 65
6/1/07 at 12:29pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by dusty View Post
Diet is not great. I eat 3-4 times a day, but that's about all that can be said for it. I have no idea how many calories/how much protein I'm taking in.

Well you've likely found your problem. If you're an ectomorph, you need to be in constant caloric excess if you want to make gains in the gym and in chest development, and you probably want a balance of about 40% carb, 40% protein, 20% fat. Have you gained weight at all from lifting?
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post #15 of 65
6/1/07 at 5:21pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by dusty View Post
Well it's only been about three months consecutively. I went all summer last year but then stopped once school started. I started again at the end of winter this year. I usually do bench, squats, bent-over rows, curls, and sometimes dips/pullups, plus 10-15 minutes of treadmill. I go three times a week.

Diet is not great. I eat 3-4 times a day, but that's about all that can be said for it. I have no idea how many calories/how much protein I'm taking in.


i put on 10lbs over the winter and honestly i was eating so much i got sick of eating. figure out how many calories you're eating if you're (like in high school), then i think 3500 calories would be a good target to start with. make sure it's the right kind of calories as well
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