# Chest just won't get stronger.



## vtec_yo (Nov 30, 2011)

As title, I've made continuous good strength gains so far in every body part except my chest which has reached a definate plateau. Any suggestions?

Currently do chest and tris and for chest I do:

Incline db 3 x 8-10

Flat db 3 x 8-10

Cable Flys 2 x 8-10 or 2 x 15-20.

Thanks


----------



## tony10 (Oct 15, 2009)

how long you been training?

try this. http://www.muscleandstrength.com/workouts/28-plateau-busting-chest-workout.html


----------



## Guest (Feb 29, 2012)

Try doing dips, decline bar and db fly's


----------



## vtec_yo (Nov 30, 2011)

Dips ****ed up my rotator cuff [supra spinatus] tendon before xmas so I'm a bit wary of them.

Heard mixed reviews of decline but will give it a go cheers.

Training "properly" for about 9 months. Before that I had a year off after rowing for a year with uni - very cardio intense, little - no weight training.

Chest has always been my weakest area. Not looking at AAS because I haven't been training long enough to "need" them.


----------



## xpower (Jul 28, 2009)

Decline BB warmup then 2x10-12

Flat DB 2x10-12

Incline fly 2x10-12

Also do you do tris first or second?


----------



## vtec_yo (Nov 30, 2011)

Always second.

Why 2 sets out of curiosity? Pack on the weight not the reps?


----------



## xpower (Jul 28, 2009)

vtec_yo said:


> Always second.
> 
> Why 2 sets out of curiosity? Pack on the weight not the reps?


 Just a different approach.

Short rests (30secs to a minute max)

Do chest first so the tris aint fried when pressing.

I also prefer to do

chest/bis

back/tris

so they muscle groups get hit directly & indirectly on different days


----------



## vtec_yo (Nov 30, 2011)

May try that split starting next week then as I've done chest / tris Monday already. I meant I do chest first too.

Cheers for the advice, I'll try chest / bis and back / tris for a month and see what happens.


----------



## kev1 (Nov 11, 2010)

forget decline, incline bb and db, flat press (alternate db,bb weekly) flat db flys! worked for over 20 people i've trained and dont be afraid of dropping to 5-6 reps for strength.

also after first exercise incline bb doing a warm up four working sets go straight into incline db at your heaviest for 6-8 reps same with flat after


----------



## eezy1 (Dec 14, 2010)

try starting off with flies to pre-exhaust then hit ur press


----------



## vtec_yo (Nov 30, 2011)

Cheers lads. Chest workout tomorrow so I'll put something together from the above and see how it goes. Will also be doing biceps as I did triceps on Monday with back as suggested in here somewhere.


----------



## Ash78 (Jul 11, 2011)

Drop the reps and increase the weight for a while to work on your strength. Aiming for 5 reps in a good place to start.


----------



## Ukmeathead (Dec 4, 2010)

My chest is the same but mines pretty strong just not big lol, Mine started growing when i started hitting 16sets on my chest 4 sets per exercise between 6-8 reps.


----------



## MattGriff (Aug 21, 2012)

kev1 said:


> forget decline, incline bb and db, flat press (alternate db,bb weekly) flat db flys! worked for over 20 people i've trained and dont be afraid of dropping to 5-6 reps for strength.
> 
> also after first exercise incline bb doing a warm up four working sets go straight into incline db at your heaviest for 6-8 reps same with flat after


----------



## 1Tonne (Jun 6, 2010)

Ummm...

Just gonna go out on a limb here...maybe bench properly?

Squeeze Lara together , pin shoulders back and down, arch chest upwards.

Focus on moving weight by contracting chest, not by pushing arms up.

Type of workout rarely matters. Progressive overload and hitting target muscle properly will bring strength gains.

It's personally for me on of the hardest to mind muscle connect as so many muscles are able to help shift the load.

Drop ego, drop weight and be sure it's chest doing the work.


----------



## 1Tonne (Jun 6, 2010)

Lats** not Lara ****ing iPhone automatic text change ****


----------



## vtec_yo (Nov 30, 2011)

^ Very useful (apart from the drop ego part? :/)

Thanks though! Defo worth a look.


----------



## C.Hill (Nov 21, 2010)

kev1 said:


> forget decline, incline bb and db, flat press (alternate db,bb weekly) flat db flys! worked for over 20 people i've trained and dont be afraid of dropping to 5-6 reps for strength.
> 
> also after first exercise incline bb doing a warm up four working sets go straight into incline db at your heaviest for 6-8 reps same with flat after


Why not decline?


----------



## powerhousepeter (Dec 4, 2010)

If its general strength for benching I'd recommend close grip bench and rack lock outs really helped me, and also focus on getting stronger on your traps and upper back, back comes in to play alot on the bottom part or a bench press


----------



## powerhousepeter (Dec 4, 2010)

Flat db press is very good also, as far as decline goes it wrecks my shoulders and I dont get any shoulder pain unless I do it so I stay awey from it


----------



## vtec_yo (Nov 30, 2011)

Just a small update on this, I do db press as the only other thing available are barbells that aren't heavy enough, and a smith machine which doesn't help your balance control so I tend to not bother unless it's close grip for triceps.

Picked up heavier dbs than I've ever done last night (still pathetically light) and managed 3 sets of 8 on both flat and incline. Struggled on the last ones but still got it all the way up (giggidy) apart from the very last set where I was ****ed. So maybe it's been more of a mental barrier than physical? Going to go 2kg a side heavier next week too. Aiming for 3 x 6, may go even heavier and go 2x6-8 as suggested earlier in the thread.

Also got a pb on EZ bar curls close and wide. Good session all in all last night! Had a steak for dinner too.

I was also so focussed when I lurched backwards and set the weights up I let out a massive fart. My headphones were in so I was not aware of the volume. But it felt of epic volume.


----------



## simmo31 (Feb 23, 2012)

vtec_yo said:


> I was also so focussed when I lurched backwards and set the weights up I let out a massive fart. My headphones were in so I was not aware of the volume. But it felt of epic volume.


I normally do this when i do abs, always makes me smile!


----------



## xkrdan (Aug 1, 2011)

iv recently changed to fst 7 mate and im getting quite stronger (on my 3rd week) and im on a cut!


----------



## kev1 (Nov 11, 2010)

decline is such a short movement! hardly use any pec, cable crossover or dips are alot better to hitt lower


----------



## rick63 (Mar 18, 2012)

what i done and it helped me get by the sticking point is.

warmup with flat benching nothing heavy just enough to get your chest and tri's moving then

incline benching 4 sets of 6

flat benching 4 sets of 6

incline flyes 4 sets of 8 to 10 reps

finish off with cable crossovers 2 sets of 15 for shaping the chest

try to take a 45 sec to a min rest between sets

i done that for 2 month then went back to my normal routine and it helped me ( might help you )


----------



## phoenixlaw (Mar 5, 2012)

Bench press, dips, bench press, dips, bench press, dips, bench press, dips, bench press, dips, bench press, dips......and one for luck bench press, dips.


----------



## vtec_yo (Nov 30, 2011)

Sorry to bump an old thread but once again I've hit a pathetic plateau. Despite having good (well, proportionately) size and shape, I just can't put the weight up from a pathetic pair of db's. Tried everything mentioned in this thread apart from bench as my ****ing gym doesn't have one other than a smith machine.

Any dramatic changes? Or just stick at it and really focus on the form?


----------



## PaulB (Jun 6, 2010)

vtec_yo said:


> Sorry to bump an old thread but once again I've hit a pathetic plateau. Despite having good (well, proportionately) size and shape, I just can't put the weight up from a pathetic pair of db's. Tried everything mentioned in this thread apart from bench as my ****ing gym doesn't have one other than a smith machine.
> 
> Any dramatic changes? Or just stick at it and really focus on the form?


Diet? Are you eating enough to support gains.

Strength training. Do some lower rep, higher weight routines for a few weeks then go back to higher rep ranges.

Change gym. Find one that will have the equipment you need.


----------



## Dbol_dan (Sep 25, 2011)

Give this a go you can do it barbell or smith machine. This was in a magazine years ago and do it a fair bit. 6 sets (1st is a warm up) - 12,4,2,10,8,25. So warm up, heavy set for 4 reps, heavier set for 2. Then do your 10,8 as you normally would. Last set is just to knacker u out. Shud see an improvement after a few weeks


----------



## vtec_yo (Nov 30, 2011)

ANGLIK said:


> Diet? Are you eating enough to support gains.
> 
> Strength training. Do some lower rep, higher weight routines for a few weeks then go back to higher rep ranges.
> 
> Change gym. Find one that will have the equipment you need.


That's a good point. I'm not really too sure. I'm currently about 230lbs getting (at a guess) about 300g protein per day. I've been on holiday for a week so that's been right down. No booze though.



Dbol_dan said:


> Give this a go you can do it barbell or smith machine. This was in a magazine years ago and do it a fair bit. 6 sets (1st is a warm up) - 12,4,2,10,8,25. So warm up, heavy set for 4 reps, heavier set for 2. Then do your 10,8 as you normally would. Last set is just to knacker u out. Shud see an improvement after a few weeks


That sounds interesting. Have you tried it?


----------



## Fatstuff (Mar 2, 2010)

Dumbbells IMO are harder to increase as it's always a big jump, barbell you can keep on adding small increments - also as mentioned food!! 300g protein at a guess?!! What about carbs? Overall cals??


----------



## Guest (Jun 21, 2012)

kev1 said:


> *decline is such a short movement! hardly use any pec*, cable crossover or dips are alot better to hitt lower


I spat my brew out reading that, comedy!


----------



## MattGriff (Aug 21, 2012)

kev1 said:


> decline is such a short movement! hardly use any pec, cable crossover or dips are alot better to hitt lower


----------



## deeppurple (Mar 13, 2010)

if you are ever up kent mate msg me, ill show you some methods to make your chest strength jump leaps and bounds. i plateud on bench or however you spell it as a measly 100kg....i suffer from weak arm strength. i got shown a method from a reputable strongman and it just went up 2.5kg weekly . i cant wait to get back training properly again


----------



## antbig1234 (Nov 27, 2011)

i do 5x5 dips ,5x5 bench ,and 5x5 flys all with the most weight i can manage ,my strenght gains are just constant with this ,


----------



## Guest (Jun 21, 2012)

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/dorian-yates-blood-guts-1.htm

1:45 in - What does a 6 time Mr Olympia know?? I know who id be listening to anyway


----------



## Dbol_dan (Sep 25, 2011)

vtec_yo said:


> That's a good point. I'm not really too sure. I'm currently about 230lbs getting (at a guess) about 300g protein per day. I've been on holiday for a week so that's been right down. No booze though.
> 
> That sounds interesting. Have you tried it?


Yea I do it for about 4 weeks a few times a year. Worked well when I trained naturally but worked even better on aas


----------



## powerhousepeter (Dec 4, 2010)

Work your tris harder, close grip bench is important, and although it might sound silly work your upper back harder, you'll be Suprised


----------



## pooky (Jun 20, 2012)

dips and decline with out a doubt


----------



## vtec_yo (Nov 30, 2011)

Any way to avoid ****ing my shoulder up again on dips? Or any ideas of any common bad form habits that may cause this?

I assume the old lean forward is good, but very wary of doing my shoulder again. I could start out assisted just to perfect form if someone would give me some pointers please


----------



## Mingster (Mar 25, 2011)

You don't need to lean forward doing dips, just have your feet out in front of you like this....


----------



## pooky (Jun 20, 2012)

i personally found that negative dips built my strength up a lot. definatly bent over into almost a press up.

i tend to do a set to warm up as normal. up n down as usual for about 20 reps to get the blood flowing then do 10 reps with 20kg and then as many as i can manage with out losing good form with 40kg. then i do 3 sets of 10 negative dips. walk up the steps if need be (if there are any), then drop slowly for 10 seconds. at 1st i found that there was a 2"-3" weak spot as i went down so that was the area i concentrated on strengthening. once i had no weak spot on the negative (took at least a month) i found my chest strength increasing. i believe that this exercise is key to me building up a good shaped and strong chest.

dont take this as gospel or the usual done thing, its just something i worked out myself and it 100% worked for ME.


----------



## vtec_yo (Nov 30, 2011)

Alright all.

Just thought I'd update this a bit. Hit a big milestone for me last night (all you big boys will probably fall about laughing) but I managed 30kg dbs each side for 3 sets on flat db press for 10-8-8. My mate spotted me a little bit on the last rep of each but I was really chuffed with it.

Couldn't do dips unfortunately as a group of about 7 JLS wannabes were on the bars for the entire time we were there (an hour).

I also did decline bb press (45kg is the heaviest we have at the gym) for 3 sets of 12 which was ok. Followed by incline flyes @ 12kg.

I actually think this may be in my mind a bit, baring in mind before holiday I was on 26kg a side, come back after 2 weeks sinse last chest session and do 30kg a side.... weird. But pleased anyway! Sore today though....

You gotta start somewhere!


----------



## LukeV (Jul 28, 2010)

Do you train it once a week?


----------



## vtec_yo (Nov 30, 2011)

I do indeed. Followed by biceps.


----------



## LukeV (Jul 28, 2010)

You ever tried training it twice a week? I used to always train everything once per week and I switched to an upper lower split ages ago for a change and it worked much better, for me anyway. Quite a few people get on good with lyle mc donalds bulking routine.

http://jcdfitness.com/2009/01/lyle-mcdonalds-bulking-routine/

Or if you prefer more volume this is good, im doing this at the minute.

http://www.jefit.com/routines/workout-routine-database.php?id=2953


----------



## vtec_yo (Nov 30, 2011)

Both look good mate will do some reading, cheers!


----------



## kev1 (Nov 11, 2010)

regarding daves and matts coments!

look at dorian now off the gear!! when your on gear everything grows ! naturally, decline waste of time! if you've got a natural world record in bench press, 54" chest and 13 years of training like myself to back this up then i might listen but i know you havent so im the one laughing! keep wasting your time declining girls!


----------



## bry1990 (Jun 16, 2010)

warm up your rotator cuffs etc before shoulder and chest workout, will help rehabilitate your shoulder pain a bit possibly and strengthen the stabilising muscles.

as for decline, i always do that for the first exercise. has helped my strength increase a lot.


----------



## Guest (Jul 1, 2012)

kev1 said:


> regarding daves and matts coments!
> 
> look at dorian now off the gear!! when your on gear everything grows ! naturally, decline waste of time! if you've got a natural world record in bench press, 54" chest and 13 years of training like myself to back this up then i might listen but i know you havent so im the one laughing! keep wasting your time declining girls!


55" chest, no bench record tho as I dont do strongman or even compete.

Would love to see your world record!


----------



## pooky (Jun 20, 2012)

if decline works for u mate u do it. it DEFINATELY worked for me. unfortunately we cant all be as amazing as kev the hero but we do try. decline works tho


----------



## C.Hill (Nov 21, 2010)

kev1 said:


> regarding daves and matts coments!
> 
> look at dorian now off the gear!! when your on gear everything grows ! naturally, decline waste of time! if you've got a natural world record in bench press, 54" chest and 13 years of training like myself to back this up then i might listen but i know you havent so im the one laughing! keep wasting your time declining girls!


Very narrow minded of you mate to completely dismiss decline, I haven't got a 54" chest, world record and a big head but I can 100% tell you its very effective at building the chest up, when was the last time you tried it? Might be surprised.


----------



## kev1 (Nov 11, 2010)

Bdfpa is the association I used to lift for.

Not going down this route of arguing as I know what works not a hero nor narrow minded just giving the chap an honest opinion which gets results.


----------



## pooky (Jun 20, 2012)

kev1 said:


> Bdfpa is the association I used to lift for.
> 
> Not going down this route of arguing as I know what works not a hero nor narrow minded just giving the chap an honest opinion which gets results.


iam giving my honest opinion which i KNOW also works as i bench 160kg and iam only 80kg. i put it down to dips (done properly) and decline! decline brings so much more of ur chest into action compared to flat and incline.

nobody wants to argue, we just want to give helpful info to the chap that posted this thread but iam sure u can see where people wud be coming from when they say narrow minded or arrogant when u post some thing like that.


----------

