# Lagging chest. Flyes needed?



## james90 (Oct 7, 2010)

I want to improve my chest as i feel its one of my weak parts. My routine for the past 3 months has been the following:

4x8 flat dumbbell press

4x8 incline dumbbell press

4x10 dips

I feel it has seen some gains but seems to be quite slow progress. I havent done flyes for almost a year now as i read they are not needed to put on mass. However i have seen others who swear by them, thinking of sticking to my same routine as above with 3 sets of flyes added at the end.

Should that be a good enough routine to put on some size? Any tips or advice would be great


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## Tbone (Jul 16, 2015)

Need some heavy decline barbell bench and weighted dips I have same problem my shoulders overpower my chest so u got to really have mind muscle connection.go as heavy as u can without bad form.atleast 8 reps but I swear by weighted dips make your bench press go up therefore making u able to push heavier weight and heavier weight more mass


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## Omen669 (Jun 11, 2015)

You can try adding in flyes, and a higher rep range. Work up to 12 in all your lifts, add more weight, so you are doing 8ish good reps and work up to 12 again. And repeat.


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## Frandeman (Mar 24, 2014)

Cable crossovers???
Low or high


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## The-Real-Deal (Dec 5, 2014)

Fk fly's get some heavy declines, incline and flat BB presses done... Sets of 8 - 12 when you want some definition fly away......


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## Big ape (May 5, 2011)

Lol 3 sets of fly at the end of your workout are not gonna help a lagging chest , lift heavy compound movements and progress with weight and reps.


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## Dark sim (May 18, 2013)

To progress a body part in size you need to be a surplus of calories, how else will it grow?

Usually anything lagging needs more work, so train it twice a week. But flyes will not make much difference, just make sure your pressing is heavy and that should be enough for chest growth.


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## Theseus (Feb 27, 2014)

james90 said:


> I want to improve my chest as i feel its one of my weak parts. My routine for the past 3 months has been the following:
> 
> 4x8 flat dumbbell press
> 
> ...


when mass is needed, increase the weight and volume of your bench press is more likely to get you what you want

flyers are good to isolate the upper and inner chest for definition and shaping....but when mass is not there, flyers won't do much. You are better to use the time in the gym to have more bench press than flyers....if you have the time and energy to do both...no harm..

hitting weak body part 2x a week will help too...


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## BoomTime (Feb 19, 2009)

james90 said:


> I want to improve my chest as i feel its one of my weak parts. My routine for the past 3 months has been the following:
> 
> 4x8 flat dumbbell press
> 
> ...


Try this

Cable crossovers 5 x 20

Incline dumbell press 4 x 12

Weighted dips or flat dumbell press4 x 12

Incline pec fly 4 x 12

Decline dumbell press 4 x 12

3 x weighted push ups to fail

Cable cross overs 3 x dropset to fail


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## The-Real-Deal (Dec 5, 2014)

> when mass is needed, increase the weight and volume of your bench press is more likely to get you what you want
> 
> flyers are good to isolate the upper and inner chest for definition and shaping....but when mass is not there, flyers won't do much. You are better to use the time in the gym to have more bench press than flyers....if you have the time and energy to do both...no harm..
> 
> hitting weak body part 2x a week will help too...


No such thing as inner chest isolation......Bollix.....


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## Theseus (Feb 27, 2014)

Natty Steve'o said:


> No such thing as inner chest isolation......Bollix.....


to that I actually agree, I apologise for my mistake...poor sense of word, you can't really isolate the inner chest fibres, that is true..you can't contract the inner fibres without the activating the whole pecs

flyers do help you to squeeze a bit harder, when arms are in close proximity...you will get more exercise of the medial fibres instead of the lateral...same things go to incline, as a mean to focus more on the upper chest


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## BoomTime (Feb 19, 2009)

Theseus said:


> to that I actually agree, I apologise for my mistake...poor sense of word, you can't really isolate the inner chest fibres, that is true..you can't contract the inner fibres without the activating the whole pecs
> 
> flyers do help you to squeeze a bit harder, when arms are in close proximity...you will get more exercise of the medial fibres instead of the lateral...same things go to incline, as a mean to focus more on the upper chest


Wrong and right there. You cant isolate the middle of the chest due to the fact there is a lower pec and an upper pec, that said, you can however *target *the muscle *fibers* in the middle of the chest more with some exercises.


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## The-Real-Deal (Dec 5, 2014)

It all comes down to where/what area you put the tension. Declines involve all of the pec. It is the natural function of the pec to bring the humerus down and across the body. Inclines obviously puts the most tension across the top of the chest activating front delts at the same time. Flat across the middle of the pec. The further away from directly beneath the bar both upwards and downward on the pec the tension dissipates. If you were to draw a line where the bar sits on the chest, this line is where the tension in the muscle is at its highest down through a vertical line to the ground. Force of gravity. Shifting the angle of the exercise shifts this line through the muscle. The pec is quite a big slab of meat, this is why hitting it @ different angles works.


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## james90 (Oct 7, 2010)

Going to start hitting them twice a week, should help to bring it out a bit more.

After doing some research have come across dumbbell pullovers, anyone do these? Whats peoples thoughts on them is it worth giving them a try or stick to what im doing.


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## Dark sim (May 18, 2013)

james90 said:


> Going to start hitting them twice a week, should help to bring it out a bit more.
> 
> After doing some research have come across dumbbell pullovers, anyone do these? Whats peoples thoughts on them is it worth giving them a try or stick to what im doing.


It wont hurt, but focus on pressing movements, as heavy as you can, with good form so you can feel the muscle. Dont just move the weight.


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## ZUKOSAURUS (Nov 23, 2014)

I'm seeing such good progress in my chest + arms atm which I do twice a week.

Workout looks exactly like this, in this order.

Incline DB Press 3 x 8-12

Hammer Stength Chest 3 x 8-12

Close Grip Bench 4 x 6-10

EZ Bar Curls

Incline Curls

Rope Pushdowns

Tricep Kickbacks

Then I finish off on BB bench 2-3 sets to fail at around 8 reps... The progress seems to be great after I added this last set.

So try pre-exhausting your chest with flies, high rep DB press's etc before hitting the bench.


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## PaulB (Jun 6, 2010)

A lot of people have said up the weight. That may not be the problem though, your form might be a little off which is stopping you working your chest properly. Instead of just moving the weight from A to B try and concentrate on the target muscle. Squeeze and feel the contraction. Have a look at scapula retraction which will help you hit the muscle better. Change your rep ranges as well. As mentioned, work your way from 8 to 12 reps then up the weight.


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## John. (Jun 24, 2013)

Dark sim said:


> To progress a body part in size you need to be a surplus of calories, how else will it grow?
> 
> Usually anything lagging needs more work, so train it twice a week. But flyes will not make much difference, just make sure your pressing is heavy and that should be enough for chest growth.


This.



Big ape said:


> Lol 3 sets of fly at the end of your workout are not gonna help a lagging chest , lift heavy compound movements and progress with weight and reps.


And this.


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## will69176 (Jul 16, 2012)

james90 said:


> I want to improve my chest as i feel its one of my weak parts. My routine for the past 3 months has been the following:
> 
> 4x8 flat dumbbell press
> 
> ...


I used to feel like my chest was a weak part, doing much the same as you are doing. Now I iam for 15 reps on all chest exercises, has made quite a bit of difference to me.

it may also be worth checking your form because there are a lot of other muscles that can take over with chest exercises.


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## HornyGoat (Jun 26, 2015)

I would say 3 months probably isn't enough time to see some chest gains. And unless you have pictures it's pretty hard to tell.


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## Kristina (Apr 12, 2014)

Try pre-exhausting your shoulders if you think there's a chance you're having trouble recruiting the chest (IF you feel that perhaps shoulders perhaps take over, so to speak) - just a suggestion as I see this as a common culprit.

Other things to consider is to use dumbbells for chest press work and focus on recruiting and contracting properly. Try also pronating your hands at the top of the lift where you squeeze the chest (or think about twisting your dumbbells 'outwards' as you bring your hands together at the top).

Cables are beneficial in keeping tension on the chest (where things like dumbbells and barbell tends to have a limitation at the top and bottom end of the lift, where a person tends to 'relax' or take tension off the muscle without even realising). So, potentially incorporating cable work could be of benefit BUT don't let this become the bread-and-butter of your training, in my opinion.


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## james90 (Oct 7, 2010)

Steady progress over last month jus thought id ask something however..

Imvnoticing my lower chest becoming a lot more fuller compared to my upper and i think its the dips working well, im doing incline dumbbells 4 sets but struggling to hit some upper mass anyone have any tips or advice? Is there any other exercises i can do to target upper?


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## andyboro (Oct 1, 2006)

Lagging chest/overpowering delts probably = poor form IMO.

or at least it did for me.


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## james90 (Oct 7, 2010)

Hmm i will try and focus on the reps more tonight and try feel it more in upper chest.


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## lew007 (Nov 7, 2003)

Could be down to genetics, you have noticed an improvement in a short time which is great. Keep at it and if it's still not improving then shift focus away from lower pecs and onto more inclines, you can try differing angles on the benches too, I found a mix of inclines all gave a slightly different feel


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## Adam_M89 (Aug 20, 2015)

For me coming back from a recent rotator cuff injury, I wanted to get my chest back up as quick as possible..

I found overloading on a smith machine, meant I could pile on weight really quick and max out every session without as much risk, did that for about a month now back on flat barbell lifting properly again at decent weight!


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## james90 (Oct 7, 2010)

Been going well last few months however i feel that im struggling to see some mass in my upper chest. I think i might not be going high enough on the incline press but thats only because i thought it would do to much shoulders.

I set the incline higher during todays workout and felt it a lot better in upper chest, just wondering if it is set to high now? Ill upload a pic of how i had it today..


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## james90 (Oct 7, 2010)




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