chest not growing at all

[HeartofaLion]

my workout routine is

incline BB/DB or Flat BB/DB
Dips or CGBP ( smith )
Hammer strength Incline
Flyes or pec-dec

my ten set rep numbers are
incline db- 80lbs
dips- bw +45lbs
HS Incline - 200lbs
pecdec- 150lbs
flyes- 35lbs

i do four exercises usually with 4 sets each except for the incline dumbell which is about 5 sets

i take in atleast 200g of protein a day if not more, sleep 6-8 hours a day consistently, and my carb intake is around 300g/day if not more

lmk if you need other stats. I train it once a day (monday) after a day or two off every week so.

[terman1]

Are you making regular gains, increasing either the amount of reps or the amount of weight lifted every week? If you're making regular gains then size should come along with strength eventually. If you're no longer making progress have you tried changing something up (reps, sets, order of exercises, etc.)? Maybe bench 2x a week for a few weeks and see if anything changes. Just some thoughts. Good luck.

[medjen]

How long have you been doing this without seeing results?

[HeartofaLion]

almost 3-4 months around the same weight roughly. i do change the order of the exercises every workout as to whether using bb or db, but ive always done incline first.

[Yodums]

What are your stats? Height and weight?

Few comments/questions:

1. I would remove hammer strength and replace it with flat bench press. Perhaps even consider throwing in decline there and reducing the amount of sets between incline/flat/decline to 2-3 sets each. Right now, if you do 4 sets per exercises * 5 exercises, that's 20 sets. A little too much, IMO.

2. Why is CGBP in there? Do you have a separate arms day? If you do, remove it and push it to arms day and always stick with chest dips.

3. Do you ever do flyes and pec-dec on the same day? Personally, I would choose just one of the two (probably flyes) and consider cables to work your inner chest.

4. Stick to either DB or BB. Right now, you've hit a wall and you need to be consistent with your exercises to see if it helps or is not helping. I personally use DBs because I have bad shoulders and I prefer the ROM of DBs.

5. Also consider that chest is a hard muscle to develop. On average, they aren't like arms where you will be seeing results immediately after a month. I didn't see results till a good 5-6 months in.

[smooth5161]

You've plateaued. Change up your routine and you'll bust through it.

[terman1]

almost 3-4 months around the same weight roughly. i do change the order of the exercises every workout as to whether using bb or db, but ive always done incline first.

Maybe it's time to consider some type of a change. If you're doing 4 sets of each exercise (lets assume 8-10 reps) for several months your body has likely become used to the work and you at a plateau. Maybe try something different for a few weeks like 6 sets of 4 with a slightly higher weight (just an example). Point being, once your body becomes used to the workout it may be time to rethink things a bit.

[HeartofaLion]

thanks everyone. i think im going to increase the weight and reduce the reps to 6-8 instead of 10 . i just assumed that it would be ideal for mass to use bb since i could use more weight on it instead.

does bb or db help more with mass gains? i can obviously lift about 20 pounds heavier with barbells than with dumbells.

[Birddog6424]

You've plateaued. Change up your routine and you'll bust through it.

^^ This

[rdrb]

Dumbbells are great for chest because you can use more muscle fibers and use a better ROM ! Also your problem is you aren't really that strong ! I would focus on flat movements like flat dumbbell bench and flat barbell bench before worrying about inclines ! You probably don't have enough chest mass to do incline.

[Yodums]

Dumbbells are great for chest because you can use more muscle fibers and use a better ROM ! Also your problem is you aren't really that strong ! I would focus on flat movements like flat dumbbell bench and flat barbell bench before worrying about inclines ! You probably don't have enough chest mass to do incline.

There's no minimum mass requirement to do incline or any other chest-related exercises. He is pushing 80 lbs on the incline right now, so he definitely isn't just starting out and is relatively strong. Only thing we can't determine is his form... But I would not disregard incline. Infact, once you choose between BB or DB, alternate your first exercise on chest day. So, first chest session, start with flat, next session, start with incline, then alternate back and forth.

[II Cybershot II]

do chest 2x a week. that is all.

[rdrb]

There's no minimum mass requirement to do incline or any other chest-related exercises. He is pushing 80 lbs on the incline right now, so he definitely isn't just starting out and is relatively strong. Only thing we can't determine is his form... But I would not disregard incline. Infact, once you choose between BB or DB, alternate your first exercise on chest day. So, first chest session, start with flat, next session, start with incline, then alternate back and forth.

Many guys with little chest mass confuse their lack of mass with a lack of upper chest ! Upper chest is being worked on basically every chest exercise, and if you barely have any mass, then you're not going to be able to isolate your upper chest very well. Most people just need more overall strength/size before worrying about improving their upper chest, period. If your pressing numbers suck, that's probably why your chest sucks ! Also, you will never see someone with a great upper chest whose lower/middle chest isn't well-developed.

[ThickAsABrick]

if you're 150 lbs at any height above 5'7, then you're not going to be able to isolate your upper chest.

lulz

i've seen some crazy stuff on this site, but this is a new one even for me.

[HeartofaLion]

im 187 pounds at 5'8-5'9 lol.


thanks for everyone posting. i really appreciate it.

[MachMe4.6]

Dumbbells are great for chest because you can use more muscle fibers and use a better ROM ! Also your problem is you aren't really that strong ! I would focus on flat movements like flat dumbbell bench and flat barbell bench before worrying about inclines ! You probably don't have enough chest mass to do incline.

WTF?? How the hell do you have 3,000 reps?? Go back to the teen misc

[chinesemuscle]

my workout routine is

incline BB/DB or Flat BB/DB
Dips or CGBP ( smith )
Hammer strength Incline
Flyes or pec-dec

my ten set rep numbers are
incline db- 80lbs
dips- bw +45lbs
HS Incline - 200lbs
pecdec- 150lbs
flyes- 35lbs

i do four exercises usually with 4 sets each except for the incline dumbell which is about 5 sets

i take in atleast 200g of protein a day if not more, sleep 6-8 hours a day consistently, and my carb intake is around 300g/day if not more

lmk if you need other stats. I train it once a day (monday) after a day or two off every week so.

Why aren't you doing both incline and decline BB/DB instead of just one? If you're trying to add overall mass to your chest then I would start your workout with heavy flat BB for 5x5 and then go to incline. Are you bringing the weight all the way to your chest or just half way? Full ROM will stimulate more growth. It's quite simple, don't over think it.

[mslman71]

Why aren't you doing both incline and decline BB/DB instead of just one? If you're trying to add overall mass to your chest then I would start your workout with heavy flat BB for 5x5 and then go to incline. Are you bringing the weight all the way to your chest or just half way? Full ROM will stimulate more growth. It's quite simple, don't over think it.

^^ This.

A bit of personal experience: Genetically, my shoulders are strong and gain easily (or did before injury) and I am not naturally an easy gainer on chest. When I focused on "how much weight I could lift" rather than the muscle groups I was working I had a tendency to roll my shoulders forward early in press and fly movements to maximally involve the anterior deltoids (which are also adductors). Try keeping your shoulders blades pinched together in back during the course of your chest workout. You will be pressing and fly'ing with your shoulders back as far as possible (don't give yourself cramps on this, just be mindful of your posture). If you do this right you will _very_ quickly notice the difference in which muscle groups are engaging. You will recognize if you are tending to use your shoulders for everything rather than getting maximum pec involvement.

[HeartofaLion]

i usually dont have enough stamina to maximally lift heavy on both incline and flat bb which is why i incorporate the Hammer strength machines to prevent potential injury and focus on the exercise.

im getting the feeling that i should revert back to the starr 5x5 version of working out here, but i would rather do 1-2 body parts/day but use the same rep range for the compound lifts as the 5x5 program with ramping weights.

also would ramping be better for growth or straight sets like SS?

[chinesemuscle]

i usually dont have enough stamina to maximally lift heavy on both incline and flat bb which is why i incorporate the Hammer strength machines to prevent potential injury and focus on the exercise.

im getting the feeling that i should revert back to the starr 5x5 version of working out here, but i would rather do 1-2 body parts/day but use the same rep range for the compound lifts as the 5x5 program with ramping weights.

also would ramping be better for growth or straight sets like SS?

you don't have enough stamina to do 5x5 flat bench 3-4 sets of 6-10 reps on the incline and some flies if you want to and then do 2-3 things for your triceps? and stamina is built up over time so shouldn't you be focused on increasing your stamina. And if you don't have enough stamina then why are you doing two body part per workout?

[Birddog6424]

lulz

i've seen some crazy stuff on this site, but this is a new one even for me.

I think that was his friendly way of saying your @ss is too skinny, eat a cheeseburger or three.

[rdrb]

I think that was his friendly way of saying your @ss is too skinny, eat a cheeseburger or three.

Exactly. Was just trying to generalize the weight range of people with little muscle mass.

[64Man]

My chest used to be one of my most stubborn muscles, was a tall skinny guy. No chest at all. Eat like a fool. And lift like a beast. Also even though you dont see many people mention it, do supersets every now and then. Helped me break through a plateau. Used to do barbell bench press superset with peck deck flyes. Talk about a burn and pump. Really helped add thickness and width. Not to mention endurance.

[k9pit]

my workout routine is

incline BB/DB or Flat BB/DB
Dips or CGBP ( smith )
Hammer strength Incline
Flyes or pec-dec

.

No disrespect but depending on your form and the level of incline, all of these can potentially become shoulder exercises especially if you go too heavy.
For the hell of it, i'd try some very wide form push ups. They stimulate the chest very well.

[TigerStealth]

best thing i've done to increase chest growth -- heavy bb flat bench with slow negatives

[johnnii]

im the same as you man, i do all of the above and my chest isnt growing too, i do 3 sets and 8-10 reps for flat dumbell press and the same for incline, what can i do to change it ?

[My_Legacy]

my workout routine is

incline BB/DB or Flat BB/DB
Dips or CGBP ( smith )
Hammer strength Incline
Flyes or pec-dec

my ten set rep numbers are
incline db- 80lbs
dips- bw +45lbs
HS Incline - 200lbs
pecdec- 150lbs
flyes- 35lbs

i do four exercises usually with 4 sets each except for the incline dumbell which is about 5 sets

i take in atleast 200g of protein a day if not more, sleep 6-8 hours a day consistently, and my carb intake is around 300g/day if not more

lmk if you need other stats. I train it once a day (monday) after a day or two off every week so.

What's your fat intake? You could prob afford to take in around 450 g per day in carbs. What are your carb sources? Getting plenty of veggies and fruits in as well?

Try hitting chest 2x per week. One day do lower reps and another day higher reps. Have someone spot you and do forced reps.

[HeartofaLion]

you don't have enough stamina to do 5x5 flat bench 3-4 sets of 6-10 reps on the incline and some flies if you want to and then do 2-3 things for your triceps? and stamina is built up over time so shouldn't you be focused on increasing your stamina. And if you don't have enough stamina then why are you doing two body part per workout?

what i was saying was that i dont have enough stamina to do 4 sets incline bb AND 4 sets flat bb using appropriate weight and stay in the 8-10 rep range.

What's your fat intake? You could prob afford to take in around 450 g per day in carbs. What are your carb sources? Getting plenty of veggies and fruits in as well?

Try hitting chest 2x per week. One day do lower reps and another day higher reps. Have someone spot you and do forced reps.

my fat intake only comes from 4 sources:
2-3 large spoons of olive oil when i cook my chicken.
40g fat- natty peanut butter in the evening after postwkout meal
handful of almonds b/w meals
and regular milk ( 16oz in the morning ) and 16oz milk with post wkt shake.


carbs come from oatmeal (60-80 g) morning
24 g from the milk in morning as well

24 g + 60g ( gatorade or bananas) post workout shake

80-100 g post wkout meal

25 g (pb sandwich)

24 g from casein milk shake before night

totals about atleast 300-350.