Having pec issues

[Rcross1989]

Ok I can bench like 320 on flat bench no arched back or cheating in any way. So my bench power is good thing is I go pretty wide defiantly a bit outside shpulders. Byt my chest looks terrible it just doesn't look built at all i used to hit chest so hard I did everything flyes dips dumbell bench but nothing I mean nothing would help. It just looks like crap. My question is would bringing my arms in a bit hit my "inner" chest? On bench because right now that's the only thing I do for chest. But in the past it seemed nothing worked man like I tried everything under the sun. I'm on a strength program right now and like I said befor only thing I do is bench but maybe bringing in my arms a bit would make it look better and hit more of it? Idk I'm rambling but any idea would be appreciated

[magician27]

there is no "inner " chest , there is pec major and minor. you can build your chest if you use full ROM and if you have good mind muscle connection. i recommend doing some high rep work (8-15) with dumbells. squueze at top of each rep and go to full stretch at bottom. and make sure you are benching at least 2 times a week. this helped me with my chest, maybe helps you out too. benching 320 and having flat chest is sad dude i believe in arched back while bench. everytime i lay on bench flat my delts burn, and i cant have that tightness starting from feet on ground all the way to my hands.

[Sean26607]

Negatives, contractions, dropsets, waveloading, etc.

[Rcross1989]

It's not flat it's just not well rounded it doesn't look like a wel developed pec. I'm guessing i just have bad genetics for chest shape.

[kcharp7]

Although a strength training program is necessary to build power and help add mass, in order to get that full well rounded chest you can incorporate a variety of different rep schemes. from 4-6 reps to 8-12 to 15. Use your bench to add strength and hit your chest in a variety of angles with more reps to "carve in the details." That means hitting inclines, flyes, full range of motion, stretching the muscle at the eccentric phase of the movement, and squeezing when you contract. Your diet plays a role in this as well. If you diet down properly, you'll see the rewards of your hard work. I hope any of this helps buddy.

[Rcross1989]

Yea I get what your saying. Just benching isn't enough. My focus is on strength at the moment and weird thing is when I took out dips incline bench dumbell bench and just flat benched and nothing else my plateau just went away. I was stuck at 290 at bench I was doing dips incline dumbell etc as my accessories but I dropped them and in 3 weeks my max was 315

[JOoa0ky]

Yea I get what your saying. Just benching isn't enough. My focus is on strength at the moment and weird thing is when I took out dips incline bench dumbell bench and just flat benched and nothing else my plateau just went away. I was stuck at 290 at bench I was doing dips incline dumbell etc as my accessories but I dropped them and in 3 weeks my max was 315

If your chest was crud at 290 and now you've busted through your plateau sitting on 320 now but yet your chest still looks like crud. I highly doubt taking your 320 bench to 350 would make your chest improve. If it hasn't happened already, it probably won't happen anytime soon. You need something different.

Its unfortunate but not everyone builds huge pecs from flat benching. Sure a lot of guys do... but there are also a ton of other guys who get absolutely nothing out of it for one reason or another... You may be one of the later. You know, a lot of bodybuilders push the strength envelope and after they've achieved a certain level of strength, they'll drop quite a bit of the weight that their pushing just to focus on contracting the muscle rather than moving as much weight as humanely possible.

So now you're sitting at the cross road between pursuing pure strength or actually building your chest. Gotta make a decision!

[PharmaFreak1]

I know exactly what you mean. It depends on genetics too! For me, I only really see that inner chest definition come in when my bodyfat dips lower than 8%.

I would recommend that you make sure you squeeze contractions at the height of the exercise for sure. This makes a big difference for sure from my experience.


Dropsets and many suggestions above will also all help.

[GravityLee]

What JOoa0ky said..

Try a chest session where you start with light weight and do slow negatives with a very hard pec contraction. Practice contracting your pecs with light weight. My guess is your triceps and front delts are doing most of the work when you bench.

As an experiment on your next chest day drop to the floor and do pushups with a slow 2 count on the descent and 2 count on the ascent contracting your chest hard. When you get done with the set look at your pecs in the mirror I think the pump is going to surprise you. While that pump alone does not necessarily mean those are going to build bigger muscles than the flat bench it serves as a good example of how theres more than one way to do an exercise. Take what you learn there and carry it over to other chest exercises. (control / mind muscle connection / slow negatives / hard contraction)