3 years of working out and chest still the same as day one

[dustin4u]

Hi Guys,

I've been working out for 3 years now and my chest still looks the same as 3 years ago...very sad. I have not taken a break in 3 years besides the odd week in the summer and Christmas vacation.

My arms have tripled in size, my legs are defined, my shoulders have lots of muscle, but literally my chest has not changed.

I'm 5'9 -178

I lift weights for 45-60 minutes 3-4 times a week.

day 1:Chest/Triceps
day 2:Arms/Back
day 3:Legs/Shoulders

I have always done these body part combinations...(any recommendation for a 3 day a week work out?)

I have now added a 2nd chest day in the week to see if this will do anything. On day one of chest i focus on dumbbells and the 2nd chest day i focus on bench.

When i started 3 years ago the max i could bench press was the 115. Now i can bench 165.


I realize people have problem area's but my chest looks the same as many years ago and quite frankly it's embarrassing.

I typically do 3 exercises for each body part.

On my chest day i will usually do Flat bench, incline bench and either pec deck or mix in some kind of chest machine.

I switch up each week from 3 sets to 4 sets.

Around a month ago i started doing "half movements". I will only go down to my chest half way (during a bench press) to see if this will make a difference. I have short arms so i'm technically only dropping the dumbbells around 6-8 inches.
I started doing these "half movements" because my chest isn't growing when i go all the way down and my shoulders would be sore after chest day and not my chest.

I try to do slow controlled movements, flex my chest at the top of the excercise. My chest is rarely sore but i none of my body parts get sore when i work out.

I take lots of supplements like fish oil, good multi, pre-workout ISO, usually a casein before bed, sometimes Amino acids (i don't see a difference so i haven't taken them in months). I eat healthy (besides weekends).

A typically breakfast would be either 2 pieces of brown toast, ISO protein shake, vegge-greens, fish oil or a bowl of cereal like Kashi go lean. I have snack a few hours later. Usually a subway type 6" sandwich (chicken or ham) and a good dinner of steak/chicken/fish etc with no carbs at night and some broccoli

I'm rambling but i need help.

Please ask away and i will answer.

[sfalcon1]

Eat more.

Have you stayed 178 for 3 years?

Count calories your calories.

You've done the same routine for 3 years?

Any HIIT?

[w8killer]

The Incline DB Fly, Dips, ATrainer Fly and Incline BB Bench have started to make a difference for me.

Make sure you FEEL the chest contracting with each exercise. Really concentrate on that. If you have to lighten up the weight, then so be it.

Also, if you are really putting the work in and not seeing results after that long, you really need to eat more.

Just my .02

[EB68]

If your shoulders are sore after benching and not your chest it would make sense to me that your form is off. I would watch some video's on youtube of instructional benching vids and video yourself for comparison. You could also post a few video's on here and let the more advanced lifters give you some pointers. It is possible that you have some weak chest genetics, but you should be avle to overcome most of that. How much has your other lifts gone up in the same amount of time?

[Terras]

"When i started 3 years ago the max i could bench press was the 115. Now i can bench 165."

Your chest is small because you only add 17 pounds to your bench per year. Ditch the split and get on a strength program like SS/Rippetoe's. Add 100 pounds to your bench and (provided you are eating at a surplus) I promise your chest will be bigger than it is now.

[MuscledHorse]

You don't list set/reps ere, but if you are doing the same routines in pretty much the same order every time you are going to stagnate pretty quickly since it knows what is coming. People don't like muscle confusion approaches to lifting because they want ot be able to measure gains every week with the same exercises, but muscle growth doesn't work that way. Ask a pro bodybuilder how much they can lift on a specific exercise and many will tell you it's an irrelevant question. Focus on building the muscles and the strength will come with it. Too many people ahve it backwards and think if they build the strngth, the muscle will come with it. So, based on personal expereince as well as use on others I am a huge propornent of muscle confusion and avoiding the same routine month after month after month. I've done it both ways and seen the differences. Change it all up. With your chest, do different exercises and in different order. If you have a developmentally weaker part of the chest (for me it was my upper chest, lots of variations on incline exercies and adjustable hieght cable fly work) spend a little more focus time on it. Also, do different types of lifts, some days focusing on building endurance and others on building strenght. This means the number of sets, reps and amount of weight you use will change. Lastly, as another posted mentioned, ditch that set split appraoch and mix up what body parts you do on what days.

[ironwill2008]

I've been working out for 3 years now and my chest still looks the same as 3 years ago...

How much body weight have you gained in the 3 years?

[mslman71]

Silly question, but are you trying to lift more?

----

Sure have been a lot of these "no improvement in x years" threads where x is very large.

[fn257]

Hi Guys,

I've been working out for 3 years now and my chest still looks the same as 3 years ago...very sad. I have not taken a break in 3 years besides the odd week in the summer and Christmas vacation.

My arms have tripled in size, my legs are defined, my shoulders have lots of muscle, but literally my chest has not changed.

Dude, I stopped reading here, arms tripled in size? really? If you want help from anyone in the OV35 get real and someone might help. How big are your arms? If they were 8" then now they are 24", see what I mean.

[opabarbosa]

Dude, I stopped reading here, arms tripled in size? really? If you want help from anyone in the OV35 get real and someone might help. How big are your arms? If they were 8" then now they are 24", see what I mean.

i think he was just trying to say that everything grew but his chest...

and you got that, but you just wanted to brake his balls

[DCSpartan]

Its because you only bench 165 after 3 years. At some point you are going to have expend some effort and get uncomfortable.

[JimmyJonny]

If your arms are big and you dont feel your chest, maybe your bench grip is to narrow.

[DesertDude11]

Try finishing your chest day with high, med and low cable crosses. They will make your pecs hurt. If they don't, you need more weight. Also concentrate on the "squeeze". Mentally envision your chest contracting when you are doing your exercises.

[dustin4u]

Thanks for all the replies -

Typically i do 3 sets of 8-10 reps..

I started at the gym i was around 195 pounds - i was the typically "skinny fat guy".
I dropped the fat and put on muscle. I still have a stomach that i would love to get rid of it, but no matter how healthy i eat it won't go away.

I had a big belly and tiny arms.

My bicep was around 9 inches and now it's just at 15 inches (3 times was exaggerated, as i just measured for the first time)

Can someone recommend some programs i can look at - i really prefer to do 2 major muscles groups a workout...

- I pretty much do the same muscles the exact same day of the week.

Mon- Chest and Triceps
Tues- Arms and Back
Wed - Shoulders and Legs

Thurs or Fri do Chest again.

I don't do any cardio...

[EB68]

I would suggest raising the weight each week on every exercise that you are able to. I would also space out the sessions if you only plan to lift 3 days per week. I would do a monday wednseday friday routine. And I have found that higher volume works better for me when adding size is concerned. I typically do 3 or 4 exercises for chest, but will do five to seven sets of flat benchpress, followed by 4 or 5 sets of incline benchpress, and a few sets of Flyes, and If I feel there is some gas left in the tank I will do push-ups, or some other lift. Then I start my tricep routine with close grip benchpress. If you are not able to raise the weight even by five pounds at least every other week then something is off. Like I said you need to video a few sets and post them here for some form critique, if your form is off, you will be spinning your wheels. And I would ditch the half movements, full range of motion while focusing on the mind muscle connection is the way to go.

[bigtallox]

Around a month ago i started doing "half movements". I will only go down to my chest half way (during a bench press) to see if this will make a difference. I have short arms so i'm technically only dropping the dumbbells around 6-8 inches.
I started doing these "half movements" because my chest isn't growing when i go all the way down and my shoulders would be sore after chest day and not my chest.

Don't do that. If your shoulders are sore from benching, then you're not benching with good technique. IMHO people who bench 165 with bad technique don't have a use for doing partial reps, LEARN HOW TO BENCH CORRECTLY.

Good luck.

[Jasonk282]

It's cause you're 178lbs and benching 165lbs...add more weight to your bench press and lower the reps.

[bigtallox]

add more weight to your bench press and lower the reps.

Only after he knows is form is good enough. From his post, I'd bet money that his form is not good ( and thus he's not ready to up the weight ).

[sfalcon1]

So you've gone from 195 skinnyfat to 178...

Have you ever taken yourself out of your calorie deficit? Losing fat and building muscle are two separate goals. It sounds like you need to go to the nutrition section of this forum. Also as other posters have stated you need to go to the workout and videos section.

[xnihilo]

Thanks for all the replies -

Typically i do 3 sets of 8-10 reps..

I started at the gym i was around 195 pounds - i was the typically "skinny fat guy".
I dropped the fat and put on muscle. I still have a stomach that i would love to get rid of it, but no matter how healthy i eat it won't go away.

I had a big belly and tiny arms.

My bicep was around 9 inches and now it's just at 15 inches (3 times was exaggerated, as i just measured for the first time)

Can someone recommend some programs i can look at - i really prefer to do 2 major muscles groups a workout...

- I pretty much do the same muscles the exact same day of the week.

Mon- Chest and Triceps
Tues- Arms and Back
Wed - Shoulders and Legs

Thurs or Fri do Chest again.

I don't do any cardio...

Try StartingStrength by Rippetoe, or Stronglift5x5. It sounds to me like you may be stuck for a few reasons. I am by no means an expert, but I am learning. It looks like you are using wrong technique, from what I am reading. Learn how to do the exercise correctly and do Olympic Weight Training exercises. Also, you need to eat. If you started at 195 and are 178ish now and your size hasn't gone up, you are seriously malnourished. Do, strength training exercises.

A simple search will give you your answers. Google startingstrength dot wikia dot com or stronglifts5x5 dot com

Drink low fat milk and eat calories. You should be at the point now, given the things you wrote, that you need calories. Try a 35% protein, 45% carb, 20% fat diet. Or something along those lines. Your metabolism should be able to handle the carbs by now being a skinny fat.

[Juggertha]

I'm a visual guy... if there's any chance you could post up a vid of some of your chest exercises, maybe I (and others) might be able to spot some potential issues.


BUT, if everything thing you say is true... there's also another factor - genetics. You might just have a naturally poor (?) chest. This, however, is kind of the last cop-out of a statement. There's tons of room in which to wiggle and push to see if you can inch out some growth... so see if you can snag a vid on your phone or something.

Good luck, man.

[EB68]

Only after he knows is form is good enough. From his post, I'd bet money that his form is not good ( and thus he's not ready to up the weight ).

I agree, form first, then move some weight.

[2nd_chance]

Dude, I stopped reading here, arms tripled in size? really? If you want help from anyone in the OV35 get real and someone might help. How big are your arms? If they were 8" then now they are 24", see what I mean.

This.

Post up some pics. tldr

[billb7581]

9 inch arms? At the wrist?

[Jasonk282]

Only after he knows is form is good enough. From his post, I'd bet money that his form is not good ( and thus he's not ready to up the weight ).

I agree.

If your shoulders are sore then you need to learn how to bench...your going to really injure your RC.

[Do_Somethin]

Try this (reps in brackets for maximal weight):

Incline Dumbbell Press (15, 6, 6, 6, 10)
Dumbbell Press (15, 8, 8, 10, 10)
Decline Dumbbell Press (8, 8, 10)
Incline Flyes (10, 10, 12) superset with Push-ups (3 x failure)

Plus eat more and add digestive enzymes.

It works for me. I've gotten good results. I'm not there yet however.
Good luck!

[carbkilla]

If other parts are growing you're probably eating enough. First few years I was lifting I had problems with my shoulders too. Chest wasn't getting worked enough because shoulders were at the limit. One thing you can do is called a "super set". First fatigue the chest with some peck deck or dumb bell butterflys then go immediately into a flat bench press before you recover. Your chest will start burning before your arms and shoulders.

Hope that helps,
CK