Chest advice

[Tek21]

Every part of my body has become stronger and grown in the past 5 months since i’ve started working out religiously except my chest. My max bench press is 225, which I put up once. I’m hitting my peak around 185, which I’m able to rep 8-10 times.

I’m 6’2” 210lbs. 19%bf. Slim athletic build.

My chest day includes the following…

-bench press
-incline chest machine
-decline chest machine
-machine flys

and i’ll alternate dips, pushups (with weights and/or medicine balls), cables, and svend press with medicine ball, every week.

I’m eating fairly clean, just a little over 3000 calories. Pre workout (C4) keep me going, although i might need a stim break. 2 hefty scoops are the everyday norm. Sleep sucks though—Between 5-7 hrs a night.

Any advice? Am i expecting too much too soon?

Thanks!

[adang92]

try switching it up to dumbbells brah srs made world of a difference for me. try some more free weight exercises too

[DJAuto]

Try some more free weight work. Are you able to increase via micro-weights on BB press?

[alwayschestday]

Dumbbells.. Dips, cable flies.

[Yotone]

try hitting them with more frequency.
i hit lagging parts 1.5 times a week.
mon, friday, wed, repeat.

[cgibsong002]

3 machine exercises aren't doing anything for ya...

[TJP33]

are you progressing with your presses- adding volume (reps sets or weight)- if so you might be fine as is.

The chest doesn't look as good as you go beyond 15% (rough number just throwing something out- point being chest looks weak with more fat on it) and tough to let the mirror be the judge at this point..

My only suggestion would be to get bf in check, cut see where you stand, rinse and repeat with a closer eye on bodyfat (more conservative bulk approach).

[Tek21]

Let me retract my previous statement. I’m not improving on flat bench press. I kept asking myself if i lack of strength or my form is wrong so i even tried adjusting my posture and form. Relocating my fingers on the bar, but still get stuck half way through a rep. Incline and decline machine numbers have increased throughout the months BUT consistency in volume is weak. I struggle more on incline than decline.

try switching it up to dumbbells brah srs made world of a difference for me. try some more free weight exercises too

I’ll give that a shot. Thanks! Am I switching flat/incline/decline/flys all to dumbbells?

Try some more free weight work. Are you able to increase via micro-weights on BB press?

Yes, but not much. I’ll warm up with two plates. Add ten on each side and rep that 8-10 times. Third set, i’ll struggle with same weight. Might hit 6, on a good day.

are you progressing with your presses- adding volume (reps sets or weight)- if so you might be fine as is.

The chest doesn't look as good as you go beyond 15% (rough number just throwing something out- point being chest looks weak with more fat on it) and tough to let the mirror be the judge at this point..

My only suggestion would be to get bf in check, cut see where you stand, rinse and repeat with a closer eye on bodyfat (more conservative bulk approach).

Thanks for the input. I am progressing, but not as quick as i should be. This was my first season bulking. Gained 10lbs of muscle while losing fat. Started last December. My goal is to cut 5lbs. First time cutting…is that a good number to shoot for?

[TJP33]

Thanks for the input. I am progressing, but not as quick as i should be. This was my first season bulking. Gained 10lbs of muscle while losing fat. Started last December. My goal is to cut 5lbs. First time cutting…is that a good number to shoot for?

Progression is good, by first time bulking do you also mean your within your first year at the gym?
The wild card is that you were able to gain muscle while losing fat- I question this- how do you know? Very often losing fat gives the illusion of gaining mass- you look bigger when leaner. The other typical response is based on the weight people are moving in the gym- this could also be from CNS adaption, simply put your body getting use to the movement...
Not to say its impossible to recomp (gain muscle while burn fat), many beginners claim to experience this- specially those who were carrying excess fat. If so great- my guess is you were eating near your maintenance Cals to allow such; however, as you progress things will slow down and become very frustrating. Time for basics and nutrition- if you want to grow, calorie surplus is needed- if you want to cut a calorie deficit. Hopefully your already aware, but if not head on over to nutrition section and read up.
As per goals, you might lose 5lbs in water in the first week depending on your nutritional intake now and how you cut. Let the mirror guide you. I go week by week, my first week things are crazy with variables but after that I like to lose 1-2 lbs per week, nice and slow (eating as much as possible with as little cardio as possible while maintaining goals- if not reaching, ill pull more cals and or add more cardio). I never jump to extremes everything is done by gradual adjustments.

[jrfuller13]

Replace the decline, incline and flyes to free weights.

[uberkingkong]

Are you just trying to get a better bench or are you trying to make your chest look good?
If your trying to get a better bench I'd recommend you just focus on bench press, do dumbbell bench too, focus on getting 3 clean reps but no more than 7. If you have a workout buddy have them force a few reps for you.

If your trying to get a good looking chest, I'd do pushups and dips, and barbell and dumbbell bench but do high reps 15-20, if you can do more than 20 reps you need to increase the weight.

[Tek21]

Progression is good, by first time bulking do you also mean your within your first year at the gym?
The wild card is that you were able to gain muscle while losing fat- I question this- how do you know? Very often losing fat gives the illusion of gaining mass- you look bigger when leaner. The other typical response is based on the weight people are moving in the gym- this could also be from CNS adaption, simply put your body getting use to the movement...
Not to say its impossible to recomp (gain muscle while burn fat), many beginners claim to experience this- specially those who were carrying excess fat. If so great- my guess is you were eating near your maintenance Cals to allow such; however, as you progress things will slow down and become very frustrating. Time for basics and nutrition- if you want to grow, calorie surplus is needed- if you want to cut a calorie deficit. Hopefully your already aware, but if not head on over to nutrition section and read up.
As per goals, you might lose 5lbs in water in the first week depending on your nutritional intake now and how you cut. Let the mirror guide you. I go week by week, my first week things are crazy with variables but after that I like to lose 1-2 lbs per week, nice and slow (eating as much as possible with as little cardio as possible while maintaining goals- if not reaching, ill pull more cals and or add more cardio). I never jump to extremes everything is done by gradual adjustments.

I use to workout years ago but not like i have been for the past few months. Its my first year back from a shoulder/knee injury (motorcycle accident). Took some time off to fully recover. Visually, others, including myself, could see the fat from my sides, gut, and face decrease throughout the months, as well as, mass being put on. I was at 3200 calories and eating relatively clean. Basketball once a week for cardio.

Ive dropped down to 2600 calories for the cutting phase. Eating a lot cleaner and continuing basketball once/twice a week. I’ll see how my progress is in the next month or so to determine whether i need to increase my cardio.

Are you just trying to get a better bench or are you trying to make your chest look good?
If your trying to get a better bench I'd recommend you just focus on bench press, do dumbbell bench too, focus on getting 3 clean reps but no more than 7. If you have a workout buddy have them force a few reps for you.

If your trying to get a good looking chest, I'd do pushups and dips, and barbell and dumbbell bench but do high reps 15-20, if you can do more than 20 reps you need to increase the weight.

Option C, both lol. I know it takes to build mass, so i’m trying to strengthen in the process. My workout partner’s motivation and exercises are above par. Couldn’t be happier with how i look compared to 6 months ago, but for some odd reason, my chest is taking longer to develop than the rest of my body. I guess i’ll take every ones advice and work on it harder.