long arm fellows..chest development

[vin1382]

Can someone please tell me the secret of developing a freaking chest? i am 5'9 and about 197 lbs and all my strength is in my back and legs. for the life of me, i cannot seem to build my upper chest. yes, i know the usual answer is "do incline". through the years, ive tried doing all different inclines angles, pressing with dumbells, barbells, machines, tried heavy for low reps, light for high reps, 1 time a week, 2 times a week, 3 times a week. no freaking dice.

I am assuming someone with long arms has built up a nice chest, any special techniques such as elbow positioning, grip positioning, or am i just screwed here? for reference, i can almost touch my knee caps just holding my arms straight down.

[DinoT1985]

I'm 5'10" with an arm span of 6'3" so pretty long. My bench weight wise is pretty weak because of it but I've build a devent size chest (48"). I use wide grip for incline and flat bench. Though lately I've switched to machine press as I started getting a pain in my wrists and wraps don't help.
I do two warm up sets using light to mid weight and mid-weight to 80-85% 1RM with 6-10 reps. I try to keep my elbows 90 degrees angled to my body and I drop my shoulders as low as I can while staying comfortable on the bench. I bring the bar about an inch or two from my chest before performing the positive as I don't want to over-stretch. It's worked pretty well for me, but not good for strength building.

[vin1382]

I'm 5'10" with an arm span of 6'3" so pretty long. My bench weight wise is pretty weak because of it but I've build a devent size chest (48"). I use wide grip for incline and flat bench. Though lately I've switched to machine press as I started getting a pain in my wrists and wraps don't help.
I do two warm up sets using light to mid weight and mid-weight to 80-85% 1RM with 6-10 reps. I try to keep my elbows 90 degrees angled to my body and I drop my shoulders as low as I can while staying comfortable on the bench. I bring the bar about an inch or two from my chest before performing the positive as I don't want to over-stretch. It's worked pretty well for me, but not good for strength building.

how wide do you go? i usually have my pinky on one of the rings around the bar, but i guess it depends on which brand of bar we are talking about.

good advice. thanks

[DinoT1985]

how wide do you go? i usually have my pinky on one of the rings around the bar, but i guess it depends on which brand of bar we are talking about.

good advice. thanks

I go about 12 inches wider than shoulder width on either side.

[Pump Freak 86]

(I'm 6'0 with long arms)

My advice is to try drop sets and really get into the muscle. Sometimes when I've felt a plateau of development, I usually try something to sort of "unlock" the growth potential of the muscle. There's no real scientific precedent for that, but its sort of psycho****dic for me (as is a lot of bodybuilding). Drop sets are sumething that help me dig deeper into the muscle and find a new growth zone. I find that I respond well to incline dumbell presses with good to great technique. Perhaps you should try changing up some things in your technique so that you are feeling the exercises in the right place. Are you feeling the right sort of fatigue during the lifts or is it just the growth that is unsatisfactory. Also, what other (upper body) muscle groups have been growing? Perhaps you are using too much shoulder and arms into it (if that's what has been growing).

Try messing around with the width of your grip. I put my middle finger on the rings on the bar. U'r arms seem longer than mine. Perhaps you should use and even wider grip.

[vin1382]

(I'm 6'0 with long arms)

My advice is to try drop sets and really get into the muscle. Sometimes when I've felt a plateau of development, I usually try something to sort of "unlock" the growth potential of the muscle. There's no real scientific precedent for that, but its sort of psycho****dic for me (as is a lot of bodybuilding). Drop sets are sumething that help me dig deeper into the muscle and find a new growth zone. I find that I respond well to incline dumbell presses with good to great technique. Perhaps you should try changing up some things in your technique so that you are feeling the exercises in the right place. Are you feeling the right sort of fatigue during the lifts or is it just the growth that is unsatisfactory. Also, what other (upper body) muscle groups have been growing? Perhaps you are using too much shoulder and arms into it (if that's what has been growing).

Try messing around with the width of your grip. I put my middle finger on the rings on the bar. U'r arms seem longer than mine. Perhaps you should use and even wider grip.

ive wondered if i was using too much shoulders or triceps as well, but my shoulders and triceps(especially shoulders) have always been weak. recently ive come up with something thats worked for both...for shoulders im doing at least 1 exercise a workout + one hardcore shoulder day as opposd to just 1 hard shoulder workout a week like i was doing. over the past month and a half ive noticed my strength is going up, and more importantly im getting a buldge now(boulder shoulder look) on my side delts and also rear delts. for my triceps ive found that doing then twice a week on back days is finally working. mostly using french presses down to the ground, and cable machine bar pushdowns(im not sure the exact name of the exercise).

other then that, my upper body is pretty crappy except ive got pretty good biceps, good lower back, and good lats. my traps are bad even though i can DL a decent amount and rack pull well over 500.

as far as fatigue, i always get sore in my chest all over(upper, side, lower) but it just never grew(same with traps), so i'd assume im hittin the right spots.

as with my shoulders and finally triceps, it seems my body reacts only to very very specific routines/movements. its probably just goign to take more experimentation to find out whats going on with my chest and what it likes. so far im liking the recommendations, ive never really tried a very wide grip before.

[Al Shades]

Can someone please tell me the secret of developing a freaking chest? i am 5'9 and about 197 lbs and all my strength is in my back and legs. for the life of me, i cannot seem to build my upper chest. yes, i know the usual answer is "do incline". through the years, ive tried doing all different inclines angles, pressing with dumbells, barbells, machines, tried heavy for low reps, light for high reps, 1 time a week, 2 times a week, 3 times a week. no freaking dice.

I am assuming someone with long arms has built up a nice chest, any special techniques such as elbow positioning, grip positioning, or am i just screwed here? for reference, i can almost touch my knee caps just holding my arms straight down.

What is the biomechanical function of the pectoral muscles (describe what they do in plain terms) and which muscle group is responsible for performing the opposite function?

Respond to this without looking up the answer and then I may be able to help you.

[vin1382]

What is the biomechanical function of the pectoral muscles (describe what they do in plain terms) and which muscle group is responsible for performing the opposite function?

Respond to this without looking up the answer and then I may be able to help you.

you have no way of knowing if i look up the answer or not. fill me in on your thoughts if you will.

[Al Shades]

I know that, but it's in your best interest to answer honestly, since your answer will dictate my advice to you. So, answer honestly if you want to receive worthwhile advice.

[¡STFU!ˇNˆLIFT!]

Really shouldn't matter much how long your arms are as long as your shoulders stay glued to the bench ..
Otherwise do partial reps only pushing thru your sticking points as a rep or 1/2 rep

[the pit]

pectoralis major performs internal rotation and adduction of the glenohumeral joint. the teres minor and infraspinatus perform external rotation(the opposite) and the middle deltoid perform abduction (the opposite)

[Dominik]

Can someone please tell me the secret of developing a freaking chest? i am 5'9 and about 197 lbs and all my strength is in my back and legs. for the life of me, i cannot seem to build my upper chest. yes, i know the usual answer is "do incline". through the years, ive tried doing all different inclines angles, pressing with dumbells, barbells, machines, tried heavy for low reps, light for high reps, 1 time a week, 2 times a week, 3 times a week. no freaking dice.

I am assuming someone with long arms has built up a nice chest, any special techniques such as elbow positioning, grip positioning, or am i just screwed here? for reference, i can almost touch my knee caps just holding my arms straight down.

It's a poor excuse. Guys with shorter arms might be geared toward pressing more but that's not going to stop you from building a chest.

Biggest obstacle is usually ego, trying to press too much and doing half-assed reps.

Some suggestions:

* for presses, do most of them with equipment that isolates each side and allows for the greatest possible ROM, such as dumbbells and Hammer Strength.

* focus on moving the weight from the elbows, moving the DBs in a slight arc rather than firing them up and down like pistons.

* incorporate flyes: this is the specific movement which builds the chest (horizontal adduction) and it's not going to matter how long your arms are since the tris aren't involved. This is what really helped me. Seated fly machine and pec deck, concentrating on a good stretch and a strong "squeeze" at the top. Medium-high reps.

Finally, be patient. Genetic "weak points" will always take longer to develop.

[Al Shades]

* incorporate flyes: this is the specific movement which builds the chest (horizontal adduction) and it's not going to matter how long your arms are since the tris aren't involved. This is what really helped me. Seated fly machine and pec deck, concentrating on a good stretch and a strong "squeeze" at the top. Medium-high reps.

Yep, this is precisely the advice that I was going to give.

I would recommend dropping the bench altogether. I did, and have only seen improvements since. You only need one machine to train your chest and that's the lever flye. If you want to hit your upper chest then set the seat low. Use the standard parallel grip as well as underhand, but not overhand. Go from the point of peak contraction to maximal stretch without releasing tension, and repeat 8-12 times.

The muscles that perform the opposite function of the pecs are the scapular retractors. Retract your shoulder blades, then picture doing the exact opposite. That's the movement that trains the pecs. Notice the arms don't even have to be involved.

[jf1]

i have long arms and a weak bench press...this has not stopped me from developing a good chest, as i feel it is one of my best body parts!

the key, for me, has always been pressing movements, followed by stretching movements. for example: bench press followed by dumbell flys.
you can experiment with different inclines with both the bench and the flyes depending on your needs.

the bench press/dumbell fly combination is a winner!

[the pit]

Yep, this is precisely the advice that I was going to give.

The muscles that perform the opposite function of the pecs are the scapular retractors. Retract your shoulder blades, then picture doing the exact opposite. That's the movement that trains the pecs. Notice the arms don't even have to be involved.

This is wrong, the muscle that does the opposite of scapular retraction (protraction) would be the serratus anterior. Since the pec inserts on the humerus it is necessary for the arm to move to train the pec. The problem is that everyone has different genetics what works for some doesn't work for others. The only thing that has worked for me (I am a hard gainer) is the reverse pyramid. You start with your max and then decrease the weight each set, doing as many reps as possible. You have to use a spot of course and each time you can do your max the next week move up five or ten pounds.

[vin1382]

It's a poor excuse. Guys with shorter arms might be geared toward pressing more but that's not going to stop you from building a chest.

Biggest obstacle is usually ego, trying to press too much and doing half-assed reps.

Some suggestions:

* for presses, do most of them with equipment that isolates each side and allows for the greatest possible ROM, such as dumbbells and Hammer Strength.

* focus on moving the weight from the elbows, moving the DBs in a slight arc rather than firing them up and down like pistons.

* incorporate flyes: this is the specific movement which builds the chest (horizontal adduction) and it's not going to matter how long your arms are since the tris aren't involved. This is what really helped me. Seated fly machine and pec deck, concentrating on a good stretch and a strong "squeeze" at the top. Medium-high reps.

Finally, be patient. Genetic "weak points" will always take longer to develop.

I like the fly's idea. and also focusing on the elbows when pressing. Thats actually something i did tonight and i felt it very well. Thanks, thats enough to focus the next few months on.

[vin1382]

This is wrong, the muscle that does the opposite of scapular retraction (protraction) would be the serratus anterior. Since the pec inserts on the humerus it is necessary for the arm to move to train the pec. The problem is that everyone has different genetics what works for some doesn't work for others. The only thing that has worked for me (I am a hard gainer) is the reverse pyramid. You start with your max and then decrease the weight each set, doing as many reps as possible. You have to use a spot of course and each time you can do your max the next week move up five or ten pounds.

lol, i tried this for a few months with poor results also(though i did gain alot of strength). my chest is the complete opposite of my legs, which i only have to work once a week and they blow up.