How do i get square flat pecs?

[The_Ark_Man]

I know this is kind of "off-subject" but since you guys were so helpful before I wanted to ask this: Is there any way to lift with a muscle for too long? or can I lift for as long as I want and still get the maximum muscle gain possible?

[Ironlife]

I know this is kind of "off-subject" but since you guys were so helpful before I wanted to ask this: Is there any way to lift with a muscle for too long? or can I lift for as long as I want and still get the maximum muscle gain possible?

1 hour should be sufficient for most trainers, i like to keep mine to 45 minutes so my body doesnt go all catabolic on me.

[chazzy1864]

I know this is kind of "off-subject" but since you guys were so helpful before I wanted to ask this: Is there any way to lift with a muscle for too long? or can I lift for as long as I want and still get the maximum muscle gain possible?

Is your question about workout duration or set duration? Or perhaps some other duration?

If set, then yes. Workout, there is a law of diminishing returns. The only other one i can think of, will eventually be you die of old age, and you wont gain muscle.

[SquatTilYouDrop]

I know this is kind of "off-subject" but since you guys were so helpful before I wanted to ask this: Is there any way to lift with a muscle for too long? or can I lift for as long as I want and still get the maximum muscle gain possible?

Too many dynamics/variables involved to put a number on it for every person.

Basically, take your workouts (volume and time) where your body tells you to. By trial and error find the best mix of workload vs time management that you can to keep getting positive results. No doubt, volume/reps/sets will change over time as your body and its' musculature/fitness change.

It's not an exact science.

[The_Ark_Man]

I use two different days for my pec work outs (one to focus on the upper and one on the lower as much as is possible). Each workout can contain up to 8 or 10 sets for each type of excercise: flys, presses etc. and it takes me sometimes over an hour to complete my entire workout. Does that have any affect on the speed at wich my muscles build? Or is that fine?

[Mharri06]

Instead of rounded Pectorals? Is it just purely due to BF%, or should i do more incline bench and less flat bench?

I personally do this if I want my pecs to look square.

1. Lay on the ground (back should be facing the ground)
2. Keep shoulders back and chest up
3. make sure core is nice and tight for stabilization
4. place two cinder blocks on each pec about roughly an inch apart to not place any undue pressure to sternum
5 remain in this position for an hour
6. rest 1-3 min in between and proceed to do 3-4 sets everyday

[captainmo55]

do incline on the lowest setting...around 15 degrees from the ground...and your whole pec is owrked during dumbbell flyes

Yes.

But-
Decline DB flys: work more lower pecs
Incline: more upper
and flat: overall chest.

[carlmdaniel]

I've been studying this **** for a while now. If you do some Google searches on chest anatomy, you will find that the pec major has two heads - won't bore you w/the names, but one is the upper, and the other is the lower. The lower one is far larger than the upper one, which is one of the reasons why the upper chest is so hard to build. If you are truly dedicated to masculine/square pecs, you will do less flat bench work (although I don't advocate abandoning it altogether); and even though your overall chest mass will suffer, you'll more than likely get the square pecs - those are thought to be better looking for girls.

I do advocate abandoning all decline work, if you want square pecs. In my opinion, non-tricep dips and decline work are the best ways to build "man boobs".

Dumbell flyes work your outer chest somewhat, and the pec deck brings your inner chest into the mix. There's a reason behind this, but it would take a while to explain!

Regarding incline angles - I would not go higher than 35-45 degrees, as you are basically doing an anterior delt workout at this point. DEFINITELY add in some incline chest work b/w..say...10 degrees and 30 degrees...there's no exact #...I just use the bottom notch and am not sure what angle that is.

Hope this helps.

Ok i get what you guys are saying, maybe im not hitting my upper chest enough, or its my genetics.

Two questions;

What angle do you lot have you incline bench on?
Which chest muscle does dumbell flyes/pec deck do?

[IronDGM]

mostly a genetic thing, but try doing alot of flys and slightly heavier than normal. A well developed outer chest may create more of a square look. If u negelect flys then the outer lines would look faded while the middle chest area would look full creating a more 'rounded' look.

[sdmkbeck]

the best way to get square like pecs is to work all parts of the chest, so that it is well proportioned. by this i mean do middle, upper, and lower chest, so that you have mass in all areas of the pectorals. your problem may be that your middle chest is to well built and your lower chest and upper chest are completely out of proporion with the middle, which obviously explains why you have rounded pecs. so to have a square and well proportioned ches, just make sure you work all apects of the chest middle,upper and lower. try to focus on the basic movements such as flat bench for total chest development, decline for lower chest, and incline for upper chest.
-
cheers, hope this helped.

Middle pecs? Sorry to burst your bubble bud, but the pectorals are comprised of an upper and lower band of muscle. There is no "middle".

[IronDGM]

Middle pecs? Sorry to burst your bubble bud, but the pectorals are comprised of an upper and lower band of muscle. There is no "middle".

middle would be the the lower part of the upper area. So while incline bp or db presses would work the higher part of the upper area, flat bench and db presses would work the lower parts (areas) of the upper pec.

Upper area covers most of the chest so there is a middle region in the large upper area.

Think of it as areas of the chest that get hit differently.

If wat u were saying were the case then that would mean flat bench press movements would work the higher area of the upper chest really well rite?? Not really, incline presses work this area better and flat presses work the "middle" more.


Ppl get confused about this cos they look at the chest as only having 2 parts (this true) but u gotta look at the chest as different mini regions that do get stressed by manipulating angle and changing exercises. So i agree with "middle' pec quoter

[stsnizzle]

If you did only dips, flys, and incline press... Would that be a complete chest workout or no?

[sdmkbeck]

middle would be the the lower part of the upper area. So while incline bp or db presses would work the higher part of the upper area, flat bench and db presses would work the lower parts (areas) of the upper pec.

Upper area covers most of the chest so there is a middle region in the large upper area.

Think of it as areas of the chest that get hit differently.

If wat u were saying were the case then that would mean flat bench press movements would work the higher area of the upper chest really well rite?? Not really, incline presses work this area better and flat presses work the "middle" more.


Ppl get confused about this cos they look at the chest as only having 2 parts (this true) but u gotta look at the chest as different mini regions that do get stressed by manipulating angle and changing exercises. So i agree with "middle' pec quoter

To say there is a middle pec is 100% wrong. There is an upper and lower band. End of story. While you may notice the "middle" of your pectoral muscles are more developed than the extreme high and extreme low parts, this only means the upper part of your lower band and the lower part of your upper band are more developed that the upper part of your upper band and lower part of your lower band.

What i am saying has nothing to do with a flat bench working the entire muscle at all. A flat bench exercise works both your upper and lower pec. While it does put more stress on the lower, it works the upper as well.

[sdmkbeck]

Also, i dont know who taught ^ that the upper pectoral band is larger than the lower... But from my studies ive only seen an equality in size between the two. Neither is bigger than the other if properly developed. Of course if you only do incline exercises your upper pectoral band will be significantly larger. Not the case for the "model" figure though. They are the same size

[chazzy1864]

I'll second the upper/lower pec.

Incline works upper. Flat, decline & chest dips work lower.

[stsnizzle]

If you did only dips, flys, and incline press... Would that be a complete chest workout or no?

Can someone answer for reps?

[chazzy1864]

Can someone answer for reps?

Granted it provides enough volume, yes, those 3 exercises would stimulate the entire chest.

[stsnizzle]

Granted it provides enough volume, yes, those 3 exercises would stimulate the entire chest.

"You must spread some Reputation around before giving it to chazzy1864 again."

fffffffuuuuuuuu

Thanks though

[chazzy1864]

"You must spread some Reputation around before giving it to chazzy1864 again."

fffffffuuuuuuuu

Thanks though

Wasn't worried about rep, just missed your question the first time around.

[Tamorlane]

Care to explain that with some proof? The all or nothing principle is a scientific law...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All-or-none_law

http://www.hfpn.com/shop/article.aspx?atid=1912

Wrong.

http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_...ybuilder_chest

^which has a section directly titled 'The All or None Confusion'. Written by a doctor who specializes in this field.

The pec is one muscle, but the inner/outer, upper/lower can be EMPHASIZED.

[sdmkbeck]

Wrong.

http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_...ybuilder_chest

^which has a section directly titled 'The All or None Confusion'. Written by a doctor who specializes in this field.

The pec is one muscle, but the inner/outer, upper/lower can be EMPHASIZED.

Incorrect again. Dont mislead people if you dont know your anatomy. The chest is comprised of the Pectoralis Major (the one spoken about throughout this thread) and the Pectoralis Minor (located under the Pectoralis Major; used to flex the shoulders forward). Everything else you said about inner/outer, upper/lower is arguably correct. But please, do not start the all or nothing principal argument AGAIN

[chazzy1864]

Incorrect again. Dont mislead people if you dont know your anatomy. The chest is comprised of the Pectoralis Major (the one spoken about throughout this thread) and the Pectoralis Minor (located under the Pectoralis Major; used to flex the shoulders forward). Everything else you said about inner/outer, upper/lower is arguably correct. But please, do not start the all or nothing principal argument AGAIN

He was saying the all or nothing principle is incorrect. At least if I read his post right.

The pec is two muscles, but different areas can be emphasized. Compartmentalization does exist.

[MWheatley]

He was saying the all or nothing principle is incorrect. At least if I read his post right.

The pec is two muscles, but different areas can be emphasized. Compartmentalization does exist.

^
That, and the pec minor has nothing to do with upper/lower. Therefor, the 1 muscle can be emphasized in different areas.

[dantheman10]

in this bish for later

[roman209]

I have noticed that elite powerlifters tend to have the wider flatter pecs you are talking about as opposed to the rounded pecs you see in elite bodybuilders.

[exfgt]

How do i fix my chest, can someone pls tell me some good workout routines and just help me out in general ftb.
Btw my chest looks kinda normal when i dont tense and its not contracted.

[oldballs]

How do i fix my chest, can someone pls tell me some good workout routines and just help me out in general ftb.
Btw my chest looks kinda normal when i dont tense and its not contracted.

make it a lot bigger and see how it looks.

[DawsMatthew]

One thing I’ve noticed that no one has mentioned yet is a well proportioned back. When you don’t have a well balanced workout, you not only affect your skeletal structure, but it starts to make you look silly as well. Look at those guys that only hit biceps and chest when they go to the gym, completely skipping back and legs.

Stand in front of the mirror and let your shoulders roll forward. Makes your pecs look a little bigger, right? Now pull your shoulders back into proper posture and you’ll notice your chest flatten out. Go hard on the days that you do back and traps and you’ll notice that it will pull your posture back and up, and will help flatten the pecs by not allowing you to roll your shoulders forward and letting your pecs sag together.

In my opinion, most guys avoid back and shoulders when they should be developing those two groups the most.
You can also try developing the bottom of your chest to square it off as well by throwing your arm forward and up with your palm facing the ground and having some kind of resistance from above, like the cables, and trying to force your hand down towards the ground, like you’re going to dunk someone’s head under water. Use only the bottom of your pec.

Also, try lighter weight when doing chest. If you come into the gym ready to max out on weight for chest every time, you’ll build a lot of tissue quickly in those areas you’re trying to avoid. Instead go hard in all the areas surrounding, like upper chest, back, and traps.

And lastly, try stretching. I’m not going to suggest yoga to avoid being ripped apart by all the other guys on here, but find some sort of stretching routine for your entire body. This will help keep the muscle from “stacking up” on top of itself too quickly, and will help with scarred tissue as well.

[SuffolkPunch]

Check thread dates before bumping ancient threads.