Those with Pectus Excavatum

[Zingyzany]

I train almost everyday, am 40, 5"9 and 68 kgs, dont seem to gain weight at all. Eat lots, swim, shortness of breath but no major problems. Chest looks awful. Is it too bad, never considered surgery. Please see my pics in my gallery and suggest.

[Ecto9783]

I train almost everyday, am 40, 5"9 and 68 kgs, dont seem to gain weight at all. Eat lots, swim, shortness of breath but no major problems. Chest looks awful. Is it too bad, never considered surgery. Please see my pics in my gallery and suggest.

Your chest actually looks a lot like mine. It spans a large portion of our chests, from clavicle to xyphoid process. You just have more mass around your midsection. Why haven't you considered surgery? It's never too late. I know people in their 60's and 70's who have had the procedure done.

Do your pecs ever get tight? Mine do, and I think it has something to do with the insertion of our pecs.

[GorillaMunch95]

I train almost everyday, am 40, 5"9 and 68 kgs, dont seem to gain weight at all. Eat lots, swim, shortness of breath but no major problems. Chest looks awful. Is it too bad, never considered surgery. Please see my pics in my gallery and suggest.

Track your macros, consider the nuss procedure

[Godofthepit]

So, I don't know if this is a guys only thread or not. If it is then I won't come back to it but I'm looking for advice. I'm a 21 year old female, my weight is 114, height is 5'6, I have PE, I can't gain weight for the life of me, and I don't seem to gain muscle much either. I mostly work my legs because my upper body is super weak and I get shortness of breath and chest pain when I do upper body workouts (this also happens if I run so I usually don't.) But I wasn't like this always, I used to be super fit and I used to run daily during my freshman and sophmore year of high school and then I started to decline around the the ending of my sophomore year, doctor had told me it's from having pectus and as my body was growing it was pushing in on my organs, I ended up having a heart issues, and my oxygen levels get low which I have read that is likely to happen due to PE. After that I sort of just stopped working out until recently. I don't always eat 3 meals a day (I know that is super bad, especially if I workout and it makes it even harder to gain weight) But I get super depressed and stop doing daily activities. I want to start fighting back against both my mental illness and my physical health issues. I sort of let these things control me and I don't want to anymore. I need tips, I'm sure at least one of you has gone through a similar situation and can give some advice. It just sucks because I feel super unattractive and I had to stop running like I used to do which running for me was important in making me feel good about myself, I liked how I looked. It's been years but I finally feel like I can try to take my life back. So the plan is to get back into being healthy and fit and to feel better about myself. If anyone has tips on exercises, meal ideas, protein shakes, or anything let me know.

[Ecto9783]

So, I don't know if this is a guys only thread or not. If it is then I won't come back to it but I'm looking for advice. I'm a 21 year old female, my weight is 114, height is 5'6, I have PE, I can't gain weight for the life of me, and I don't seem to gain muscle much either. I mostly work my legs because my upper body is super weak and I get shortness of breath and chest pain when I do upper body workouts (this also happens if I run so I usually don't.) But I wasn't like this always, I used to be super fit and I used to run daily during my freshman and sophmore year of high school and then I started to decline around the the ending of my sophomore year, doctor had told me it's from having pectus and as my body was growing it was pushing in on my organs, I ended up having a heart issues, and my oxygen levels get low which I have read that is likely to happen due to PE. After that I sort of just stopped working out until recently. I don't always eat 3 meals a day (I know that is super bad, especially if I workout and it makes it even harder to gain weight) But I get super depressed and stop doing daily activities. I want to start fighting back against both my mental illness and my physical health issues. I sort of let these things control me and I don't want to anymore. I need tips, I'm sure at least one of you has gone through a similar situation and can give some advice. It just sucks because I feel super unattractive and I had to stop running like I used to do which running for me was important in making me feel good about myself, I liked how I looked. It's been years but I finally feel like I can try to take my life back. So the plan is to get back into being healthy and fit and to feel better about myself. If anyone has tips on exercises, meal ideas, protein shakes, or anything let me know.

I PM'd you.

[toolazytogym]

Been a very interesting read this topic. I have just undergone corrective surgery for PE and I don't believe I have got quite the results I was hoping for. I am 10 weeks post op. Please see a few of my pictures. I still dislike the look of my chest and would feel I would get noticed. What do you guys think and do you think this can be trained to be invisible?

I can get some other photos of better angles.

[Ecto9783]

Been a very interesting read this topic. I have just undergone corrective surgery for PE and I don't believe I have got quite the results I was hoping for. I am 10 weeks post op. Please see a few of my pictures. I still dislike the look of my chest and would feel I would get noticed. What do you guys think and do you think this can be trained to be invisible?

I can get some other photos of better angles.

Looks good to me. What part of your chest are you concerned about? 10 weeks post op is still very early. Once you start to fill out or lean out (depending on your goals) I think you'll achieve a great physique. Scars will fade, you'll get your weight back up and start to build muscle. Like I said 10 weeks is too early to make a determination. Better off looking at your post-op imaging (X-Rays, MRI) to get a better idea of how successful the procedure was. If I saw you on the beach, I wouldn't think anything of your chest. And this is coming from someone with a lot of knowledge in the area.

[toolazytogym]

Looks good to me. What part of your chest are you concerned about? 10 weeks post op is still very early. Once you start to fill out or lean out (depending on your goals) I think you'll achieve a great physique. Scars will fade, you'll get your weight back up and start to build muscle. Like I said 10 weeks is too early to make a determination. Better off looking at your post-op imaging (X-Rays, MRI) to get a better idea of how successful the procedure was. If I saw you on the beach, I wouldn't think anything of your chest. And this is coming from someone with a lot of knowledge in the area.

I have attached a before and after photo. The after photo is the most latest after photo. I feel there is still a void in between the pecs and below. The pecs are more even now I had one bigger than the other which I think is quite common. The centre chest is almost curved in shape now. I don't know if the shape of my pecs is highlighting the central part of the sternum or not. Im trying to work out where my pecs attach to my chest to see if they will ever train up to meet nearer in the middle or there will always be a large gap. Keen to hear your opinion on the before and after.

[Ecto9783]

I have attached a before and after photo. The after photo is the most latest after photo. I feel there is still a void in between the pecs and below. The pecs are more even now I had one bigger than the other which I think is quite common. The centre chest is almost curved in shape now. I don't know if the shape of my pecs is highlighting the central part of the sternum or not. Im trying to work out where my pecs attach to my chest to see if they will ever train up to meet nearer in the middle or there will always be a large gap. Keen to hear your opinion on the before and after.

You should take the "after" photo at the same angle. Easier to judge. The toughest angle to judge PE is straight on.

Your pectus could be completely repaired, but still have the appearance of a gap between your pecs due to the manner in which your pectoral muscles insert. I have that problem as well. Like I said, to get an idea of how successful the surgery was, get an MRI with the Pectus Protocol and have your Haller index measured. Ask your surgeon and he'll know exactly what that means.

Often pectus excavatum is more than meets the eye.

[arman1374arman]

hi.can you send older picture of your chest?

[AGslater]

Been a very interesting read this topic. I have just undergone corrective surgery for PE and I don't believe I have got quite the results I was hoping for. I am 10 weeks post op. Please see a few of my pictures. I still dislike the look of my chest and would feel I would get noticed. What do you guys think and do you think this can be trained to be invisible?

I can get some other photos of better angles.

You dont even have it. My chest goes in 3-4 inches. Its terrible. You people that have very minor cases should be happy.

[Ecto9783]

Yes I see other pics of members on here and wish I had the minor deformity that they do. At the same time, it's all relative. They haven't experienced the severe side of the defect, so their concern about their minor defect is valid in my opinion because it's all they know.

[mankoo1]

Here it goes mine, from what i saw in this post i believe i have one midly case of pe (around 3 cm) it used to bother me a lot when i got it around my teenage years (bullying, shirt always on) but luckily all the girls i used to date and my ex girlfriend didnt had a problem at all with my pe, no weird looks, questions, nothing, even when i brought up the issue they had nothing to say about it, everything ok, so that really helped with my insecurities besides i started working out around 7-8 months algo and i gained around 14kg, i was really skinny, only 1 meal a day, so that so far Is my experience with pe, i wont ever consider taking the surgery, i cant stay away from the gym 8 months and i dont believe it is that big of a deal to went though surgery.
I took some photos a few days ago of my chest, but i only have 1 old photo of my chest.
Ps: sorry if i had mistakes, english Is not my first language

[beliveaujp]

Low bodyfat helps take the focus out of the PE if you have a mild/moderate case. I am 31 with a mild case (3cm deep with rib flare). I got up to 170 around 15% bodyfat and I am now cutting and every week I see an improvement on my look. I wanna go down to 10% BF.

When you have extra layers of fat on the muscle it just make every curve bigger and more appearant. Potbelly looks bigger, stomach looks bigger. I try to keep my body fat at the lowest level possible.

That being said, training chest to make it stand out and fill what nature didn't give you works well. I do a lot of bench press, incline press, cable fly, chest dip. Work in strenght and hypertrophy.

Working abs to make that stomach really flat and make the potbelly go in. I do a lot of woodchoppers, ab rollout, cable crunch, weighted russian twist.

Also train your back as !"/$% hard as you can to pull on those shoulders and improve your posture.

I only have time to workout 3 times a week so I do full body workouts and my routine is mostly compound mouvements with isolation of the chest and back.

Squats, Deadlifts, Chin/Pull ups (weighted), Bent Over Row, Bench Press, Incline Bench Press, Chest Dips, Dumbbell Pullovers, Seated Row, Face Pull, Dumbbell Row, Cable Crossover, Military Press, Lateral Raise (inclined to work those rear delts) and ab work. Everything in progressive overload. Some days I'll do 4-5 sets of 5 with heavy weights, other 3-4 sets with 10-12 reps. I like to mix it up during the week but hit every part at least once per workout (2-3 for chest and back)

Off days I hit cardio. Walk or run 30 mins at home. So far I'm in better shape than I was before I started. If the PE gone? Nope. But I look better than most people without PE thats for sure.

[ThoseWhoSquirm]

Wow my friend has that. Thought it was just wierd genetics, didn't know it was a condition.

I think it is weird genetics and a condition at the same time. It's not an acquired syndrome is it? My late father, who was an MD used to say I had it, when I was still living at home and starting to work out. I'm not sure if he was joking or not, so I probably can't appreciate how serious it can be.

[censoredgreen]

I've been lifting for little over a year now, and ive always noticed that my peers had different ribs than me. I never really started noticing the sunken chest until a few months back. Though it doesnt bug me too much and it may be placebo, i feel as if i get super winded when i do cardio. When i think back to when i was playing baseball, we would do sprints and i would get winded before the fat kids. Let me know what yall think.

The photos are post bulk, so im at like 14 percent body fat. also i threw in some when i first started lifting

[beliveaujp]

I've been lifting for little over a year now, and ive always noticed that my peers had different ribs than me. I never really started noticing the sunken chest until a few months back. Though it doesnt bug me too much and it may be placebo, i feel as if i get super winded when i do cardio. When i think back to when i was playing baseball, we would do sprints and i would get winded before the fat kids. Let me know what yall think.

The photos are post bulk, so im at like 14 percent body fat. also i threw in some when i first started lifting

Looks like the bulk went well ! You seem to have a mild case. Similar but a bit milder than mine. I'll try to post pictures when I can.

Mine is 2.5 cm deep. Try and measure it when laying on your back, with a straight bar across your chest below your nipples. Then use a ruler to get to the bottom of the hole.

I also get winded rapidly but I can still keep going for a while. Like, I can run 10km but my heart rate will be faster than my friends and it'll take longer to catch my breath. Nothing dangerous.

This is also what causes the flared ribs. Bulding a tight core with ab exercises such as cable crunch, wood choppers, hanging leg raise and such is crucial to help for flared ribs. Building abs will also take the focus away from your Pectus and build muscles to fill some spots.

Working chest is also good, but only if you build your back equally if not more. People with pectus tend to have tight chest muscles and shoulders that can create a bad posture with the shoulders leaning to the front. Making the hole and flared ribs pop out more.

Stretching is also very important.

There is a great guy on youtube, Ryley Byrne, that posts a lot of videos for people with pectus that want to bodybuild. Definitly worth checking out.

[Glacierguy2018]

I was born with Pectus Excavatum as a kid along with aerotic stenosis. I hated to take my shirt off in front of everyone and can't get the surgery because supposedly with my heart condition, it would be really dangerous to do. All growing up I couldn't play contact sports and always wanted to play football but couldn't so did Track. Anyway, so I'm stuck and just have to accept it. I'm curious to see what the gym can do if I do the right weight lifting routines and like to see what you guys are doing as well.

[crimpz]

I have it too and it f**ng sucks. From the sides it looks a lot worse, almost like I got tits yo.

[Mpaun]

How severe do you guys think my PE is? I'm 18, and I'm not sure if I should get surgery done.

[andmich103]

How severe do you guys think my PE is? I'm 18, and I'm not sure if I should get surgery done.

Looks mild to me. Focus on strength training and tracking macros and see how you would look in a year from now.

[Ecto9783]

Same. However, my PE is more severe than most people on this thread, and is not centered on my chest. Besically, the right half of my rib cage is half the size of the left, which has caused my left pec to develop much faster and Fuller. I cannot seem to get a good stretch on my right side, and the mind-to-muscle connection just isn't there. It's become extremely discouraging the past few weeks as I've made huge strength gains, but my chest only seems to be getting worse.

If anyone else has managed to work through assymetric PE with good results, plz let me know.

I will post some pics later, it won't let me from my phone for some reason.

Work on training unilaterally (one side at a time) or with dumbbells. If one side is lagging, you'll be able to compensate with the strong side if you use a barbell which will do you no good since you're trying to make gains on both sides of your body.

[overdr1ve]

I also have PE. Started going to the gym 3 months ago and I'd like to ask you guys if it would be possible to mask my PE somewhat successfully by getting fit. Please take a look at my pictures and give me advice. I've been bulking for the past months so there's obviously quite a lot of fat on my body. How bad is it for me?

Thanks!

Edit: I'm 28 yrs old

[cesar5148]

Anyone that has pectus excavatum or "sunken chest", post pictures of your chest area, before or after you started bodybuilding.

I will post mine soon, I only have a mild case of this but it still effects my chest development. I'm wondering how much better you can make your chest look when bodybuilding.

Hi, i am 18 years old. I was born with Pectus and i have a big self esteem problem when it comes to taking pics of myself without a shirt. i have always been skinny and the first pic you see is from when i was a freshman. The next two are now (i just started college). i decided to go on a bulk since my junior year and gained a lot of muscle around my arms. i want to cut but i am scared to go back to where i started. anyone has any workouts that i can try to bring this out more? or to work my inner lower pec. thank you in advance.

[pranasrilanka95]

i have all the symptoms of pectus , i am sick and tired of it , and willing to do surgery .

[zRibs]

I don’t really have any photos from the side showing it. What I can tell you is, you can drastically change the illusion of having it. I used to have it very bad, friends would joke about it. After 6 years of training, you can’t even tell. Like as if it was cured. Obviously this will very person to person, but for me, lifting has definitely fixed the issue!

[zRibs]

Hi, i am 18 years old. I was born with Pectus and i have a big self esteem problem when it comes to taking pics of myself without a shirt. i have always been skinny and the first pic you see is from when i was a freshman. The next two are now (i just started college). i decided to go on a bulk since my junior year and gained a lot of muscle around my arms. i want to cut but i am scared to go back to where i started. anyone has any workouts that i can try to bring this out more? or to work my inner lower pec. thank you in advance.

I was same way man... I used to be very skinny, and man did that indent stick out like a sore thumb. After training consistently and putting on a respectable amount of size, it isn’t even noticeable. You’ll be surprised how putting on muscle covers it up. Don’t be afraid to cut, if you bulked correctly and put on muscle, I promise you, you’ll see a difference!