How do I build a strong chest?

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RIGorous1

Platinum Member
Oct 26, 2002
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I do about 200 pushups everyday (10 sets of 20 pushups) for the last 9 months and my chest is still pretty small. Inaddition to this I"m getting what appears to be a weak right peck... its noticably (but not too much) smaller than the left towards the center. How can I fix this?

I want to be able to do the titty dance by summer :D thanks

sorry no beer guys, gotta cut that out to get fit :)
 
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RIGorous1

Platinum Member
Oct 26, 2002
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Originally posted by: ElFenix
bench press
Click to expand...

I did that for awhile, but it didn't help that much either... I used 125 lbs ( I know I suck :( ) and was wondering which technique is better...

push the weight in fast repetitions or slow and steady reps.

use wide grip or tight grip

incline or decline...

and should I do my repetitions all the way down til I'm parallel with my chest or a few inches from it...

which does what?
 
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Spoooon

Lifer
Mar 3, 2000
11,565
202
106
You might try doing bench with dumb bells. You'll be using more muscles and can push yourself harder without a spotter.

I do flat bench and incline. I haven't worked out in 2 years or so, but I was still able to get 265 up. I do 3 sets of 35 push-ups every other day, but I'm probably going to stop since I've started working with weights again.

edit: Instead of doing 10 sets of 20, do 3 or 4 sets of 30-40 push ups. It sounds like you're not working very hard.
 
Amused

Amused

Elite Member
Apr 14, 2001
55,863
14,001
146
You need to workout REGULARLY and PROGRESS in the amount you lift to see any growth. If you are doing any more than 8-10 reps, you're lifting too light. Do every set to complete muscle failure (get a spotter).

You also need to eat big to get big.

A good idea would be to start a REAL strength training program.
 
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TechnoKid

Diamond Member
Feb 12, 2001
5,575
0
0
The butterfly thingamabober seems to work for me.

And as for the benching, the closer you have your hands, the more "work" you are doing, the farther, the less weight it seems.
 
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konichiwa

Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
15,077
2
0
Higher weight, less reps works well. Go to the gym and do like 3-5 chest exercises, with 25 pushups in between each exercise:

Bench Press
Incline Press
Decline Press
Pec Fly
Tricep Dips

You should feel it the next day. Do this 3-4 times a week, day on/day off (M-W-F / T-Th-Sat)
 
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kenshorin

Golden Member
Apr 14, 2001
1,160
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Originally posted by: konichiwa
You should feel it the next day. Do this 3-4 times a week, day on/day off (M-W-F / T-Th-Sat)
Click to expand...

3 - 4 times a week is WAY too much to work any one muscle group.

My advice, don't ask workout questions on ATOT. Check Amused's sig, geekfitness.com is a WAY better place to start than here...
 
K

konichiwa

Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
15,077
2
0
I'm assuming he's not going to get muscle fatigue as most people don't work out that hard especially when they first start. If he is, 2 times. :p
 
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DOSfan

Senior member
Sep 19, 2003
522
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If you actually want to build mass, you need to use more weight and less reps.

Light weight and more reps is for tone and endurance.

And slower reps is better than fast.

'Fly's with dumbells is one of the best ways to build and strengthen the inside of your pecs. You have to do the ones where you hold your arms out, not the ones where you basically bench press with dumbells.

Also, with benchpressing - your hand possiton determins which muscles you use. It does not effect weight or usefullnes. The closer you have your hands, the more you use your triceps. The further apart, the more you use your pecs. But benchpressing does not peak the inside of your pecks as well as 'flys.
 
SociallyChallenged

SociallyChallenged

Elite
Mar 22, 2002
10,484
31
81
If you want to get bigger, instead of doing 10 sets of 20, do 5 sets of 40 or 4 sets of 50. Doing 10 sets of 20 gets you more defined, but not bigger. And if you don't increase the amount of times you do them, you won't get strong.

So:

1) Do more pushups, but less reps.
2) Increase workout regularly.
 
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PunDogg

Diamond Member
Jan 15, 2002
4,529
1
0
bench press, but do straight bench and incline. do a shoudler length about grip, and use a very light weight but do it very slowly. nice and easy, do 3 sets of 14-10-8 and make it so you stop about 1-2 inches above your chest. This slow motion will help you with forum, strength, and size. As you get better and better increase the weight, but you can also increase the speed you do at, but make sure you forum is good other wise you can hurt your shoulders badlly. hope this helps

Dogg
 
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Whisper

Diamond Member
Feb 25, 2000
5,394
2
81
With only push ups, it's going to be really tough to get any size.

As someone suggested, bench press is probably your best bet. If you have the equipment handy, try hitting your chest from all three "standard" angles (flat, incline, and decline).

More than anything, though, you want to add weight and lessen reps if you're going for size. From what I recall, the best number of reps for hypertrophy (gaining size) is between 6 and 10, while strength is 4-8. As far as grip goes, the farther apart your hands are, the more you'll be working your chest as opposed to triceps. Hope it helps.

Edit: and as someone else suggested, flies are great for working the inner area of your pecs. Use dumbbells, and go slow to make sure you have proper form. You can use cables as well, if you'd like.
 
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mrCide

Diamond Member
Nov 27, 1999
6,187
0
76
i did 5 x 5s with dumbells until i hit 90lb dumbells (180lb) sets (then stopped going to the gym, bout 6 or 7 months ago)..

i started with 45s. stick to dumbells. 5 sets 5 reps for me, you do as much weight as you can for 5x5, if you cant complete all 5 sets you stay at that weight (atleast haev to be able to do 2-3 full sets). once you can do 5x5 you move onto more weight.

I got a decent sized chest this way in a year.
 
R

Rudee

Lifer
Apr 23, 2000
11,218
2
76
Despite contrary opinions, bench press isn't a mass builder for everyone. Some people are what I call natural bench pressers. i.e. these people naturally find the right "groove" thus they get massive pecs from the bench press. Others tend to get stronger front delts and triceps from benchpresses, whereas, their chest development is minimal. If you're not a natural bench presser you should concentrate on flys, where you are squeezing the chest. People who don't respond well to conventional bench presses typically respond fairly well to flys.

From personal experience, although I'm extremely strong in the bench press, most of my chest development came from heavy flys and heavy weighted wide-grip chest dips.
 
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WinkOsmosis

Banned
Sep 18, 2002
13,990
0
0
Do you need a strong chest to store your pieces of eight?



You are doing too many pushups, too many days. What posessed you to do 200 a day? Didn't you research before starting this workout that seems to consist entirely of pushups, and too many of them?
 
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Whisper

Diamond Member
Feb 25, 2000
5,394
2
81
One more thing: I'd definitely agree with one of the above posts that says bench might not work for everyone. Specifically, I'd say that flat bench doesn't hold the same benefits for everyone that does it. Some people will notice significant size and strength increases using primary flat bench, while others will not. If flat bench doesn't work well for you, either focus on flies (as suggested above), or on incline press. I know quite a few people that feel a much, much greater "burn," and notice a larger gain in size and strength with incline. The only problem is that it's very easy to injure your shoulder(s) with the incline press, so if you aren't used to it, start on a machine first.
 
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