Shaping Chest

Just wondering for any tips when trying to get a good shape on the chest
 
My chest routine consists of
 
Flat Bench 5x5
incline 5x5
Decline 5x5
Cable Cross 3x12
Incline Dumbell 4x8
Dips 4x8
 
any advice lads?

You can't 'shape' your chest or any other muscle. You can only make it bigger and it will take on its genetically predetermined shape. The only other way to alter the shape of it is by reducing body fat.

well ok, i'l re - phrase it
 
Obviously Incline builds top chest
Flat Bench middle
and decline bottom, dips help with the inside of the chest
 
is there any other exercises people prefer which sees more definition in the shape of the chest?

briankelly1986


well ok, i'l re - phrase it

Obviously Incline builds top chest
Flat Bench middle
and decline bottom, dips help with the inside of the chest

is there any other exercises people prefer which sees more definition in the shape of the chest?

It's questionable whether incline hits the top of the chest. Attempting to debate this will open a massive can of worms that's been done to death with no real consensus reached, but at best the movement activates the upper head of the muscle slightly more, but the chest is still just one muscle. Suffice it to say it is far from obvious, as you suggest.

What is beyond doubt though, is the rest of your post is simply not true and moreover cannot be true because it is not possible to target different areas of the one muscle (the distinction between upper and the rest of the chest as discussed above may be an exception only because there are two heads to the muscle, the clavicular and the sternal, ie upper and lower).

But you cannot target the inner/outer/middle chest. This is unfortunate because it would be great to be able to. It's a very common misconception, but one borne out of bro science, nothing more.

CitizenKane


You can't 'shape' your chest or any other muscle. You can only make it bigger and it will take on its genetically predetermined shape. The only other way to alter the shape of it is by reducing body fat.

 
X2

interesting!
 
so whats the point in inclining or declining the bench then?

What's the point in doing squatting and lunges in the same session? You're hitting the muscles from different angles and varying the level of work done by supporting muscles, in order up provide the most stimulus for growth.

For me flat benching is far more a shoulder and tricep movement than a chest movement. Incline I feel places less emphasis on the triceps and delts and requires the chest to do more of the work. Decline shortens the range of motion allowing for more weight and greater overload, but also removes the shoulders and triceps from the lift probably to a greater degree than incline, meaning again that it necessitates the chest doing most of the work. Probably to do with the decreased amount of elbow flexion in both movements. It's for this reason Dorian Yates rated decline so much for chest development, nothing to do with working the 'lower chest', etc.

Ditch the 5x5 stuff mate.

Also to ad you are making things to complex.
 
Give this a try.
 
Incline DB press 4 sets 10-12 reps
Incline Barbell press 3 sets 10-12 reps
decline smith 3 sets 10-12 reps
cable cross overs 4 sets 15-20 reps.
 
Some angle lead more to your front delts taking the majority of the weight and or even the the tri's. Its a chest work out make sure you are working you chest.
 
good luck

I dont understand how this same thread comes up every week. Poor CK going into great detail to try and explain every time it comes up

thanks for the advice mate
 
can i ask why u think i should swerve the 5 sets of 5? id imagine because its not building muscle as much and is more about strength?
 
i was actually doing 10-12 reps but i wasnt really going up in weight that much, were as now im increasing every week and im definitley getting stonger, and have seen more size aswel.
 
bow to your experience though mate and i'm gona give it a go, so take flat bench out completely?

It comes down to either wanting size or strength.
of course they come hand in hand to an extent.
 
If you want size and a better "shape"  to your chest then reps of 10+
 
If you are after strength then reps in the 5-3-1 range.
 
5X5 is garbage. I have no diea why it became so popular. Anyone that i know who is in shape is because they train more like a bodybuilder. Watch any pro train on Youtube and you will see.
 
As for no flat bench, to many people let there ego take over, which in turn puts more stress on the shoulders and tri's.

5x5 came from the fact that it would have you doing an equal amount of overall work to 3x8 or 4x6 or 2x12, ie roughly 24-25 reps in total.

Strength and size do go hand in hand though. The reason you probably only see people who use higher rep ranges in good shape is probably because most people who would train in lower rep ranges are generally interested in strength sports and therefore don't pay too much attention to their diet and body fat levels and so on. But when you get strength athletes who subsequently strip away bf you see guys with unbelievable physiques - search for pics of Matt Kroc and Dave Tate to see what they looked like when they cut, and look at pics of Oleksandr Kutcher too.

At the end of the day you won't see a big BBer who is weak and you won't see a strong powerlifter who is skinny. The difference in shape is usually down to body fat/diet.

I get your point about 5x5 being in no man's land between strength and hypertrophy, but the above examples are just to show that progressing your lifts in any rep range will add muscle, your muscles have to increase their cross sectional area in order to compensate for the increased load. And I certainly have seen my best mass gains from lifting 5x5 on the big lifts.

5x5 is the best I've found. Especially as a ectomorph.
But tbh I don't see the point in doing 1 set rep range.
For example on a chest workout.
5x5 on flat bench then 3x12 on fly's. I've always found this helped me personally. Using 5x5, 3x8 and 3x12. But all is personal preference. Your find out what works for you.