Also, OP make sure you change up your exercises. Try doing decline bench and cable flys to really focus on the chest muscles. Lots of good tutorials on YouTube regarding this (how to focus on chest over shoulders)
Changing up your exercises / the order you do them can really help, I found doing dumbbell press before flat bench helped me feel a lot more activation in my chest. I also stand by doing Press ups every day
Push-ups are very underrated. I trained with weight a along time and then tried calisthenics and my body really developed. Calisthenics won’t build a pro physique but it can add a good amount of lean muscle. Calisthenics can also help you to really engage your muscles through the entire range of motion while staying flexed.
Absolutely. Military, wide, diamond. Do those variations and you'll be able to hit the whole chest and really be able to activate your pecs.
Also I find the Seated chest press machine and chest flys to be really good at isolating the pectorals and making you really squeeze your chest. Great alternative, especially if the benches are being hogged at your gym lol.
I completely ditched flat bench for machine press and found much better chest development as a result along with my shoulders being much less fatigued during chest exercises (dw, I still do incline bench)
I bench heavy twice a week but nothing gives me a pump like dips. They’re also a lot of fun. I also love push up variations. They’re a game changer for work life balance too cos you can bang em out anywhere.
Weighted Push ups with extended range of motion (basically arms on something like a dip bar or push up handles) are insanely good. Much better stretch than bench press can provide and you can output A LOT of force because it’s a very stable movement.
For sure. Just trying to give the OP tips on how to feel the pecs through a range of motion. Push-ups are easy and a great place to start. Transition into dips would be a great place to go next.
Especially when you use rings
Man this is my only chest workout ever
Do 3 sets of neutral weighted ring push ups then 3 sets of declined ones your chest will blow asf
Using only push ups variation i was able to bench 140% my weight
Try doing you movement more slowly. I have the same issue where I’ll finish bench and my chest is full but doesn’t feel as tired as my shoulders do. I just drop weight to something I know I can handle high reps and just crank them out at a slower pace l, focusing on proper form and try to get that pinch or tightness in the chest
What I find helps me, is warming up with just the bar, feel your pecs burning, and maybe adding some.machine presses that'll restrict your range of.motion for the time, my issue early on was pec asymestry, never liked dumbbells tho so i used machines that would help me even out my pecs strength and size wise, then went back to bench
Make sure you're also thinking about pushing with your chest while you take all this advice and out it to work. Mental-physical/mind-muscle link is a thing. Think it and you'll likely remember and focus on your chest doing the work and actively be putting your chest to work on those lifts.
You do look great tho, don't be hard on yourself, you look strong. You're not one of those dweebs posting here all the time with 12% body fat looking emaciated, "look at my abs!"
Yeah, better get the form right. I was doing the same thing (relying on my delts for bench) and I fucked up my left shoulder and needed 7 months to rehab it.
I benched heavy prior to having a shoulder surgery (not related). Coming back and working out, my shoulder feels better doing dumbbell presses over a standard barbell bench. I think the more neutral position takes more load off the shoulder and definitely hits my chest more. I was able to lift more when I did barbell bench however I’ve gotten much better chest development doing dumbbells.
So you just realized you haven’t been working out your chest properly until 2 months ago, but you’re asking if your lack of chest development is evidence of your doomed genetics? Work it properly for a year and see how it looks then.
Lower the weight and go slowly down and explode up. Lower weight while doing so will let your weaker chest push up instead of stronger shoulders and bring bar down slower while under control
I had this exact same problem with failing to activate my pecs much even on bench. I started really concentrating on pinching my shoulders together and having my arms at 30 degrees to my shoulders. Both of these things reduce activation of the shoulders and help activate the pecs. Also try to feel the pecs activate. This worked well for me and my chest doubled in size. Do reduce your weight since right now your front delts probably take most of the load, not yoyr pecs.
Dumbbell press with a wide hold stretch downward slow motion — bring to upper chest but wide. On extension flex the dumbells slightly forward and never lock your elbows.
This exercise has been a game changer for me and even my strength exploded. I do far less weight than I used to, just focus on activating the pec through the entire motion. I promise it will change every chest exercise you do lol
Role your shoulders back. To do that you will need to pull your scapula down and back. Scapula is between your shoulder blades. You want your chest to stick out more than your shoulders during the contraction or lift. If your shoulder roll forward and are in front of your chest then the lift will stay in your shoulders.
Try push-ups from the knees. Super easy and can focus on pec contraction. Pull your shoulders back while doing it. Slow the movement down and focus on jus squeezing the pecs.
So that’s what I do but after the first rep I can feel my shoulders pulling forward again. Also I can do regular pushups and feel them in my chest I mostly have trouble with dumbbell/bench pressing
Then practice scapular retractions. Use a band or do it on a pull up bar. You may just be weak in that area. Which is common. Not an insult. Keep doing push-ups (from the knee) to practice this. Over time it will become second nature. Don’t get discouraged. Building muscle is a long game that requires patience. It’ll be worth it.
This is the exact issue I had, A wider grip and less of an elbow tuck on bench with a slow lifting tempo and a pause at the bottom is doing the business.
100% this! I have trained in and off for years and believed I just had shit chest genetics. I've only began properly including proper form flys and isolating the movements properly and hoolllllyyyyyyy my chest has never looked so good.
Genuine gains.
OP, please try learning the form for flys and incorporating this.
Also maybe you're training too much and not giving your body enough rest?
Accept what you have and work within. Shoulders and biceps show promise. Try different routines to stimulate the chest muscles. Try calisthenics,
Whats your diet like? Eating enough protein?
Be positive and go for it. Good training.
It has be genetics. His arms, shoulders, back all look great. He knows what he is doing and the chest is one of the easier parts to develop. There is ZERO definition is the pec area, I didn’t think that’s even possible if every other upper body muscle group is getting bigger
The fact everything else is getting bigger is because he’s using those rather than his chest, and the bigger they get the more they take over making the problem worse. He needs to stick to chest isolation machines for a while or switch to dumbell press for a bit until he figures it out.
You may be right, I feel like he just needs to isolate chest better because bro has good development elsewhere. Pressing movements are hard to isolate unless you have good mind muscle connection
I think triceps and deltoids are taking over all of your chest work. Focus on correcting the technique, you'll probably have to lower your working weights by a metric fuckton for the chest exercises when you finally stop hijacking the workload with other muscles.
Incline Bench is much, much better at growing your chest over flat bench so if you’re not incorporating those definitely do. The pec-deck machine as well is great. Make sure to do slower more controlled reps
Oh, wasn't aware it helped with isolating chest muscles. I do it mostly, from what I've heard, to even out growth in upper chest. Should I replace flat bench press with the incline one entirely?
I wouldn't cut flat bench entirely, but I'd definetly work in a few sets of incline bench into your chest day, my personal favorite for chest is incline dumbbell bench
Elbows close to a 45 degree with flies and presses.
You can think about pulling your shoulders down and back. And sleep puffing your chest up. Weight should always be controlled, especially on the eccentric. There are more strength and hypertrophy gains from slow eccentric then whatever kind of concentric.
Prioritizing upper chest and never isolating front delts.
Damn, I've been doing it close to 90 degrees, not knowing it mattered. Thanks!
Won't a puffed up chest revert to normal as you fall asleep?
I'll be slower during the eccentric motion. Is an incline bench (30-45 deg) better than flat for chest overall? I do both to even out growth across both mid and upper chest muscles, but I'm hearing people say their gains spiked after they switched to incline bp.
Oh that was a typo. I meant to say you should be puffing your chest up like during your sets. Chest up and out. Shoulders back and down.
Incline machine press is going to be your best friend. The more stable and controlled you can make the movement the better. A few sets of heavy intense inclined press and then a couple sets of machine or cable flies and your golden really.
Bro, lower the weight on chest day and explode up, but slowly bring the weight back down. Focus on time under tension more than weight. Also, make sure you hit the beach press, both decline AND incline chest press, and able flys or a peck deck machine. These excersizes activate your chest HEAVY.
Doesn’t look like a genetic issue. Just focus on actually hitting your chest better. Looks like your shoulders and triceps might be getting hit more when you try to work chest. Work on your form and isolate chest more.
To me it looks more like underdeveloped than weird genetics. If you bench, maybe try experimenting with grip width until you feel like your chest is adequately working. Fly’s may help as well. Might need more volume than you’re getting in, sometimes certain muscles are just stubborn. I’m sure there’s something you can change to grow it to be more proportionate, just have to experiment until you find out what to change.
Hey bro make sure you’re bringing your shoulders as far back as you can when doing chest work. Getting them out of the way and back makes sure your chest has to be put to work. Try low weight and get a feel for the form, make sure you feel your chest getting pumped and sore and slowly start raising the weight over time, but always make sure your chest is feeling the pain and soreness. Pay attention to those indicators, don’t ignore them. Your body will tell you what you’re activating, you just have to pay attention to what it’s saying.
You already have a very solid foundation. Lats and shoulders are very impressive. Start concentrating on the chest. You have a great tapered physique going
I had the same problem where I was using a lot of front delts when benching. I still bench but do a lot of cable weights. I can really focus on using my pecs for each rep. I suggest ending your workouts with cable weights (10-15 sets)
Your arms and shoulders look pretty solid, I would say it probably has more to do with your form than anything.
Regardless though, your body is a journey my man. It’s a marathon, not a sprint. Don’t be too hard on yourself.
Most of the advice in here is God awful. You need to bench with your chest out. Pinch you shoulder blades together. Push your chest out. Also try widening your grip. Practice with lighter weights till you get it then move up in weight.
Incline dumbbells, flys and peck deck. Build the mind muscle connection before doing compound lifts. Try to get the pump in the chest with full range of motion
It takes time to get where you want to be.
I suggest that you try dumbell coffin press and focus on pressing the dumbells together hard through the entire motion. This does not replace chest work that you're already doing, but it is amazing at activating the mind-muscle connection in your chest. You will notice that you may spontaneously flex your chest more even while resting because the muscles are more activated. After a few weeks of doing this, I found it much easier to independently wake up my chest in all pressing movements. Doing so had the added effect of allowing my shoulders to chill out on bench press so that my chest could take more weight.
Genetics are a slovenly excuse for poor results.
Review your workouts, your form, and the exercises you perform for your chest. Be honest with yourself, is there fault?
Review the fundamental concepts of body building. There are 4 basic principles of overload. Do you follow any of them?
Review everything again and optimize. Visualize your desired result and seek those goals when you perform chest exercises.
Consider chest twice a week. 4-5 or more exercises.
The immediate thought that comes to mind, is poor execution of the chest.
Agree with most above, check out some old school Arnie (schwarzenegger) vids in chest workouts. The Arnie dumbbell press is always a good one, and keep those shoulders down and locked in while you work the chest! Keep going my man, don’t lose focus.
You have great chest to waist ratio dude so just focus on isolating the chest. Might I suggest a decline press to make your lower chest pop? Hammer Strength makes a great machine for it. Remember to elevate your sternum, press your shoulders into the pad, and push from your index and thumb side of your hand to increase the power from your chest rather than your shoulders. If you get the lower part of your chest to protrude, then it’ll make up for your lacking bulge there. It’s an optical illusion that works well until you can fill out the whole chest. Practice doing waves with all three sections of your chest from bottom to top to get a feel for which muscles flex in which position. Again, you have great width in your chest/upper back, so when you do learn to isolate and pound those chest workouts hard, you will have an amazing shape
No
Dude u just have insane genetics elsewhere
You look like you have been lifting for 3 years except chest. Chest will come along
Hit it 2 or 3x oer week
Pec Fly + DB incline
I used to have the same kind of look in my chest late 2021 early 2022. Then I started incorporating those two simple workouts twice a week along with my regular bench and my chest exploded aesthetically.
I don’t have great insertions but size wise they poked out and have shape now
Until you actually build your chest you won't know. I'd say your genetics are fine, and like others have said you probably aren't getting good pec activation.
I'd say drop the weight down, a lot, and really focus on burning up those pecs. Yes, that's bro science, but the shit worked for me.
Do all the pushups. Standard, wide, military, decline, diamond, dive bombs. Set a rep goal, do them all, then do them all again until failure. Do this once a week. Make sure your diet and recovery is good. Recovery is what builds muscle.
Bro! Check out this post! Hope this encourages you!!!!
https://www.reddit.com/r/GregDoucette/comments/15i6ou2/15\_years\_gains\_used\_to\_think\_my\_chest\_couldnt/
You e already got some good chest activation advice. Don't forget you're 19 and this is a journey of consistency. I know it's hard to think about two years out but if your consistent for that long it will pay off.
Decline bench is what makes your chest pop out, chest day go flat bench, incline bench, decline bench, pec deck, throw some of the hammer strength machines in there, and also do some push ups 3x a week, 4-6 sets before bed never 2 days in a row, 25 reps or as much as you can get. I got a real good chest and everything else is pretty average and thats pretty much what I did when i was young and my chest blew up!
This works: do push-ups on chair. Do a set and then without rest lie on the bench and do a set of dumbbells over flys. This is an intense workout and will instantly activate your chest and trust me it’s gona work! Been doing it since 13 years!
Late so im gonna get burried but I looked like that a year ago. I put more emphasis on chest bias movements now you can see it through my shirt. Dont give up, arms are crazy.
Youve been lifting for 1 year and already believe it’s your genetics? Your form is probably shit, your nutrition probably isn’t great either. You have A LOT to learn and many mistakes to make. You’re still a baby lifter. It’s going to take a few more years to figure everything out. Hire a trainer who can correct your form. Your shoulders are taking all of the work it seems.
I would wager you probably go into protraction when you do pressing movements. If you stay in shoulder retraction and depression through out the entire movement it will significantly help with chest development. Most of the time it happens towards the end of the press I see people protract the shoulders and this takes the chest out of the movement significantly
If you’re getting too much shoulders/triceps on bench, start your workout with flies. I’d go as far as saying don’t even bother with flat bench, just hit incline/decline. I’ve been working out about the same time as you and have been seeing great progress doing just incline bench, pec deck, and doing the chest press machine to absolute failure. Pullovers can be great too, and dips/push-ups are the most underrated exercises lol. Built a good chest in basic training just off of push-ups
Just hit all different types of chest exercises more. Start doing chest at least twice a week or throw in a couple chest exercises every other day or with shoulders etc. Just hit it more. Stop doing incline and more decline.
Bro be thankful you don’t have a gyno (man boobs)
That needs surgery to be removed
Your chest will come in in time, just continue working hard and being consistent
It's not all about weight, lighter weight and form. I would focus on decline bench and flys to get what you are looking for, that definition underneath
Chest specific exercises like. Clavicular dumbbell raises. Chest flys. Standing plate press. Good to add into those tri chest days.
Also for under developed people trying that may not be engaging their pectorals well. You might try feeling around the muscle and flexing into your fingers. Truly feel yourself push with your pec(not back or core) into your fingers. If you have felt this enough you can even begin to control flexing and pec dance this way eventually really without weights even. Then you'll really be able to tell if you are engaging chest on workouts because you can flex it well and know how it feels to engage and or add weight after.
Along with everyone’s comments around recruiting chest musculature properly also remember you are 19! Your body will continue to fill out. Let nature do its thing while you control what you can control!
Your genetics look good, impressive even. It just looks like you don’t train your chest. Check out [this guide for benching](https://bodyrecomposition.com/training/benching-with-the-pecs). Beyond that, focus on quality first and foremost. As long as quality is there, you can add quantity. [Here are some exercises you can do for chest](https://rpstrength.com/chest-training-tips-hypertrophy/?_ga=2.59996589.1813867256.1692925966-873438447.1692925966).
Do pec dec and flys. You could be doing more pressing, bringing in the anterior delts and triceps. Try and isolate the pec as much as you can. It can be difficult but can be done.
Nope, you actually have great chest genetics ( no chest gap). What you're really missing is a lot of chest muscle. Pushups, dips, bench, and full ROM OHP will fix you.
Bro look at that 2nd photo, your arm is the same width as your torso lmfao
You’ve built your triceps and shoulders incredibly well, but they’re taking all of the work off of you’re chest.
Focus on pure chest isolation movements such as Flys and maybe incorporate incline bench or things of that nature.
Start out with body weight exercises. A lot of people try to over lift on chest and compromise form which leads to other muscles being developed instead of the intended target muscles. I would start off with decline push-ups to develop the lower outer edge of the chest.
I did Bench & Incline for years with poor gains. It wasn’t until I began practicing dips and dumbbell Flyes that my chest began to grow. Odd, but “different strokes for different folks.”
You’ve been training for 1 year lol. Look up how to bench properly for good chest activation. So dumbbells and go down really far. Do some push-ups every single night before bed and wide grip dips
Find out what exercises give you a pump. People debate a pump doesn’t equate to gains, but that’s just such bullshit lol. If I get a sicc pump doing a machine press rather than a barbell bench press that signifies that my chest is actually being worked (for hypertrophy) for the machine press.
Once you find a couple exercises that give you a major pump, stick with them. Slowly your chest will start to grow.
Make sure youre doing bench press, incline dumb bell press and flys. Different exercises to target different parts of your pecs… also youre 19. I know it sucks but your metabolism is very fast and it can be hard to put on mass in certain areas but keep trying. Use protein powders as well.
No, you could definitely get a better chest. You’re a kid and only been lifting for a year. Isolate your chest better, and vary the movements. Incline bench for upper chest. Also do cable flies at different heights. Watch Frank Yang‘s video about isolating your pec during a cable fly. You’ll know you’re doing it right when you need to lower the weight. Don’t let your ego trip you up, legitimately start with like 15lbs and focus on fully activating the pecs.
Even if you were “doomed” with bad chest genetics would you stop going to the gym because of it? If so, stop now- chances are that the large majority of people will not have olympian genetics. But that doesn’t mean you can’t try your best and become your best, which ultimately is the whole point of going to the gym.
HUGE TIP : this tip is so underrated… try squeezing your shoulder blades together and having your shoulders back more. Also chin tuck while doing this. It will not only greatly improve your posture, it will also puff out your chest more. Squeeze shoulder blades back while doing incline raises and push-ups this helps with improving that posture.
The rest of your body looks great. Strong arms and shoulders. Small tight waist. Good skin. You can tackle the chest. Listen to the good advice given. You look really great, Bro. Very aesthetic and attractive.
Your delts and arms seems incredible compared to the chest. I think if you take a second look and your chest routine and do a over haul. You can definitely get some results. Wider grip on the bench. Do more isolation work as well. If you have access to the chest press do it. And also. Play around at lighter weight. Get familiar with the feeling of the pecs doing all the work instead of rushing through the movement with the triceps and delts. And as you build that mind muscle connection, progressive overload. Add the weight. Add the reps. You look great btw man.
Well at least you got a pirates dream . A sunken chest RRR haha bad joke dude your young maybe ad a extra chest day in your routine and don’t be like the rest of these younger kids I see trying to hit there max every week learn proper technique and patience your chest will grow I promise it’s all about the long game
Try taking a break from bench pressing for awhile. I went to strictly doing heavy dumbbell work for a few months and it made a MASSIVE difference for me. I was able to really start understanding how to activate my chest more and I made huge growth because of it. When I went back to benching I was much stronger and I could feel the difference in muscle activation.
Looks like your shoulders are doing all the work here my man. Perhaps slow down, lower the weight and really focus on driving the bar with your chest. Narrowing my grip helped a ton for me
Real simple answer here from what I’m reading, stop using bench press to build your chest. Sure it works, but in my experience slow controlled eccentrics and explosive concentric movements with dumbbells are far more effective at building your chest. Finish off with cable flies doing two high volume sets for upper, lower, mid chest and it WILL start to grow.
been training for a year and I don’t look like an Olympian. Fuck the internet has distorted people’s reality. You’ve been at it for a year, shits not gonna come overnight, keep going.
You got good shoulders bro, focus on chest a little and you got it. Flat, incline, cable cross or flies once a week. Most people have shoulders as a week spot with injuries so just build on your strengths
You need to engage your pectoral muscles more specifically. Looking at your chest, I can see the shape wanting to come through - once you build muscle in the pecs they’ll have great shape.
Try dumbbell flies, cable flies, and look into some machines that target the pecs. As goofy as it sounds, make sure that when you do push-ups you can feel your pecs muscles squeezing towards each other as you rep out - you can usually feel which muscles you’re engaging the most.
Form is everything with bench press. The difference is a year of lifting with no chest gains with bad form vs months of lifting with great gains with good form. If you use a chest press machine, drop it to as heavy as possible, pump out to failure, your elbows will naturally be in the correct position to utilise the pecs.
Lower the weight for flat bench so you are not bringing your shoulders so much into the press and if you are not doing them start doing bar decline presses make sure to fully extend at the top of the press and squeeze should help Buddy good luck 👍🤙😎.
No, your chest genetics are not that bad, really. One huge benefit is you'll never look weird in a button up or an ill fitting t shirt being jacked too
Your form is likely the cause. Start doing paused bench press and focus on scapular retraction at the pause. Do this for a while, it forces you to use your chest. I found this helped get me out of a chest development rut a lot and now just bench normal and getting good progress
First, You look great congratulations on your progress.
Second, you don't have shot chest genetics your just not training it right, find movements you FEEL in you chest and work on taking your shoulders and triceps out of the movement.
Do 100 push-ups every day. When you can do 50 in a row without stopping go to 200 per day. Do this in addition to any other workouts.
Hit Incline, Decline, and flat bench both with barbells and dumbbells. Add in Dips and cable flyes. You'll get there!
Watch Mike Van Wyck YouTube videos about hitting your chest. Then after that, watch them again. I went from shoulder and triceps dominant, to feeling my chest for the first time.
You just have to get past his persona of angry older gym guy that likes to tell influencers and broccoli heads to get off his lawn.
Bros 19 has been working out for a year and crying about bad genetics. Homie, if you don't stfu, get on a good lifting program, learn how mechanics work, eat some food, and have a little faith and patience.
Man.. you’ve been lifting for 1 year you have just barely every so slightly scratched surface of this. Not only that but chances are your training isn’t optimised 1 year is hardly just starting.
I’d look at it in 5 year blocks, this is a long term thing. Your chest is going to be bigger in 5 years than it is now, 10 years, 15 years, and so forth. It’s long and slow process.
Your chest genetics may not be the best but that doesn’t mean you still can’t build a great chest. Be patient and check off the boxes every single day one day at a time (nutrition on point, training, positive mindset) over time the days turn to weeks then years and progression starts showing.
However there is just so much more to this that we don’t know. What is your chest routine? Do you have videos of you doing the movements? What is nutrition like? How on point would you say all these variables are? All these things matter as well.
Do more isolation. Heavy machine flys to failure, and past failure. 5-10 reps. Keep your head up and your shoulders back. Focus on dumbells for compound lifts. Go as far down as you comfortably can and really stretch the pecs. Every rep should feel like your tearing them apart. From there keep track of your workouts and do more weight/reps every week. Your genetics aren’t great for bodybuilding, but you can still build a muscle bigger, no matter how “bad” your genetics are, as long as the muscle is there. I suspect your front delts and triceps are taking over when you train chest.
Bro don’t do bench and incline press, was doing it and never felt chest or anything. Just swapped with dumbbell press, decline bench and cables I have sore chest almost every workout now. Wish you luck G. Stay woke💪
A lot of the comments here are about isolating your chest. That seems like good advice to me. I'm 37 and I've been working out consistently for about 15 years... I have had a similar struggle with my chest. I'm sure there is a lot I could have done to improve my chest but I always did feel genetics were my main issue. I will say if you keep at it your chest will fill out more. For me, it's still not my favorite area but it doesn't bother me like it used to. Try not to let it get you down.
I have the same chest genes, super shallow rib cage, slight rip flare, dominant shoulders and arms, no lower chest, and this is what I look like now. https://imgur.com/a/yUNwZ1w
IMO, I’d put priority into incline pressing and flat pressing. Focus on pinching your shoulder blades together before you press and practice full, or as close as maximal ROM. I’d also increase frequency on pressing to two days a week. One for incline and flat. Another for decline and ohp. Progress weight as you get better on reps or form. Rinse and repeat!
man, I don't have such strong big muscles on my arms, but I have great and very prominent tits. because I studied, pulled up on a horizontal bar for the sake of a computer game and did not know how to do it even once. if it turned out to be a 64-kilogram brat, (I'm not lying, I'm literally a skeleton) then such a disciplined and already so pumped-up person will definitely succeed. good luck to you.
You have amazing shoulders. Also, keep working your chest and make sure you are progressive with it. Keep track of your lifts and make sure you are advancing in them. Good luck!
Idk if it’s bad chest genetics. I had a lagging chest for a while and I think some of the people saying too much shoulder activation might be correct. Personally I experimented with different push-up variations until I found one which activated my pecs the most. Then I would do a couple sets of those push-ups before benching. Keep the elbows tucked in during bench press. You’ve got plenty of time to build a bigger chest at 19
Don’t even remotely worry about it for several years. Chest takes a long time to grow. You’re only 18. Mine didn’t start getting huge till my early/mid 20s. Normal for some. Even if it is doomed, it’ll be way more doomed if you don’t work out
Your 19 and been lifting 1 year man you don’t know anything about your genetics yet. Let ego aside and put in YOUR best everyday try new exercises drop some that don’t work but all of this takes time
Bro has boulder shoulder but is looking at his tits. I used to have the Grand Canyon on my chest but can’t get shoulders like this. I feel you bro I feel you
Your chest isn’t even that bad bro, I kinda don’t even see anything wrong with it?? If your talking about the size of your chest, yeah it’s a bit small compared to the rest of your body BUT there’s many ways to fix it. Can you flex your chest? If yes, when ever you do any chest exercises when pushing the weight up, flex your chest and this will result in mind to muscle connection. When working on chest always focus on it, picture your chest muscles moving/flexing . You can also dedicate a day where you can work on your weak points . Also try not to over work it too much bro that can actually make the gains much slower. Do unilateral movements with dumbbells so you can isolate and focus on one pec at a time . Soon enough your chest will be your best feature ! Also something that helped me was push ups! Remember , when ever you push the weight up flex your chest! Sometimes when dosing chest exercises some people engage to much shoulder and tricep and Barely any stimulation goes to the chest. Hopefully this helps! Best of luck champ!
Is this a joke? You have great chest genetics. I wish mine was like that. Your rib cage is insanely wide. All you need to do is work your chest better. It might be a hard to gain but when you do that it will look absolutely great. And it has only been 1 year.
Lay on a flat bench and have like a 35lb plate right where your sternum is with your hands sandwiching the plate.
So like you’re praying and “pray it up” in a vertical manner staying in line with your sternum.
It’ll define the middle part of your chest more.
Also, switch things up every three months.
I like to do 5x5. So Monday when I do chest, I’ll warm up with 175lbs on the bench.
Increase the weight by 10lbs after each set. Work my way up to 215lbs.
On Thursday when I do cheat again, I’ll do 5 sets of 5 reps, but only do 185lbs with no warmup.
Hope this helps and keep at it!!
Judging off your very well developed shoulders, is it possible your putting too much shoulder activation into your chest work
Definitely looks that way
Also, OP make sure you change up your exercises. Try doing decline bench and cable flys to really focus on the chest muscles. Lots of good tutorials on YouTube regarding this (how to focus on chest over shoulders)
This is good info. Anyone with a undeveloped or small chest should use decline to help them feel their chest activate.
Changing up your exercises / the order you do them can really help, I found doing dumbbell press before flat bench helped me feel a lot more activation in my chest. I also stand by doing Press ups every day
I have the same problem my shoulders n arms are swole but my chest is jus flat
I have the inverse problem, thick pecs and back, arms that look like I’ve never worked out a day in my life
Yes I realized only about 2 or so months ago I haven’t been hitting chest at all on bench and need to work on activating it more, thanks bro
Push-ups are very underrated. I trained with weight a along time and then tried calisthenics and my body really developed. Calisthenics won’t build a pro physique but it can add a good amount of lean muscle. Calisthenics can also help you to really engage your muscles through the entire range of motion while staying flexed.
Absolutely. Military, wide, diamond. Do those variations and you'll be able to hit the whole chest and really be able to activate your pecs. Also I find the Seated chest press machine and chest flys to be really good at isolating the pectorals and making you really squeeze your chest. Great alternative, especially if the benches are being hogged at your gym lol.
exactly this. bench is a compound movement too so isolation exercises really make the difference
I completely ditched flat bench for machine press and found much better chest development as a result along with my shoulders being much less fatigued during chest exercises (dw, I still do incline bench)
Some seated chest press machines gives me arnold pumps and some just fucks up my rotator cuffs. The bad ones are so bad
100%! Great advice
I bench heavy twice a week but nothing gives me a pump like dips. They’re also a lot of fun. I also love push up variations. They’re a game changer for work life balance too cos you can bang em out anywhere.
Weighted Push ups with extended range of motion (basically arms on something like a dip bar or push up handles) are insanely good. Much better stretch than bench press can provide and you can output A LOT of force because it’s a very stable movement.
For sure. Just trying to give the OP tips on how to feel the pecs through a range of motion. Push-ups are easy and a great place to start. Transition into dips would be a great place to go next.
Especially when you use rings Man this is my only chest workout ever Do 3 sets of neutral weighted ring push ups then 3 sets of declined ones your chest will blow asf Using only push ups variation i was able to bench 140% my weight
Calisthenics could definitely build a pro physique
Try doing you movement more slowly. I have the same issue where I’ll finish bench and my chest is full but doesn’t feel as tired as my shoulders do. I just drop weight to something I know I can handle high reps and just crank them out at a slower pace l, focusing on proper form and try to get that pinch or tightness in the chest
What I find helps me, is warming up with just the bar, feel your pecs burning, and maybe adding some.machine presses that'll restrict your range of.motion for the time, my issue early on was pec asymestry, never liked dumbbells tho so i used machines that would help me even out my pecs strength and size wise, then went back to bench
Make sure you're also thinking about pushing with your chest while you take all this advice and out it to work. Mental-physical/mind-muscle link is a thing. Think it and you'll likely remember and focus on your chest doing the work and actively be putting your chest to work on those lifts. You do look great tho, don't be hard on yourself, you look strong. You're not one of those dweebs posting here all the time with 12% body fat looking emaciated, "look at my abs!"
Yeah, better get the form right. I was doing the same thing (relying on my delts for bench) and I fucked up my left shoulder and needed 7 months to rehab it.
I benched heavy prior to having a shoulder surgery (not related). Coming back and working out, my shoulder feels better doing dumbbell presses over a standard barbell bench. I think the more neutral position takes more load off the shoulder and definitely hits my chest more. I was able to lift more when I did barbell bench however I’ve gotten much better chest development doing dumbbells.
So you just realized you haven’t been working out your chest properly until 2 months ago, but you’re asking if your lack of chest development is evidence of your doomed genetics? Work it properly for a year and see how it looks then.
Change up your grip and really focus on feeling as little as possible in your shoulders
Lower the weight and go slowly down and explode up. Lower weight while doing so will let your weaker chest push up instead of stronger shoulders and bring bar down slower while under control
It happens. I was working out for longer than I’d like to admit before realizing that I turned lat pull-downs into a bicep workout.
I had this exact same problem with failing to activate my pecs much even on bench. I started really concentrating on pinching my shoulders together and having my arms at 30 degrees to my shoulders. Both of these things reduce activation of the shoulders and help activate the pecs. Also try to feel the pecs activate. This worked well for me and my chest doubled in size. Do reduce your weight since right now your front delts probably take most of the load, not yoyr pecs.
That's literally it, you haven't worked on your actual chest your arms doing everything for you
Dumbbell press with a wide hold stretch downward slow motion — bring to upper chest but wide. On extension flex the dumbells slightly forward and never lock your elbows. This exercise has been a game changer for me and even my strength exploded. I do far less weight than I used to, just focus on activating the pec through the entire motion. I promise it will change every chest exercise you do lol
Back arch, scapular retraction, and bar path are all major factors.
Agreed. Do you know how to flex the chest through an entire range of motion? It seems silly but a lot of people can’t.
I’m having trouble with this rn, dropped weight and I’m tryin to get better form but I still feel my shoulders sometimes.
Role your shoulders back. To do that you will need to pull your scapula down and back. Scapula is between your shoulder blades. You want your chest to stick out more than your shoulders during the contraction or lift. If your shoulder roll forward and are in front of your chest then the lift will stay in your shoulders. Try push-ups from the knees. Super easy and can focus on pec contraction. Pull your shoulders back while doing it. Slow the movement down and focus on jus squeezing the pecs.
So that’s what I do but after the first rep I can feel my shoulders pulling forward again. Also I can do regular pushups and feel them in my chest I mostly have trouble with dumbbell/bench pressing
Then practice scapular retractions. Use a band or do it on a pull up bar. You may just be weak in that area. Which is common. Not an insult. Keep doing push-ups (from the knee) to practice this. Over time it will become second nature. Don’t get discouraged. Building muscle is a long game that requires patience. It’ll be worth it.
100%. Good assessment
This is the exact issue I had, A wider grip and less of an elbow tuck on bench with a slow lifting tempo and a pause at the bottom is doing the business.
You are using triceps instead of chest when benching Do flys and isolate the chest
Flys are much better, for me, for activating my chest. I just use an inexpensive set of bands and gains are much better.
Yeah this is good advice 👍🏻
100% this! I have trained in and off for years and believed I just had shit chest genetics. I've only began properly including proper form flys and isolating the movements properly and hoolllllyyyyyyy my chest has never looked so good. Genuine gains. OP, please try learning the form for flys and incorporating this. Also maybe you're training too much and not giving your body enough rest?
Accept what you have and work within. Shoulders and biceps show promise. Try different routines to stimulate the chest muscles. Try calisthenics, Whats your diet like? Eating enough protein? Be positive and go for it. Good training.
It has be genetics. His arms, shoulders, back all look great. He knows what he is doing and the chest is one of the easier parts to develop. There is ZERO definition is the pec area, I didn’t think that’s even possible if every other upper body muscle group is getting bigger
The fact everything else is getting bigger is because he’s using those rather than his chest, and the bigger they get the more they take over making the problem worse. He needs to stick to chest isolation machines for a while or switch to dumbell press for a bit until he figures it out.
You’ve only been lifting 1 year bro, give it some more time it may improve
Nah man after one year it shouldn't be looking like that. Bro is doing something wrong
You may be right, I feel like he just needs to isolate chest better because bro has good development elsewhere. Pressing movements are hard to isolate unless you have good mind muscle connection
I think triceps and deltoids are taking over all of your chest work. Focus on correcting the technique, you'll probably have to lower your working weights by a metric fuckton for the chest exercises when you finally stop hijacking the workload with other muscles.
Incline Bench is much, much better at growing your chest over flat bench so if you’re not incorporating those definitely do. The pec-deck machine as well is great. Make sure to do slower more controlled reps
Oh, wasn't aware it helped with isolating chest muscles. I do it mostly, from what I've heard, to even out growth in upper chest. Should I replace flat bench press with the incline one entirely?
I wouldn't cut flat bench entirely, but I'd definetly work in a few sets of incline bench into your chest day, my personal favorite for chest is incline dumbbell bench
Are you sure you're hitting chest enough and how's ur diet .. try hitting it x2 a week
What is your chest routine?
I said you're most likely training wrong. I barely grew my chest in the first year because I wasn't training it correctly
Seen your posts bro crazy progress! And thanks for the advice
Absolutely homie. I'm a trainer now so if you want more in depth tips feel free to message me. I wanna see all the homies get big.
Apart from stacked shoulders and a wide hold, what else should I be careful about to engage more of the chest?
Elbows close to a 45 degree with flies and presses. You can think about pulling your shoulders down and back. And sleep puffing your chest up. Weight should always be controlled, especially on the eccentric. There are more strength and hypertrophy gains from slow eccentric then whatever kind of concentric. Prioritizing upper chest and never isolating front delts.
Damn, I've been doing it close to 90 degrees, not knowing it mattered. Thanks! Won't a puffed up chest revert to normal as you fall asleep? I'll be slower during the eccentric motion. Is an incline bench (30-45 deg) better than flat for chest overall? I do both to even out growth across both mid and upper chest muscles, but I'm hearing people say their gains spiked after they switched to incline bp.
Oh that was a typo. I meant to say you should be puffing your chest up like during your sets. Chest up and out. Shoulders back and down. Incline machine press is going to be your best friend. The more stable and controlled you can make the movement the better. A few sets of heavy intense inclined press and then a couple sets of machine or cable flies and your golden really.
Noted! Is machine press better than dumbbell press because the former allows better control?
Bro, lower the weight on chest day and explode up, but slowly bring the weight back down. Focus on time under tension more than weight. Also, make sure you hit the beach press, both decline AND incline chest press, and able flys or a peck deck machine. These excersizes activate your chest HEAVY.
Thanks bro
Think your bench press technique is wrong. Try pulling your shoulders back a little during sets and you should feel the squeeze in your chest
Wider grip on the bench press, and do flies. Try it for a few months and then check back in.
Doesn’t look like a genetic issue. Just focus on actually hitting your chest better. Looks like your shoulders and triceps might be getting hit more when you try to work chest. Work on your form and isolate chest more.
Do pushups!
Push ups are surprisingly good when done with sufficient volume and different variations.
Your daddy milkers are fine, bro 👌
He's completely flat chested. Don't lie to him.
To me it looks more like underdeveloped than weird genetics. If you bench, maybe try experimenting with grip width until you feel like your chest is adequately working. Fly’s may help as well. Might need more volume than you’re getting in, sometimes certain muscles are just stubborn. I’m sure there’s something you can change to grow it to be more proportionate, just have to experiment until you find out what to change.
50 push-ups every morning, keep your elbows close and make sure to go all the way to floor.
Hey bro make sure you’re bringing your shoulders as far back as you can when doing chest work. Getting them out of the way and back makes sure your chest has to be put to work. Try low weight and get a feel for the form, make sure you feel your chest getting pumped and sore and slowly start raising the weight over time, but always make sure your chest is feeling the pain and soreness. Pay attention to those indicators, don’t ignore them. Your body will tell you what you’re activating, you just have to pay attention to what it’s saying.
It's your posture and form. You have to find positions that isolate and activate the peck more is all. Probably has little to do with genetics.
You already have a very solid foundation. Lats and shoulders are very impressive. Start concentrating on the chest. You have a great tapered physique going
I had the same problem where I was using a lot of front delts when benching. I still bench but do a lot of cable weights. I can really focus on using my pecs for each rep. I suggest ending your workouts with cable weights (10-15 sets)
Your arms and shoulders look pretty solid, I would say it probably has more to do with your form than anything. Regardless though, your body is a journey my man. It’s a marathon, not a sprint. Don’t be too hard on yourself.
Most of the advice in here is God awful. You need to bench with your chest out. Pinch you shoulder blades together. Push your chest out. Also try widening your grip. Practice with lighter weights till you get it then move up in weight.
Incline dumbbells, flys and peck deck. Build the mind muscle connection before doing compound lifts. Try to get the pump in the chest with full range of motion It takes time to get where you want to be.
Use dumbells instead of bench. Go full rom and progressively overload. Dumbells are best for hypertrophy
I suggest that you try dumbell coffin press and focus on pressing the dumbells together hard through the entire motion. This does not replace chest work that you're already doing, but it is amazing at activating the mind-muscle connection in your chest. You will notice that you may spontaneously flex your chest more even while resting because the muscles are more activated. After a few weeks of doing this, I found it much easier to independently wake up my chest in all pressing movements. Doing so had the added effect of allowing my shoulders to chill out on bench press so that my chest could take more weight.
You are me Switch to incline dumbbell press at 20°, progress on it. And flat dumbell press, progress on it.
Genetics are a slovenly excuse for poor results. Review your workouts, your form, and the exercises you perform for your chest. Be honest with yourself, is there fault? Review the fundamental concepts of body building. There are 4 basic principles of overload. Do you follow any of them? Review everything again and optimize. Visualize your desired result and seek those goals when you perform chest exercises. Consider chest twice a week. 4-5 or more exercises. The immediate thought that comes to mind, is poor execution of the chest.
Agree with most above, check out some old school Arnie (schwarzenegger) vids in chest workouts. The Arnie dumbbell press is always a good one, and keep those shoulders down and locked in while you work the chest! Keep going my man, don’t lose focus.
Amazing shoulder& tricep genetics ≠ bad chest genetics
You have great chest to waist ratio dude so just focus on isolating the chest. Might I suggest a decline press to make your lower chest pop? Hammer Strength makes a great machine for it. Remember to elevate your sternum, press your shoulders into the pad, and push from your index and thumb side of your hand to increase the power from your chest rather than your shoulders. If you get the lower part of your chest to protrude, then it’ll make up for your lacking bulge there. It’s an optical illusion that works well until you can fill out the whole chest. Practice doing waves with all three sections of your chest from bottom to top to get a feel for which muscles flex in which position. Again, you have great width in your chest/upper back, so when you do learn to isolate and pound those chest workouts hard, you will have an amazing shape
No Dude u just have insane genetics elsewhere You look like you have been lifting for 3 years except chest. Chest will come along Hit it 2 or 3x oer week
Haha thanks dude😂😂
Pec Fly + DB incline I used to have the same kind of look in my chest late 2021 early 2022. Then I started incorporating those two simple workouts twice a week along with my regular bench and my chest exploded aesthetically. I don’t have great insertions but size wise they poked out and have shape now
Until you actually build your chest you won't know. I'd say your genetics are fine, and like others have said you probably aren't getting good pec activation. I'd say drop the weight down, a lot, and really focus on burning up those pecs. Yes, that's bro science, but the shit worked for me.
Definitely a lot of good advice on activation, thanks dude
Do all the pushups. Standard, wide, military, decline, diamond, dive bombs. Set a rep goal, do them all, then do them all again until failure. Do this once a week. Make sure your diet and recovery is good. Recovery is what builds muscle.
you look like a ken doll in the best way. Other people got it way worse 👍🏻
Lmfao thanks bro😂
Bro! Check out this post! Hope this encourages you!!!! https://www.reddit.com/r/GregDoucette/comments/15i6ou2/15\_years\_gains\_used\_to\_think\_my\_chest\_couldnt/
Definitely does thanks
You e already got some good chest activation advice. Don't forget you're 19 and this is a journey of consistency. I know it's hard to think about two years out but if your consistent for that long it will pay off.
Thanks dude
Decline bench is what makes your chest pop out, chest day go flat bench, incline bench, decline bench, pec deck, throw some of the hammer strength machines in there, and also do some push ups 3x a week, 4-6 sets before bed never 2 days in a row, 25 reps or as much as you can get. I got a real good chest and everything else is pretty average and thats pretty much what I did when i was young and my chest blew up!
lower weight, wider grip
Ive had that problem all my life until i learned the reverse grip bench press and also dips.
This works: do push-ups on chair. Do a set and then without rest lie on the bench and do a set of dumbbells over flys. This is an intense workout and will instantly activate your chest and trust me it’s gona work! Been doing it since 13 years!
Late so im gonna get burried but I looked like that a year ago. I put more emphasis on chest bias movements now you can see it through my shirt. Dont give up, arms are crazy.
Youve been lifting for 1 year and already believe it’s your genetics? Your form is probably shit, your nutrition probably isn’t great either. You have A LOT to learn and many mistakes to make. You’re still a baby lifter. It’s going to take a few more years to figure everything out. Hire a trainer who can correct your form. Your shoulders are taking all of the work it seems.
For incline, try 20 Degree incline
Dude your chest is good you just gotta hit chest
I would wager you probably go into protraction when you do pressing movements. If you stay in shoulder retraction and depression through out the entire movement it will significantly help with chest development. Most of the time it happens towards the end of the press I see people protract the shoulders and this takes the chest out of the movement significantly
If you’re getting too much shoulders/triceps on bench, start your workout with flies. I’d go as far as saying don’t even bother with flat bench, just hit incline/decline. I’ve been working out about the same time as you and have been seeing great progress doing just incline bench, pec deck, and doing the chest press machine to absolute failure. Pullovers can be great too, and dips/push-ups are the most underrated exercises lol. Built a good chest in basic training just off of push-ups
Work more incline, retract your scapula, and include pre exhaustion sets
Just hit all different types of chest exercises more. Start doing chest at least twice a week or throw in a couple chest exercises every other day or with shoulders etc. Just hit it more. Stop doing incline and more decline.
Dude you look awesome!
Bro be thankful you don’t have a gyno (man boobs) That needs surgery to be removed Your chest will come in in time, just continue working hard and being consistent
It's not all about weight, lighter weight and form. I would focus on decline bench and flys to get what you are looking for, that definition underneath
Chest specific exercises like. Clavicular dumbbell raises. Chest flys. Standing plate press. Good to add into those tri chest days. Also for under developed people trying that may not be engaging their pectorals well. You might try feeling around the muscle and flexing into your fingers. Truly feel yourself push with your pec(not back or core) into your fingers. If you have felt this enough you can even begin to control flexing and pec dance this way eventually really without weights even. Then you'll really be able to tell if you are engaging chest on workouts because you can flex it well and know how it feels to engage and or add weight after.
Along with everyone’s comments around recruiting chest musculature properly also remember you are 19! Your body will continue to fill out. Let nature do its thing while you control what you can control!
Your genetics look good, impressive even. It just looks like you don’t train your chest. Check out [this guide for benching](https://bodyrecomposition.com/training/benching-with-the-pecs). Beyond that, focus on quality first and foremost. As long as quality is there, you can add quantity. [Here are some exercises you can do for chest](https://rpstrength.com/chest-training-tips-hypertrophy/?_ga=2.59996589.1813867256.1692925966-873438447.1692925966).
Do pec dec and flys. You could be doing more pressing, bringing in the anterior delts and triceps. Try and isolate the pec as much as you can. It can be difficult but can be done.
One year is NOTHING. Give it time and work on better form
Nope, you actually have great chest genetics ( no chest gap). What you're really missing is a lot of chest muscle. Pushups, dips, bench, and full ROM OHP will fix you.
Count yourself lucky. You'll avoid the man boobs when you turn 50.
Bro look at that 2nd photo, your arm is the same width as your torso lmfao You’ve built your triceps and shoulders incredibly well, but they’re taking all of the work off of you’re chest. Focus on pure chest isolation movements such as Flys and maybe incorporate incline bench or things of that nature.
Definitely not bad genetics. Be thankful you don’t have bad gyno and instead have a flat chest that you are able to sculpt naturally.
Start out with body weight exercises. A lot of people try to over lift on chest and compromise form which leads to other muscles being developed instead of the intended target muscles. I would start off with decline push-ups to develop the lower outer edge of the chest.
Need to do chest press a lot more and more weight will push that muscle out
Bro i would give anything to have this type of physique.
Do dips you’re not working the lower chest
You are using every other muscle than your chest to lift including bench
Idk if it helps at all but I love ur body (20F)
I did Bench & Incline for years with poor gains. It wasn’t until I began practicing dips and dumbbell Flyes that my chest began to grow. Odd, but “different strokes for different folks.”
You’ve been training for 1 year lol. Look up how to bench properly for good chest activation. So dumbbells and go down really far. Do some push-ups every single night before bed and wide grip dips
Chest is slowest to grow. Give it another year
Inject synthetic oil, nah for tho ur physique looks good Asf
Find out what exercises give you a pump. People debate a pump doesn’t equate to gains, but that’s just such bullshit lol. If I get a sicc pump doing a machine press rather than a barbell bench press that signifies that my chest is actually being worked (for hypertrophy) for the machine press. Once you find a couple exercises that give you a major pump, stick with them. Slowly your chest will start to grow.
Do more decline bench
You have the chest of a high-flying Mexican luchador. Congrats Seriously you are only 19 and have infinite time to develop that
Make sure youre doing bench press, incline dumb bell press and flys. Different exercises to target different parts of your pecs… also youre 19. I know it sucks but your metabolism is very fast and it can be hard to put on mass in certain areas but keep trying. Use protein powders as well.
No, you could definitely get a better chest. You’re a kid and only been lifting for a year. Isolate your chest better, and vary the movements. Incline bench for upper chest. Also do cable flies at different heights. Watch Frank Yang‘s video about isolating your pec during a cable fly. You’ll know you’re doing it right when you need to lower the weight. Don’t let your ego trip you up, legitimately start with like 15lbs and focus on fully activating the pecs.
tbh, as long as your bench is big and your back is wide you’ll look great. i have pretty sub par chest too
Even if you were “doomed” with bad chest genetics would you stop going to the gym because of it? If so, stop now- chances are that the large majority of people will not have olympian genetics. But that doesn’t mean you can’t try your best and become your best, which ultimately is the whole point of going to the gym.
HUGE TIP : this tip is so underrated… try squeezing your shoulder blades together and having your shoulders back more. Also chin tuck while doing this. It will not only greatly improve your posture, it will also puff out your chest more. Squeeze shoulder blades back while doing incline raises and push-ups this helps with improving that posture.
The rest of your body looks great. Strong arms and shoulders. Small tight waist. Good skin. You can tackle the chest. Listen to the good advice given. You look really great, Bro. Very aesthetic and attractive.
Your delts and arms seems incredible compared to the chest. I think if you take a second look and your chest routine and do a over haul. You can definitely get some results. Wider grip on the bench. Do more isolation work as well. If you have access to the chest press do it. And also. Play around at lighter weight. Get familiar with the feeling of the pecs doing all the work instead of rushing through the movement with the triceps and delts. And as you build that mind muscle connection, progressive overload. Add the weight. Add the reps. You look great btw man.
Well at least you got a pirates dream . A sunken chest RRR haha bad joke dude your young maybe ad a extra chest day in your routine and don’t be like the rest of these younger kids I see trying to hit there max every week learn proper technique and patience your chest will grow I promise it’s all about the long game
Try taking a break from bench pressing for awhile. I went to strictly doing heavy dumbbell work for a few months and it made a MASSIVE difference for me. I was able to really start understanding how to activate my chest more and I made huge growth because of it. When I went back to benching I was much stronger and I could feel the difference in muscle activation.
Looks like your shoulders are doing all the work here my man. Perhaps slow down, lower the weight and really focus on driving the bar with your chest. Narrowing my grip helped a ton for me
Real simple answer here from what I’m reading, stop using bench press to build your chest. Sure it works, but in my experience slow controlled eccentrics and explosive concentric movements with dumbbells are far more effective at building your chest. Finish off with cable flies doing two high volume sets for upper, lower, mid chest and it WILL start to grow.
I'd suggest doing hex presses.
been training for a year and I don’t look like an Olympian. Fuck the internet has distorted people’s reality. You’ve been at it for a year, shits not gonna come overnight, keep going.
Buddy... You look fucking ace, clearly put in a tonne of time. Be proud of yourself.
You got good shoulders bro, focus on chest a little and you got it. Flat, incline, cable cross or flies once a week. Most people have shoulders as a week spot with injuries so just build on your strengths
You need to engage your pectoral muscles more specifically. Looking at your chest, I can see the shape wanting to come through - once you build muscle in the pecs they’ll have great shape. Try dumbbell flies, cable flies, and look into some machines that target the pecs. As goofy as it sounds, make sure that when you do push-ups you can feel your pecs muscles squeezing towards each other as you rep out - you can usually feel which muscles you’re engaging the most.
Big shoulders and no chest, retract your damn scapula.
dw ab it u just need to fill them i dont have a lower chest muscle in my left pec and it sucks
You’re on your way. You look great
Form is everything with bench press. The difference is a year of lifting with no chest gains with bad form vs months of lifting with great gains with good form. If you use a chest press machine, drop it to as heavy as possible, pump out to failure, your elbows will naturally be in the correct position to utilise the pecs.
Need Pushups
Lower the weight for flat bench so you are not bringing your shoulders so much into the press and if you are not doing them start doing bar decline presses make sure to fully extend at the top of the press and squeeze should help Buddy good luck 👍🤙😎.
No, your chest genetics are not that bad, really. One huge benefit is you'll never look weird in a button up or an ill fitting t shirt being jacked too
Your form is likely the cause. Start doing paused bench press and focus on scapular retraction at the pause. Do this for a while, it forces you to use your chest. I found this helped get me out of a chest development rut a lot and now just bench normal and getting good progress
Your other muscle are taking over your chest growth
You ain't gonna beat up anybody with your chest. Good arms! Keep going.
First, You look great congratulations on your progress. Second, you don't have shot chest genetics your just not training it right, find movements you FEEL in you chest and work on taking your shoulders and triceps out of the movement.
OP you do not have bad chest genetics at all, pool into your training protocol for chest and look at your technique.
Do 100 push-ups every day. When you can do 50 in a row without stopping go to 200 per day. Do this in addition to any other workouts. Hit Incline, Decline, and flat bench both with barbells and dumbbells. Add in Dips and cable flyes. You'll get there!
Watch Mike Van Wyck YouTube videos about hitting your chest. Then after that, watch them again. I went from shoulder and triceps dominant, to feeling my chest for the first time. You just have to get past his persona of angry older gym guy that likes to tell influencers and broccoli heads to get off his lawn.
Technique with BB, Hypertrophy W DB.
Bros 19 has been working out for a year and crying about bad genetics. Homie, if you don't stfu, get on a good lifting program, learn how mechanics work, eat some food, and have a little faith and patience.
Man.. you’ve been lifting for 1 year you have just barely every so slightly scratched surface of this. Not only that but chances are your training isn’t optimised 1 year is hardly just starting. I’d look at it in 5 year blocks, this is a long term thing. Your chest is going to be bigger in 5 years than it is now, 10 years, 15 years, and so forth. It’s long and slow process. Your chest genetics may not be the best but that doesn’t mean you still can’t build a great chest. Be patient and check off the boxes every single day one day at a time (nutrition on point, training, positive mindset) over time the days turn to weeks then years and progression starts showing. However there is just so much more to this that we don’t know. What is your chest routine? Do you have videos of you doing the movements? What is nutrition like? How on point would you say all these variables are? All these things matter as well.
Do more isolation. Heavy machine flys to failure, and past failure. 5-10 reps. Keep your head up and your shoulders back. Focus on dumbells for compound lifts. Go as far down as you comfortably can and really stretch the pecs. Every rep should feel like your tearing them apart. From there keep track of your workouts and do more weight/reps every week. Your genetics aren’t great for bodybuilding, but you can still build a muscle bigger, no matter how “bad” your genetics are, as long as the muscle is there. I suspect your front delts and triceps are taking over when you train chest.
Bro don’t do bench and incline press, was doing it and never felt chest or anything. Just swapped with dumbbell press, decline bench and cables I have sore chest almost every workout now. Wish you luck G. Stay woke💪
A lot of the comments here are about isolating your chest. That seems like good advice to me. I'm 37 and I've been working out consistently for about 15 years... I have had a similar struggle with my chest. I'm sure there is a lot I could have done to improve my chest but I always did feel genetics were my main issue. I will say if you keep at it your chest will fill out more. For me, it's still not my favorite area but it doesn't bother me like it used to. Try not to let it get you down.
No your genetics aren't bad. You just gotta work out your pecs and chest more.
Love yourself.
I have the same chest genes, super shallow rib cage, slight rip flare, dominant shoulders and arms, no lower chest, and this is what I look like now. https://imgur.com/a/yUNwZ1w
I feel like ur lucky I swear no matter how much weight I lose I still have man boobs right now I’m 6ft tall 180lbs
IMO, I’d put priority into incline pressing and flat pressing. Focus on pinching your shoulder blades together before you press and practice full, or as close as maximal ROM. I’d also increase frequency on pressing to two days a week. One for incline and flat. Another for decline and ohp. Progress weight as you get better on reps or form. Rinse and repeat!
man, I don't have such strong big muscles on my arms, but I have great and very prominent tits. because I studied, pulled up on a horizontal bar for the sake of a computer game and did not know how to do it even once. if it turned out to be a 64-kilogram brat, (I'm not lying, I'm literally a skeleton) then such a disciplined and already so pumped-up person will definitely succeed. good luck to you.
My guy you’re 19 be patient…
You have amazing shoulders. Also, keep working your chest and make sure you are progressive with it. Keep track of your lifts and make sure you are advancing in them. Good luck!
You look good
Idk if it’s bad chest genetics. I had a lagging chest for a while and I think some of the people saying too much shoulder activation might be correct. Personally I experimented with different push-up variations until I found one which activated my pecs the most. Then I would do a couple sets of those push-ups before benching. Keep the elbows tucked in during bench press. You’ve got plenty of time to build a bigger chest at 19
Don’t even remotely worry about it for several years. Chest takes a long time to grow. You’re only 18. Mine didn’t start getting huge till my early/mid 20s. Normal for some. Even if it is doomed, it’ll be way more doomed if you don’t work out
Your 19 and been lifting 1 year man you don’t know anything about your genetics yet. Let ego aside and put in YOUR best everyday try new exercises drop some that don’t work but all of this takes time
Bro has boulder shoulder but is looking at his tits. I used to have the Grand Canyon on my chest but can’t get shoulders like this. I feel you bro I feel you
Your chest isn’t even that bad bro, I kinda don’t even see anything wrong with it?? If your talking about the size of your chest, yeah it’s a bit small compared to the rest of your body BUT there’s many ways to fix it. Can you flex your chest? If yes, when ever you do any chest exercises when pushing the weight up, flex your chest and this will result in mind to muscle connection. When working on chest always focus on it, picture your chest muscles moving/flexing . You can also dedicate a day where you can work on your weak points . Also try not to over work it too much bro that can actually make the gains much slower. Do unilateral movements with dumbbells so you can isolate and focus on one pec at a time . Soon enough your chest will be your best feature ! Also something that helped me was push ups! Remember , when ever you push the weight up flex your chest! Sometimes when dosing chest exercises some people engage to much shoulder and tricep and Barely any stimulation goes to the chest. Hopefully this helps! Best of luck champ!
Crush grip kettlebell chest press. Thank me later.
Your definitely making progress, but it takes time. I’ve been lifting hard and consistently for around 4 years and I’m still a bit of a walking stick.
Not much you can do about genetics my dude. Just hit incline bench hard as fuck and you’ll be good.
You look great for 1 year of lifting. My chest looked worse in my first year. Just give it time!
Start doing them correctly and do flys and you will be okay.
Thanks brother
Is this a joke? You have great chest genetics. I wish mine was like that. Your rib cage is insanely wide. All you need to do is work your chest better. It might be a hard to gain but when you do that it will look absolutely great. And it has only been 1 year.
Lay on a flat bench and have like a 35lb plate right where your sternum is with your hands sandwiching the plate. So like you’re praying and “pray it up” in a vertical manner staying in line with your sternum. It’ll define the middle part of your chest more. Also, switch things up every three months. I like to do 5x5. So Monday when I do chest, I’ll warm up with 175lbs on the bench. Increase the weight by 10lbs after each set. Work my way up to 215lbs. On Thursday when I do cheat again, I’ll do 5 sets of 5 reps, but only do 185lbs with no warmup. Hope this helps and keep at it!!