Getting Chest Definition

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EpheMeroN

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What type of lifting routine should I do to maximize definition? I especially want to get that line down the center of my chest.

Right now I just do burn out sets on my weight bench starting with my max and working downward. I do one incline every other other day, and then switch to a different incline and repeat.
 
First, what are your stats. If you have overall bodyfat levels that are high, you should cut them down before you can start working at "defining" your chest. If you are very thin, you need to eat like a mad man, and the right foods too, if you are going to increase muscle mass.

Secondly, it sounds like you are doing way too much chest work. Don't just focus on chest exercises. You should construct a balanced weight training routine, which we can help you do here. I could be off base, but it sounds like you do not have this now?
 
Chest Training

Most people over-emphasize doing heavy bench work when training their pecs. This is fine if you are entering a bench press competition, but if you are looking for a chiseled look (and you are lean, as mentioned above), then try working the pecs with dumbbell presses, dumbbell flyes, cable flyes, and pec dec. If it's good enough for Arnold, it's good enough for me.
 
Haha, not too sure about that last post....too many flies. Work with heavy presses. What was good for Arnold will not be good for you unless you are getting the help of some illegal substances! Don't try what you see the greats do, b/c 9.9 out of 10 times they are getting some help.
 
stroutman81 said:
Haha, not too sure about that last post....too many flies. Work with heavy presses. What was good for Arnold will not be good for you unless you are getting the help of some illegal substances! Don't try what you see the greats do, b/c 9.9 out of 10 times they are getting some help.
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thats true. I belive I remember reading a article that arnold was on steroids but it was never confirmed.
 
jmanjman47 said:
thats true. I belive I remember reading a article that arnold was on steroids but it was never confirmed.
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Of course it's confirmed... he said it himself. He said that he stopped using them when they became illegal though. (Yeah right).;)
 
Oh yea, Arnold was on the juice. Of course it wasn't illegal back then but that's a whole other issue.

The debate about chest training, however, is a good one. My feeling is that there certainly is a place for heavy presses, but bench work--particularly barbell bench work--places a lot of emphasis on delts and triceps in addition to chest. I never got a good peak to my pecs until I started isolating them more with flyes and cables.

I see people in the gym all the time doing 10-12 sets of presses. They may be strong and have some pec mass, but they do not have the type of definition and separation that most are looking for. Clearly some of that is about being lean, but there's also a place for emphasizing the pump through movements that isolate the pecs.

P.S. if you must bench till you drop, close grip presses with strict form--no bounce and slow cadence--can also help with the inner pecs and separation.
 
if all you can do is bench press, it might also be a good idea to do some pushups between chairs (so that you can go lower, getting a better stretch). you should always try to add some variation.
 
quia_pius_es said:
if all you can do is bench press, it might also be a good idea to do some pushups between chairs (so that you can go lower, getting a better stretch). you should always try to add some variation.
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that actually might be a dangerous bit of advice to give. going even lower will put your body in a very unnatural position and could risk injury.
Also for definition, you need size and a low bodyfat. Neither of these will be attained with pushups. (unless you are genetically gifted which some people are).
pushups are not a cardiovascular exercise and they do not stimulate your larger type IIb muscle fibers.
If you want a defined chest you have two options. Cut down to a low BF and then mass up, or mass up and then trim the fat.
 
Be very careful doing chair pushups, any time you let yuor elbow go behind your shoulder you put your shoulder joint in a very weak position and risk rotator cuff damage, although most people should be plenty strong enough to do chair pushups with their body wieght without doing any damage to the joint.
 
I do have limited equipment to work with in terms of using it to get definition with.

From the last 3 years of lifting weights, and more importantly the last 8 months straight, the definition I see the most is in my biceps. They've popped up nice and round and that's nice and all but my chest hasn't seen much love and neither has my triceps.

I've really only done a small few # of exercises for my chest, biceps, and triceps over the years. What I've wanted the most though is the chest definition. For the chest it's been just the 3 inclines on the bench & doing push-ups with my arms spanned at different lengths. Sure, my pecs have beefed up a bit, but not nearly as much as I've wanted them to. I want the nice line down the middle, and the half-circle underneath.

I know I'm not AS lean as I can be, but my upper body say from mid-stomach up is as lean as I can get unless I took fat burners. The only fat I have still on my body that is not needed is my sides.
 
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