Bodybuilding Forums

Hi All,

Just wondering if people out there have some advice on strategies for getting the most out of a chest workout. Am doing THT, warming up, resting between sets, working to failure. I can do all that - yet I don't feel that chest pump. Is it just me ? Would love to feel like my chest has been really HIT after a workout. Am at intermediate level - benching approx 2 x 30kg plates. I get that OMG fullness for legs, arms, back, just not the chest.
I'm doing bench press, and machine chest flyes. Any tips????

Cheers from Melbourne,

Roy

Try and really squeeze the contraction on the pec machine. On the benchpress most people do not utilize, and I say this with great reservations, "proper" form. If your grip isn't wide enough then you are utilizing more of your triceps and not so much your chest. Use a slightly wider than shoulderwidth grip and try and pull the bar in two. Then bring the bar down ...don't bounce it off your chest. On the upward part of the movement try and push through it as hard as you can. If the weight is heavy enough...it certainly won't go up as fast as you think. Naturally the stretch of the pecs are limited somewhat by the very nature of the barbell bench press. This is one of the advantages of doing dumbell presses. It affords a greater stretch and, at least somewhat arguably, more pec involvement. The trade off is using less weight. I am not suggesting this as a remedy...stick to Marks prescription. However, I always feel a pump in my chest and it swells BUT I can tell you that of all body parts, the chest experiences this the least for me as well. Also, what kind of diet are you on? In *some* circumstances a glycogen depleted body can cause you to look stringy and not hold a pump very well. Not that this is bad, I am just saying. Some people have this happen to them on a carb restricted diet. If you are doing THT however, I don't think that should be much of an issue at all.

Thanks Rsanviral,

Will try the wider grip to see how that goes. Or also try the dumbell presses for some unilateral movt. Diet is as per TSPA 80g carb/185g prot/125g fat.

Have a fairly long torso (6'1) so adding muscle on long limbs seems harder - but worth persevering. Also at 47 seems to take a bit longer than the real testosterone primed youngens

Will try and focus on the squeeze more and see how that goes. Thanks for the advice.

Wondering if a lagging body part needs a few more sets - or if this is not needed - just patience?

Cheers

Roy

Well first off I would recommend really taking a step back and analyzing everything before deciding that any one body part is lagging. Understand that not getting a pump does not equal a weaker body part. Also, you are in a caloric deficit. Your goal with your diet is to tone up and lose weight. You may not progress quite as fast in weights and size as you would in a isocaloric environment that satisfies requirements to build muscle. When you are in a deficit for an extended period of time, quite a few hormonal changes take place in your body. That coupled with age can definitely impact muscle growth. Now..TSPA is still great and I myself can say that I did indeed put on muscle while losing weight. My point is try and progress every week in your reps following the plan with the TSPA regimen. When you hit your BF goals, start a growth regimen such as MANS+THT or GLAD+THT and THEN I would worry about any lagging body parts and see what you can do to improve on them. Just don't fall into the mind trap of "more must be better". Granted, in some people, different body parts respond better to certain types of training. Since you mentioned age, have you gone to see a doc to check out whether or not your natural test lvls are chronically low? May be worth doing if you think you may have a problem.

I am certainly no guru on the subject matter at all so take my advice with a grain of salt. Ultimately you have to make informed decisions and do what is right for you and your body. Marks programs/advice work. I wouldn't recommend deviating from them at all while on a cut. Evaluate your bodies growth while training and eating exclusively to put on lean mass before you change the routine.

Thanks for the comments Rsanviral. Actually today for the first time got a great chest pump. still following the TSPA diet, but am doing the THT routine. Dropped the weights slightly to get better form and BINGO! Couldn't help myself though - had to do one more set of pec dec followed by bench press - just to enjoy the feeling

Also went to GP to get some blood work done - whole barrage of hormonal test - including oestrogen (yes we spell it with an O in Oz), free test, DHEA blah blah blah. Will be interesting to see what comes back.

Cheers

Roy