need help with my work outs... read on

danger boy

SO at the beginning of this year I joined my old gym.. (Golds) and have actually enjoyed going 4 times a week.. basically every other day. I'm working with a trainer and he kicks my butt for about 30 minutes. We do cardio, strength training and some weights too.. high intensity 30 minute workout.. cool.

well one of the areas I (and he) think I need to work on is my chest. i'm flabby chested..and I want a nice firm chest.. he has me do push-ups, bench press some weights, butterfly curls, etc.. you get the idea.. all things designed to work the chest.

Well after 4 months, i'm losing some weight, I feel better, but so far you can't really see many results yet.. yet I say. I know it'll happen over time. I don't expect miracles in 4 months time.

So my question is what do I need to do to work my chest and build up muscle and firm. My abs are getting firmer I can feel... so stomach is coming along
fine.. I've been doing the same job for 30 yrs now.. and it involves daily lifting all day.. not heavy weight, but some 20 lbs over and over again, day after day, week after week. So my body had learned to compensate for the daily lifting. Hence, when I try to work out my chest muscles, my arm and shoulders are taking over.. basically, they and my mind have built up and wall of defense for my chest.

I know you 're prob thinking i've finally lost my marbles... but I think there is some truth to it. I've consulted other fitness trainers and they say my gym routine is what is needed.. but dang if i'm not seeing much if any results for my chest.

so any of you regular gym guys have any ideas what I need to do? I'll admit my diet/food intake isn't optimum by any means.... i still need to tweak
that.

open to suggestions...

dragon1952

4 months isn't really enough time to start seeing real obvious results. And, the layer of fat around that area is hard to remove. I'm having an issue there also after laying off for a while and gaining weight, even though I have a well-developed chest underneath. You'll have to burn the fat off by exercising and dieting and the isolation exercises for the chest will probably help the most. With bench press and such too many other muscle groups can come into play (triceps, shoulders...even lats to an extent) and if they are the stronger link your chest can suffer. Also, If you've got man **** the heavy bench press can potentially make things appear even worse by bulking the muscle belly directing underneath. The dumbbell flys and machine flys are a good isolation exercise that can tone and shape. But if you can get rid of the excess flab around there you might be able to see some results that you didn't even know were there.
BTW, pushups are great but you've got to do a ton of them.

rdb2001

danger boy wrote: »

so any of you regular gym guys have any ideas what I need to do? I'll admit my diet/food intake isn't optimum by any means.... i still need to tweak
that.
open to suggestions...

That is the key. 90% of how your body look is what you eat. You will be amazed what your body will do once you feed it properly. I am a gym rat. Never saw the results I wanted up until about 6-8 months ago. Thought I ate good but I wasn't . There are a few bodybuilders that workout in my gym and one was kind enough to share his meal plan once he comes out of the off season. Man was I off with the way I was eating. I started his plan and instantly started shedding the little fat I had left. Went from 215-195 in about 3-4 weeks. Had more definition than I ever had. People still think I am 210-215 but I am so lean and cut now. I said all of this to say that if your not going to eat right then you will only probably maintain after a while. Once you start eating right, you will see a big difference.

dragon1952

So give it up...what's the plan? :^ )

decal

I'll admit my diet/food intake isn't optimum by any means.... i still need to tweak
that.

That's most of your problem,sorry but it's a fact.

cnh

Diet is, unfortunately, a key. I know, because I've been letting mine slide the last few months and my belly is starting to show!

But remember, there are genetics too! There are guys out there whose abdominal muscles show through without much training at all. There are some who have naturally chiseled, body builder-like pectorals and others who are built more like a power lifter as described above. Your frame and musculature are also variables in this equation!

So, diet, yeah. But I'm surprised that your training is NOT alternating you between really heavy power lifting in order to build bulk, and lower weight high reps for definition--back and forth, back and forth, combined with diet--should produce some results in anyone. I'm getting a bit old, at this point, so that two good lifts a week is all I need. The rest has to be aerobics otherwise a new wardrobe will be in order!

cnh

Rivrrat

Everything he's doing should work, but the key is don't cheat. if you're having to compensate with arm strength, you're probably using too much weight right now. Try going lighter, and maintain form.

tonyb

Wrong workout, you need naked Japanese women jumping on your chest. Worked ok for me when I was 19.

txcoastal1

Those chimed diet are correct, and the chest and thigh area is probably the most complex because there is actually a larger area of upper, mid, and lower. Physique comes into play here also, some have it and some don't

Congrats stick with it and the results will come....and don't drink any sodas and very limited or better yet no alcohol

As I drink my beer ...but just saying

danger boy

i have dropped one pant size.. size 34 now.. which is great... i haven't been size 34 in years.. many years. my **** is also getting smaller. lol
all good advice. but yeah chest is tough area to work out when you get older.
I will be tweaking my diet and get down.. or else, like several of you have said.. all the workouts in the work and all the time in the gym won't mean squat if I eat poorly.

I need to check more into what I can eat to lose weight. seems that everything I try to eat I think is healthy, turns out to be bad in one way or another. it's not easy
eating the "right" foods. but I will work on that.

my trainer is having me use weight that is beyond my level. so I think like someone here said.. I should back that off.. i figure it's better to lift more reps than fewer reps with more weight...

Pycroft

I have dropped over 40 pounds in the last year. I do cardio almost every day - up to running 3 + miles per day. I do simple count-down exercises that seem to REALLY help. Push ups are push-ups, but I've been reading that it's not about how many - it's about the intensity. Someone suggested this to build chest and it's worked well so far:

Count-down exercises. Should take less than 10 minutes per day (Or every other day).
Do 8 push ups, fast but correct form, stand and do 8 squat-thrusts. Without a break, do 7 and 7, no break 6 and 6 etc.

Speed is key, by the end, you've done 36 of each, and you'll be burning...if not, start next time at 9, and you'll do 45, or 10 and you'll do 55 of each.

I read in men's health magazine to test your upper body strength, do as many push ups as you can in 3 minutes. You can rest when you want, do them however you feel you need to. The average person will be able to do 55. If you can do 75 in 3 minutes, you're doing very well. I started, and was able to do 31. Now, doing these count-down exercises over the last month, I'm up to 45, and I feel great. See if that helps.

James

dragon1952

danger boy wrote: »

i have dropped one pant size.. size 34 now.. which is great... i haven't been size 34 in years.. many years. my **** is also getting smaller. lol
all good advice. but yeah chest is tough area to work out when you get older.
I will be tweaking my diet and get down.. or else, like several of you have said.. all the workouts in the work and all the time in the gym won't mean squat if I eat poorly.

I need to check more into what I can eat to lose weight. seems that everything I try to eat I think is healthy, turns out to be bad in one way or another. it's not easy
eating the "right" foods. but I will work on that.

my trainer is having me use weight that is beyond my level. so I think like someone here said.. I should back that off.. i figure it's better to lift more reps than fewer reps with more weight...

There should be a period of lighter weights to get your muscles accustomed. Then, a routine of low reps (5 sets x 5 reps for example) can be good for a beginner because at that level you can gain strength relatively quickly (because you haven't been training long enough to hit a plateau yet), so it's gets your strength up there for the next phase , which could be a phase of higher reps? Could be what he's doing....just guessing.