Matt C. front picture.

[Howard]

This is 165?  

He honestly looks amazing!

It is called being ripped which often trumps mass.

[Ursus]

You have a sucky chest like me beacause also like me you press with your triceps and delts more than your chest. try adjusting grip or elbow position.

[Matt C]

Matt,

Look at Wahlberg's lower inner chest connects compared to yours.  There's nothing you can do to change that, and that's why the "shelf" will never happen.  Plus, there's nothing wrong with yours in the pic anyway.

Don't waste your time with stupid isolation bodybuiding movements, you're just spinning your wheels.  Play to your strengths.

That's the thing, that is a genetic limitation.  The only possible solution I can think of would be to put on enough mass where finally the chest looks strong.  Think about Phil Heath's chest - He may not have the best genetics for chest, but his chest is still way better than top amateurs and even other pros who have great genetics but just never brought their chests up to their full potentials.

Check out Mark Wahlberg's chest in Boogie Nights where he basically starved himself to get his weight down.  He still had chest separation!

I drank a little over two litres of water today and I think I can drink closer to three litres today and be at the gallon level at the end of this week.  My calories are up and I will find out how my strength is for my next workout.  Honestly, I was basically powerlifting all of last year on a starvation diet!  And to be honest, I didn't do too badly.

[Fatpanda]

Here is my workout from today:

Pec Deck: 6X12, 10X12, 12X12

Flat Bench Flyes: 40sX12, 60sX12, 60sX12

Wide Grip Bench: 185X12, 205X10, 225X8, 275 [fail], Drop set: 225X4, 135X8

Body weight Dips: 12, 15, 15

Immediately followed by 12 push-ups.

I used very controlled form and I believe the pre-exhaust principle worked very well and so did the wide grip!  I felt I achieved a great pump today.  Furthermore, the additional calories yesterday likely helped.  I only drank two litres of water yesterday and I am on par for that same level today [currently between 1-2 litres consumed].  I think I should be able to continue to increase my caloric and water intake to the point where I will be adjusted to 2,000 calories within 7-10 days.  I have found that the increased water intake has helped my appetite.

I honestly hope this works because it would really suck to not have a chest.  I don't mean to bash Romano or anything, it's just that when I saw his pictures I really wondered if a long time gym rat can be developed in most areas but not in the chest.  I would very much like to have a chest, not a massive one, but along the lines of Mark Wahlberg's former level would be great.  And lighting does make a difference [see second attached picture]:

stop right there - you are going right to the other end of the spectrum now.

why are you doing pec dec and flys 

every set to failure  thats far too many - and you did drop sets 

all on less than 1500cals a day + 2litres of water   

and you claim you are trying to get stronger for a powerlifting meet 

are you joking with this info ?

i don't necessarily agree with pre exhaust, but ok i see why you are doing it.

work up to 1 working set not beyond - certainly not 3 sets to failure.

do wider than 'your' normal grip decline press ( this will help with your meet - why take it our in the first place  ) again work up to 1 working set to failure - not beyond.

end with incline press with wider than 'your' normal grip - 1 working set - to failure not beyond.

this will work your entire chest - and still keep a specific movement/motor pattern you will use in your meet i.e. directly beneficial.

any set beyond failure burns too many calories ( of which you are taking very little), and provide very little extra in the way of strength/size benefits compared to the 1 set - especially on lower calories.

keep increasing calories slowly, and every workout your strength should go up, and you should notice notable improvements in pec size within the month.

[Immortal_Technique]

[Shockwave]

WTF is up with that?

[240 is Back]

Here is my workout from today:
Pec Deck: 6X12, 10X12, 12X12
Flat Bench Flyes: 40sX12, 60sX12, 60sX12
Wide Grip Bench: 185X12, 205X10, 225X8, 275 [fail], Drop set: 225X4, 135X8
Body weight Dips: 12, 15, 15
Immediately followed by 12 push-ups.

About 15 years ago, I read Cormier used a 3:1 upper:lower ratio for chest.
I follow this, and I have a pretty solid chest for being a twink.

I'd change the above workout to this:

Incline Smith Bench press - 4 sets
Incline DB press - 5 sets
Incline DB Flyes - 2 to 3 sets
Hammer strength flat machine press - 3 sets
Cable work- 3 sets

Then i'd move to triceps, and start with flat or decline close grip bench press.

I use rep ranges of 6 to 12.  I might do a few triples.  I'm narrow with shitty low chest tie-ins/lines (like you matt), but I do have some solid upper chest development.. and that lower shelf (despite my shitty genes), is solid too.

[Matt C]

Mark's chest looks amazing there!

[Fatpanda]

About 15 years ago, I read Cormier used a 3:1 upper:lower ratio for chest.
I follow this, and I have a pretty solid chest for being a twink.

I'd change the above workout to this:

Incline Smith Bench press - 4 sets
Incline DB press - 5 sets
Incline DB Flyes - 2 to 3 sets
Hammer strength flat machine press - 3 sets
Cable work- 3 sets

Then i'd move to triceps, and start with flat or decline close grip bench press.

I use rep ranges of 6 to 12.  I might do a few triples.  I'm narrow with shitty low chest tie-ins/lines (like you matt), but I do have some solid upper chest development.. and that lower shelf (despite my shitty genes), is solid too.

is matt juiced to the gills ? how is any normal human supposed to do a workout like that twice a week on less than 1500 cals 

[SF1900]

About 15 years ago, I read Cormier used a 3:1 upper:lower ratio for chest.
I follow this, and I have a pretty solid chest for being a twink.

I'd change the above workout to this:

Incline Smith Bench press - 4 sets
Incline DB press - 5 sets
Incline DB Flyes - 2 to 3 sets
Hammer strength flat machine press - 3 sets
Cable work- 3 sets

Then i'd move to triceps, and start with flat or decline close grip bench press.

I use rep ranges of 6 to 12.  I might do a few triples.  I'm narrow with shitty low chest tie-ins/lines (like you matt), but I do have some solid upper chest development.. and that lower shelf (despite my shitty genes), is solid too.

Flies pre-exhaust the chest first before the pressing movement. I can guarantee that when Matt benches his shoulders and tri's do most of the work. Hence, pre-exhausting the chest first using a fly movement. I usually never adhere to silly training methods, but the preexhaust principle makes sense.

[pellius]

Basile did not take those pictures but I do believe they are "lads."

[Matt C]

is matt juiced to the gills ? how is any normal human supposed to do a workout like that twice a week on less than 1500 cals 

I'm pleased to report that I am now over 1500 calories per day!!!  I'm definitely below 2500 but I am probably close to the 2000 calorie range.  I really want to stick with this for a few months and see where it takes me.  I am hoping to preserve or improve my strength, but bodybuilding is now my priority.

[tbombz]

fatpanda you think about training from the point of view of studies. dont do that dude. find a way where you feel stronger and are stronger every week, not only one set, nor only one rep range.. mulitple sets in low reps and mulitple sets in high reps and mulitple sets in mid reps. dont go to failure if it causes you to lose significant strength after one or two sets.  yes doing one set per workout will work so long as your being progressive every week as far as strength goes, but you will be missing out on a vast array of muscular strength/shape/size/conditioning/vascularity benefits that come from doing lots of sets with heavy weights in high, med, and low rep ranges.

[wes]

I'm pleased to report that I am now over 1500 calories per day!!!  I'm definitely below 2500 but I am probably close to the 2000 calorie range.  I really want to stick with this for a few months and see where it takes me.  I am hoping to preserve or improve my strength, but bodybuilding is now my priority.

You`re bound to make good progress doing this.................... actually foolproof for a while anyway.

Train hard!

[wes]

fatpanda you think about training from the point of view of studies. dont do that dude. find a way where you feel stronger and are stronger every week, not only one set, nor only one rep range.. mulitple sets in low reps and mulitple sets in high reps and mulitple sets in mid reps. dont go to failure if it causes you to lose significant strength after one or two sets.  yes doing one set per workout will work so long as your being progressive every week as far as strength goes, but you will be missing out on a vast array of muscular strength/shape/size/conditioning/vascularity benefits that come from doing lots of sets with heavy weights in high, med, and low rep ranges.

X100000000000000000

[Fatpanda]

fatpanda you think about training from the point of view of studies. dont do that dude. find a way where you feel stronger and are stronger every week, not only one set, nor only one rep range.. mulitple sets in low reps and mulitple sets in high reps and mulitple sets in mid reps. dont go to failure if it causes you to lose significant strength after one or two sets.  yes doing one set per workout will work so long as your being progressive every week as far as strength goes, but you will be missing out on a vast array of muscular strength/shape/size/conditioning/vascularity benefits that come from doing lots of sets with heavy weights in high, med, and low rep ranges.

i agree completely that you should be stronger every workout, or at least every few workouts ( assuming calorie surplus) - and progression is key with failure meaning very little in the grand scheme of things - failure can be a valuable tool however when used to gauge progress, and in matts case - possibly help improve/maintain strength.

however i disagree about the rest of your post - yes there is specific minor benefits in each rep range, and minor differences in muscle mass gains, but there has been enough studies to show the optimal in regards to strength and mass is around 6-10 reps per set.

come on now candy - shape/conditioning/vascularity  matt is not going for the mr o  and anyway the only thing rep range would effect of those is vascularity 

i will re-post these studies sometime over the weekend - when i start the challenge with disgusted.

[Ursus]

I do flat barbell, Incline barbell, incline DB's and then weighted dips for chest.

[Grape Ape]

About 15 years ago, I read Cormier used a 3:1 upper:lower ratio for chest.
I follow this, and I have a pretty solid chest for being a twink.

I'd change the above workout to this:

Incline Smith Bench press - 4 sets
Incline DB press - 5 sets
Incline DB Flyes - 2 to 3 sets
Hammer strength flat machine press - 3 sets
Cable work- 3 sets

Then i'd move to triceps, and start with flat or decline close grip bench press.

I use rep ranges of 6 to 12.  I might do a few triples.  I'm narrow with shitty low chest tie-ins/lines (like you matt), but I do have some solid upper chest development.. and that lower shelf (despite my shitty genes), is solid too.

I think suggesting 18 sets for a natural lifter is completely ridiculous, and then you throw tricep work to boot. Most of the exercises on that list are useless, or have better alternatives.  Smith machine?  C'mon.  Bench press, dumbell press, dips and push ups.  If you don't grow on that, it's not going to happen.

Matt's chest limitations are genetic, and they're not even bad.  If he bulks up, he'll also get fatter and it won't look any better anyway.

[240 is Back]

I think suggesting 18 sets for a natural lifter is completely ridiculous, and then you throw tricep work to boot. Most of the exercises on that list are useless, or have better alternatives.  Smith machine?  C'mon.  Bench press, dumbell press, dips and push ups.  If you don't grow on that, it's not going to happen.

Matt's chest limitations are genetic, and they're not even bad.  If he bulks up, he'll also get fatter and it won't look any better anyway.

that includes warmups.  I don't train to failure.  Chest gets 9 or 10 real working sets over an hour or so.  I move very slowly thru reps and I don't use insane weight.  There's no jamming, no explosion, minimal risk. 

I think incline smith bench press is way more effective than pushups.  I always feel triceps more in pushups.  My arms truly suck, so I'm sure I am stimulating chest effectively

I'm not saying he should bulk... he should just sloooow down, train with less weight, more sets and reps IMO. 

[SF1900]

In the end, his lack of chest is genetic. No exercise, rep range or weight is going to make him have a great chest. So, whether or not he does 12 reps or 6 is probably not going to matter all that much. Matt, just train and have fun. Whatever happens, happens. 

[240 is Back]

In the end, his lack of chest is genetic.

i have to disagree.  he's not THICK in the chest yet.  When he gets there, it'll have poor shape, but it'll have a shadow and it'll stand out from the side.  Right now, he's got awesome shoulders and triceps, with size and thickness - but not on chest.

[SF1900]

i have to disagree.  he's not THICK in the chest yet.  When he gets there, it'll have poor shape, but it'll have a shadow and it'll stand out from the side.  Right now, he's got awesome shoulders and triceps, with size and thickness - but not on chest.

Just because one is thick in the shoulders and tris, it doesnt automatically mean onw has the genetics for a thick chest.

[240 is Back]

Just because one is thick in the shoulders and tris, it doesnt automatically mean onw has the genetics for a thick chest.

Phil heath has shitty chest genetics - but it still sticks out.  it's still thick.  It still has that shadow.  IMO, matt just has underdeveloped chest muscles.  (i could be wrong, i'm a bit of a blowhard at times lol).

his chest might end up looking bunched up with shitty lines at the bottom, but it'll have some size.

[SF1900]

Phil heath has shitty chest genetics - but it still sticks out.  it's still thick.  It still has that shadow.  IMO, matt just has underdeveloped chest muscles.  (i could be wrong, i'm a bit of a blowhard at times lol).

his chest might end up looking bunched up with shitty lines at the bottom, but it'll have some size.

Well, whether or not  he can actually gain size is to be determined. I guess we will know in a few weeks/months when he posts another photo. I say it will be very difficult, but I guess time will tell.

[240 is Back]

he needs to do something HUGELY different - cause his shoudlers/triceps have gotten tons better in the last 4 years, but chest has not. 

if he does nail the training, it'll come up FAST, in my opinion.  When I started training arms right, they grew very fast after sucking my whole life.