Building a big gorilla chest

Hey guys, for all the experts out there, are there any ways other than benchpresses to train your chest?

I've heard that normal push-ups and diamond push-ups work.

Please comment if you have any good advice.

Thanks!

any horizontal abdduction of the humerus will build your chest muscles. (bench press, incline bench press, decline bench press, dips, cable flyes, dumbell flyes, pushups, blah blah)

However you should focus on a full body or least a complete upperbody routine 3x a week if your too lazy to do your legs(not recommended)

if your a beginner(which i can presume you are) you'll see results fairly quickly over your first 12-24 weeks,
spend some time practicing the basic movements (bench press, pull ups, shoulder press, rows) with moderate weight 12-15 repetitions for 2-3 sets with 45s-1min rest for your first 4 weeks, then when your comfortable you can move to a lower repetition weight 6-12 (always use a spotter)

A really common mistake lots of people make/think, is the heavier you lift the bigger you will be, its a misconception and strength is not just a muscular adaptation.

cheers.

I've heard that you should make your movements slow and precise instead of just finishing the set quickly, and that you should have a high protein diet 1 hour after your workout

Would you tell me if it's true?

your tempo isnt going to affect much as a beginner. if your having trouble with control, lower your weights and go slow, a 2 second eccentric contraction, 1 second concentric and 1 second hold will help you learn control, but regardless its gonna take time, 4-12 weeks in some individuals to build a basic movement.

1 second up, 1 second hold, 2 seconds down. It will be challenging.

Going fast is a great way to build power and create a neurological adaptation to bearing weight, increasing your anerobic output, however it breeds high injury, poor form, and depending on your periodization can put less Tension on the muscle.

You should have a mix of protein and carbs within an hour of your workout, its when your body best absorbs and utilizes nutrients.

Intensity is key for muscle growth - think sprinter vs marathon runner; the sprinter does a lot of work in a SHORT period of time; the marathon runner does a lot of work over a long period of time. Who would you rather look like?

It's how FAST you work NOT how MUCH you do.

So in light of the above this basically means lowering your rest periods between sets.

3 sets of 8 with 15 seconds rest will do a lot more for muscular hypertrophy than 3 sets of 8 lifting more weight with 60 secs rest.

Form is very important. Form over weight if your aim is muscle growth i.e. hypertrophy.
If going for strength on say an Olympic lift - form can be sacrificed a LITTLE BIT but bear in mind that bad form = BIG risk of injury.

As a beginner I'd focus on a power set+hypertrophy set combo: 2 sets of 3-5 reps really heavy and powerful, explosive movements followed by a 3 sets of 6-8 slow and controlled movements with less weight.

An effective routine for chest would look like this:

Neck press (same as bench press but arms wider than shoulder width and lowering the bar to the neck instead of the lower chest area) or dips power set followed by a dumbell flyes hypertrophy (growth) set.

Neck press or dips (power set) 1 set of 3-5 of 60-80% of your 1 rep max.

Followed by a hypertrophy set of dumbbell flyes:

Dumbbell flyes: 1 set of 6-8 of 50-70% of your 1 rep max.

Rest 15-20 secs.

Neck press or dips (power set) 1 set of 3-5 of 60-80% of your 1 rep max.

Dumbbell flyes: 1 set of 6-8 of 50-70% of your 1 rep max.

Rest 15-20 secs.

Dumbbell flyes: 1 set of 6-8 of 50-70% of your 1 rep max.

That's it!

Main objectives and pointers - increase weight on power set regularly - keep your form very strict on the growth sets (weight increases are not as important but they are still necessary so do increase it from time to time.)

Work your chest like this twice a week e.g. Tuesdays and Fridays.

Take care of your diet. Lots of protein and fat for testosterone production.

Diet is 80% training is 20%.

Hey Willyyy and TheWealthyPUA, thanks for the great advice!

I can't really do weights yet because I'm still growing and I'm under my peak mature height due to being under 18, but I'll keep them in mind when I start training after 18.

Just a little update: I've been doing deep wide-arm push-ups while looking as high up as I can, somewhere around 200 a day, 1 hour before dinner.

And now I've impressed myself with my big boobs

Now my abs are like shiat though, haha ~

Bench press and Standing overhead press. Only two I do. Either do 1 two days a week and the other the middle day. But I train for strength and not for looks, and only do barbell lifts. So take with grain of salt. Yet, my body is well balanced with strong legs and back. Chest, arms, shoulders all come too since it is all compound lifts.

Don't worry about being under peak training height. That is a fallacy that you will stunt your growth. There are numerous example of athletes wrestlers and such who start strength training at ages of 13-15. They start with starting strength program then progress to intermediate and advance levels. Can search for starting strength by Mark Rippetoe. Close to the expert on strength training for novices.

Hey guys, a little quick update!

I've been following your advice, as you say, doing more bench presses and more weights, since my body can take it better.
(I'm 16)

I'd post a pic.. but only if you guys'd want to see the results (:
(If you'd like to see, just make a post and if there's enough demand, I'll post a photo)

I go to the gym with my dad around once or twice a week.

This is my current routine:
Warm Up,
Sit-Ups (Inclined),
Back Raises, Sides Raises,
Twisting the Sides using Thighs,
The Ab Roller,
Shoulder Press,
Bench Presses,
Bicep Curls,
Dumbell Flys,
Overhead Extension,
Tricep Kickback,
Ending with another round of the Ab Roller.

I'm not sure if it's the best workout routine, but it's been showing decent results.

If any of you guys think you have a better one, please by all means, post it here! It would really help me and any others who'd like to receive help from the professionals in our community.

I swim more often now, apparently it works out the back, and I can see more definition and I have "wings" now (:

Personally, I think practicing martial arts, especially those with a philosophy (I do Jeet Kune Do), is a good way to not only get yourself in shape, but help calm your mind and build up your character, while at the same time, instilling a sort of intimidation which is admired and respected by others, especially AMOGs.


Cheers

I have been training for many many years now. One of the main things I have learned is the importance of nutrition. Train HARD and do the correct body split workputs, let your body rest adequately but most important, train HARD, CONSISTENTLY and EAT PROPERLY. If you are serious about building your body, READ, LEARN EXCEL! BE A CHAMPION!