[Josh121]

Hey i was just wondering if anyone could help me out or tell me what im doing wrong. My chest has always been lacking in size.

currently my routine is
2 warm up sets on bench press
4 sets of 6-8 reps on bench press
3 sets of incline bench 6-8 reps
3 sets decline bench 8-10 reps
3 sets 10-12 reps of dumbell flys

I have rotated from dumbells to bench press every few months and added and taken in different exercises so its not like ive hit a plateau.
i havent seen very much growth in my chest i also started working it out twice a week one heavy day and one light day but i didnt notice much results. If anyone could help me out it would be very appreciated

[stalion]

whats your diet like

[Moro]

cosign the diet,

Also,

Are you getting stronger but just not bigger or has strength plateaued also?
Are you really trying hard to get stronger or do you come in with a mindset that you cant get past a certain weight?
How often do you change up your rep ranges?
Do you do any direct strength training for chest? or is it all hypertrophy work?
Do you use good form? EG shoulder blades retracted, elbows not flared, are you bouncing the weight?
Do you always use the same tempo?

And lastly i would scrap the decline presses and put in chest dips if you feel you need more lower chest work,

[HawaiianPride.]

Try fitting 1 more day of chest into your weekly routine. My legs are my weakest point, and found out that 1 day wasn't enough for them. Now that I train them twice a week they've blown up since then. One day of the week use DB and the other BB. Stick with this for a little while and see if its effective. Constantly changing up your routines and splits may be a problem.

[tigeraj2]

i say if you are doing the split routine you should hit chest twice a week.... because if you think about it, your bi's are getting worked when you work them directly and when you hit back... tri's are worked when you hit them, but also when you hit chest and shoulders,,, shoulders are hit when you hit them and when you hit chest.... and on and on... anyway the chest really isnt worked as a secondary muscle when working other stuff, so i say twice a week just like almost everything is being worked twice

[bigjohn510]

try doing some cable crossovers that and dumbell flyes work great for me along with fast benching

[ZiR RED]

I'd like to see three things:

First, a postural exam.

Second, I'd like to do a gleno-humoral functional strength and flexibility test.

Third, I'd like to see your technique/form during pressing different loads, as well as how it breaks down as you reach fatigue.

9 out of 10 times, peoples problems wrt to pec development is not in the routine, but rather due to poor biomechanics.

Br

[Josh121]

Hey my diet mainly consists of meats like chicken beef steak and lots of rice and pasta but i dont keep track of what im eating its more like if its in the kitchen ill eat, i know i have to improve on it. ive had some strength gains in the past few months but i seem to have plateaued once again. i do come in with an attitude of trying to lift more weight and trying to push it for one more rep then last time i did it. for my rep ranges i change them up every couple months. im not bouncing the weight i bring it down to touch my chest then back up to usually one inch before my elbows lock up. sorry but i dont know what hypertrpohy work means. and i use mainly the same tempo. but i also have a question on technique, when im bench pressing should i keep my elbows out to the side and keep them tucked into my body?

[Power12]

All good points here. I think there are also people who have smaller ribcages and that might have something to do with it.
Something that REALLY helped me was when I started stretching the chest at every workout using the dumbell fly stretch.

[Josh121]

and also how far should my hands be apart when holding the bar, should it be shoulder width or wider?

[ZiR RED]

Your elbows should be at a 45% angle. Imagine doing a lateral raise: When your arm is half way up (creating a 45% angle with your body/the floor), this is the angle you want when pressing. DO NOT let your elbows flair out to the sides.

Width should be about 1.25 -1.5 times the width of your shoulders (from acromium to acromium)

Br

[Famine]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems there are a lot of folks who cut out decline presses when they are going for mass building, focusing more on flat bench.

[HawaiianPride.]

Me personally, I think it's essential. I cut out Decline BB bench because it put a lot of stress on my left front delt. So I switched to Decline hammer strength and it's helped a ton with mass and strength.