Upper chest damn near impossible to isolate

[The_flying_dutchman]

:cuss:

When I was younger I didn't have a problem targeting the upper chest. But for whatever reason now I can't seem to target them. I've tried:

Incline press with foreward grip - shoulder width apart and also far apart
Incline press with reverse grip - shoulder width apart and also far apart
Guillotine press
Upward cable rows
Dips
Incline flys


... all these achieve the same result: it becomes a delt and tricep exercise :cuss:

I"m frustrated as hell cause I can't get that shelf that I used to have when I was young.

HELP!!! NEED RECOMENDATIONS!!!

PS: I don't want to hear any of that "you can't target upper chest, it all works together" bs... I used to be able to target them just fine when I was young....

 

[The_flying_dutchman]

Also, it pisses me off that when i do decline press my lower pecs get a crazy workout -- the problem is that I then get all droopy tit action...

....fck that, I don't want any of that silverback action, i need them upper pecs...

 

[SoSerene]

Cut body fat? That "droopy tit action" might just be increased body fat from your younger days. Not saying you got fat or anything but the chest is the first area fat tends to accumulate...so even if you're 5-10 lbs chubbier than your peak it might show up in ways you don't want.

 

[HoneyHitter]

1. Shoulder press (to failure)
2. Incline dumbbell press (60 degree angle)
3. Incline dumbbell flyes
4. Repeat this twice a week for the next 8 months

Be patient. If your upperchest is near non-existent, your first gains will NOT be tremendous. But that's no excuse to give up the routine. Up the weights and keep going at it.

 

[speed dawg]

Incline press with foreward grip

This is the ticket right here. There really isn't much else that is going to help you build mass in the upper chest.

My suggestions:

- Goes without saying, but make sure you are doing your heavy lifts, the squats/deadlifts, the bench press/dips, the rows/pull-ups. Perhaps incorporate some Olympic lifts into your routine, like Jerks. Those 'big' lifts help all other areas of your body grow.

- Try the mind over matter stuff with your incline presses. Do barbell and dumbbell, and while you do it, go low/slow and concentrate mentally on your upper chest. Try to flex it while lifting the weight. This will stimulate that area and hopefully isolate it harder.

 

[Moroder]

If you guys don't mind, I'll sneak in my chest question as well. I work out at a gym, pretty much everything is with machines (free weights coming later on). I've got pretty much all areas covered, especially back and arms (legs are OK too, biking/walking a lot).
But I noticed my chest is like WTF where is it? Hello pectoralis, anybody there? What machine would you recommend for setting this straight?

 

[VikingKing]

But the bench a couple of inches inclined from flat, but just a little bit. That hits your upper chest well.

The way my body is, its hard for me to isolate my lower chest.

 

[slikkmeister]

One thing I was told by my training partner to really isolate my upper chest was to watch my hand placement on the bar and he made me use steppers(like the ones girls use in step class) as foot stools to raise my knees off the ground and keep my feet firmly planted. It made a huge difference and my chest after 3 months has never looked better. Sounds too simple to work,but give it a try and you'll see. It completely takes the arch out of your lower back and shoulders and puts almost all the emphasis on your upper chest.

 

[Who Dares Win]

Do you happen to have your shoulders closed on the inside after going heavy on chest for months?

I notice that when I train chest heavily and back not as hard it happens to me, when it happens shoulders are involved in any further chest exercise more than they should except the declines ones, even flies involve them more.

 

[Krueg]

Some things off the top of my head...

Maybe you need to drop the weight a little bit, focus more on the movement and the muscle.

Switch up your sets/reps. if your doing 3 sets of 8, try 4 sets of 12 or 3 sets of max reps.

 

[Paintballguy]

Incline DB press and flat DB flys really helped build my upper chest. Plus I do a bunch of shoulder work. Seated db shoulder press, front db raises, shoulder fly machine, rear pec deck.

This is me like 2 weeks ago.