No gains in upper chest?

[Wheres-Waldo]

I cant gain strength in my upper chest to save my life.

Over the past 2 monthes Ive been doing an *Incline - Flat - Decline* all dumbell routine once a week. Warm up on incline before I start my working sets..no warm up on flat or decline.

4 sets of 8-12 reps
dropset or superset with push-ups on my last set per exercise.

Ive seen somewhat small but deffinate gains in strength in my flat and decline over the past 2 monthes, but almost nothing in incline.

I do work delts, but I dont isolate my front delts yet, if that might have anything to do with slow progress?

 

[ArcticLight]

Re: No gains in upper chest?

Diamond Pushups, do those for two weeks and report back.
Pull up's too.

You don't need equipment to work out.

 

[Bowman]

Re: No gains in upper chest?

Here are a couple of things that I would try:

Change up your press order (Flat to Incline to Decline) every week.

Do heavier weights with lower reps. Do 4 sets of 4-6 reps (obviously you'll need a spotter)

Stop the drop sets for a month and leave those for your high rep, high set, low weight months.

Switch your press equipment from dumbbell to bar to hammer strength etc.

 

[Wheres-Waldo]

Re: No gains in upper chest?

Diamonds - On chest day? How often?

Bowman - Diversity is the key eh? I will mix it up a bit. I dont have the luxury of a spotter, I work out in my barracks room with 90 lb. PowerBlocks and a bench...and some other toys (gym is PACKED durring all but the most obscure hours of the day).

 

[--BLACKOUT--]

Re: No gains in upper chest?

Your chest is lacking because your shoulders, back , and mainly your triceps are lacking. Once those muscles get stronger, they'll help get the chest strength up.

 

[Bowman]

Re: No gains in upper chest?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Wheres-Waldo</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Diamonds - On chest day? How often?

Bowman - Diversity is the key eh? I will mix it up a bit. I dont have the luxury of a spotter, I work out in my barracks room with 90 lb. PowerBlocks and a bench...and some other toys (gym is PACKED durring all but the most obscure hours of the day). </div></div>

Diversity is key when it comes to strength gains. Also, a lot of people don't feel like they are being productive when they do low rep sets. It's hard to believe that gains will come when you're not doing 50-100+ reps per muscle group in total during a workout. Trust me; your biggest gains will come from your heavy days. Try to get your hands on some heavier weight because 90lb (180lb) will not cut it for press and gains. If you can easily rep those 90lbers you should be doing at least 110-130 (220-260) on your heavy days.

Again, find a spotter when you increase your weight. Just have somebody spot you at least once so you know your capabilities before putting a permanent dent in your forehead. Then you can go heavy on your own when you know your limits. A full time spotter is best obviously, because you can go 'til failure every time.

 

[ArcticLight]

Re: No gains in upper chest?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Wheres-Waldo</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Diamonds - On chest day? How often?
</div></div>

Pretend you are in the military and do 20 per hour

 

[Cinch]

Re: No gains in upper chest?

Add in another multiple joint multiple muscle core lift like squats or deadlifts. Go heavier less reps.

 

[Midodgeguy]

Re: No gains in upper chest?

First off, you need a routine because as other have said - you're lacking because your other muscle groups are holding you back. If you're looking to make all around gains, a 3 x 8-12 plan will be better; 4 Sets are better suited for lower reps. I would also add in at least one more exercise (Probably 2) and there are a ton of upper chest specific exercises that could be added. Lastly, mix it up - don't do the same exercises week after week. Track your progress and go for a step-up in weight the next time you come back to that exercise (typically about 3 weeks for me).

 

[alnkal00]

Re: No gains in upper chest?

Jim Wendlers 5,3,1 program ebook $20 if IIRC
Start using bigger lifts. Squats,Deads,Press,Snatch,Clean & Jerks and Eat More Meat

 

[tpowers]

Re: No gains in upper chest?

I've found that doing 5 sets of 5 reps increasing weight as you go to your maximum weight and even failure is a good way to increase your strength. Then do 5 sets of 5 at 80% max weight for the entire set.
Its straight from crossfit.

 

[teknikallysekure]

Re: No gains in upper chest?

question 1: how many grams of protein do you eat a day vs your weight?

question 2: how many hours you sleepin a night?

 

[TimK]

Re: No gains in upper chest?

Try this routine. It's working for me and my partner. I'm up 30# on my bench, he's up 40#. All in about 5 weeks.

Link

 

[JJones75]

Re: No gains in upper chest?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: COURAGEWOLF</div><div class="ubbcode-body">question 1: how many grams of protein do you eat a day vs your weight?

question 2: how many hours you sleepin a night?

</div></div>

Two very important questions

 

[Wheres-Waldo]

Re: No gains in upper chest?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: JJones75</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: COURAGEWOLF</div><div class="ubbcode-body">question 1: how many grams of protein do you eat a day vs your weight?

question 2: how many hours you sleepin a night?

</div></div>

Two very important questions </div></div>

On average, about 60% of my body weight in grams of protien, weather it be whey, egg albumen, casine or hydrolized whey. In conjunction with as many calories as I can take in... avg. 2500-3000

Its usualy lean beef, turkey burgers, chicken breast , scrambled eggs, oatmeal and energy drinks

cheese, white or whole wheat bread,

Sleep, 6-7 hours avg.

Im deffinately a hard-gainer and dont want to just pack on mass w/o deffinition. Im at 164 lbs right now with about 7 % bodyfat.

 

[WhiskeyWebber]

Re: No gains in upper chest?

Let me translate "hard gainer"... "I don't eat enough"

You are one... hundred and sixty four fucking pounds

That's why you're stuck

 

[teknikallysekure]

Re: No gains in upper chest?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Wheres-Waldo</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: JJones75</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: COURAGEWOLF</div><div class="ubbcode-body">question 1: how many grams of protein do you eat a day vs your weight?

question 2: how many hours you sleepin a night?

</div></div>

Two very important questions </div></div>

On average, about 60% of my body weight in grams of protien, weather it be whey, egg albumen, casine or hydrolized whey. In conjunction with as many calories as I can take in... avg. 2500-3000

Its usualy lean beef, turkey burgers, chicken breast , scrambled eggs, oatmeal and energy drinks

cheese, white or whole wheat bread,

Sleep, 6-7 hours avg.

Im deffinately a hard-gainer and dont want to just pack on mass w/o deffinition. Im at 164 lbs right now with about 7 % bodyfat. </div></div>

I can relate in a way last year I went through a solid bulk and overate just plowing through gallons of milk and chicken breasts. Empty jugs of protein all under my reloading bench, but I made sure to get about 1.25 grams of protein a day per lb of bodyweight, and keep my macros somewhat reasonable if not a little fatty.

I went from 205 to about 220, and was pretty puffy. Wasn't takin my shirt off anytime soon, but was constantly getting remarks from people that I looked huge and was obviously working out a ton etc. I started a long slow cut(eating about maintenance) but lifting and adding occasional cardio, but nothing really dedicated.

The diet is easy to maintain this way, and I've dropped down to about 190 and my lifts are maintaining around the same weights I had before.

I'm probably still at 14 or 15% body fat, but I feel good enough without a shirt on, have muscle definition in the arms chest and back, and the abs are visible, but a bit pudgy.

I'm at the point now where if I just maintain this diet and step up the cardio for a few weeks seriously I'll get solid ab definition for the rest of the summer.

If I was in your position I would consider going a couple hundred calories over maintenance and pushing it harder. You'll lose the fat really quickly, but you won't gain the muscle really quickly, atleast in my experience.

 

[Nate O.]

Re: No gains in upper chest?

In my opinion you don't need to "warm up on incline". Before you start lifting, bring your heart rate up to target and get the blood moving away from your core and into the extremities. 3-5 minutes should be all it takes, now your warmed up.
Start lifting heavy, I agree with the above, 5 sets of 6. On your first set, you should be able to get that 6th rep, but not 7.
That's your guage as to weather you've got enough weight. On bigger muscle groups, I like 45 sec. of rest between sets. Smaller groups i like 30 secs.
Most importantly, as stated above, make sure you're feeding your body correctly. You can't build muscle without the proper foundation.

 

[paulo_santos]

Re: No gains in upper chest?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Tim K</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Try this routine. It's working for me and my partner. I'm up 30# on my bench, he's up 40#. All in about 5 weeks.

Link </div></div>

A program like this is great. You need to build the rest of your body, not just your chest. That is where the assistance exercises come in. Without them, you will be stuck.

 

[tpowers]

Re: No gains in upper chest?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Wheres-Waldo</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: JJones75</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: COURAGEWOLF</div><div class="ubbcode-body">question 1: how many grams of protein do you eat a day vs your weight?

question 2: how many hours you sleepin a night?

</div></div>

Two very important questions </div></div>

On average, about 60% of my body weight in grams of protien, weather it be whey, egg albumen, casine or hydrolized whey. In conjunction with as many calories as I can take in... avg. 2500-3000

Its usualy lean beef, turkey burgers, chicken breast , scrambled eggs, oatmeal and energy drinks

cheese, white or whole wheat bread,

Sleep, 6-7 hours avg.

Im deffinately a hard-gainer and dont want to just pack on mass w/o deffinition. Im at 164 lbs right now with about 7 % bodyfat. </div></div>

You may want to try and cut out the grains and definitely toss the energy drinks. Drink coconut water to rehydrate. Try out a primal diet, and if you can't give up all grains at least try cutting out gluten. For many it is a huge energy and strength sapper. Its not for everyone, but it may be worth a try. It will take about a week for gluten to get out of your system. A good challenge is to eat very clean foods, no sugars, no grains for at least two weeks, best if you can go for 4 weeks, and then slowly reintroduce the old foods to see what your natural diet is and see what works best for you. Make sure that you still eat a lot of protein.
Typical day would be 6-7 egg breakfast with 4-5 pieces of bacon, mix in spinach and some other vegi into eggs, for lunch 3 chicken breast salad with only vegis and oil and vinegar, no dressing. Protein drink after working out. For dinner 1-2 pounds of steak (grass fead is the best) or similar meat source with 2-3 cups of steamed vegis or similar. Small amount of starch is ok too, sweet potato is preferred.
And treat your sleep like it is your job. 8-10 hours a night. The sleep is where I tend to horribly fail.

And don't sweat your size. Most of the best crossfitters in the world are about your size and they are able to lift crazy amounts.

 

[WhiskeyWebber]

Re: No gains in upper chest?

Reread my earlier post and I apologize if I sounded like I was cracking on your size.

In order for you body to grow you must have a stimulus that is strong enough to evoke a hormonal growth response and in order for the response from your body to be fully effective you have to have excessive calories in your system with the right combination of nutrients (along with 8-10hrs of sleep a night). The easiest way to do this is eat 4-5K well balanced calories per day while you are growing and then diet off the fat later. The easiest way to evoke a hormonal growth response is through the use of a linear progression of heavy weights in the big 5 movements. You have to stress your body enough that it has no choice but to grow. DL and Squat are movements that do this quite effectively. Isolation exercises just don't provide enough stress to the system to evoke the hormonal response.

Abs disappearing for a little while is not the end of the world... I haven't seen my abs in about 20 yrs but I can Squat and DL over 400 and I'm a shitpot more powerful than I used to be; vertical jump went from 24 inches to 30 inches while gaining 45 pounds.

 

[Wheres-Waldo]

Re: No gains in upper chest?

I started on the routine outined and linked above today.
I did day 3 (medium day). I can feel a little bit of soreness in my triceps already...which ANY soreness is unusual for me. Im going to give the 6 weeks a solid effort and see what gains I can make.
One thing that confused me is that all this is done only on flat bench? Im aslo wondering if this method of training can be applied to other large muscle groups like lats or quads, once Ive finished my 6 weeks on chest?

I also monitored my caloric and protien intake yesterday and am still doing a running count today.

Yesterday was a grand total 2743 calories w/ 189 grams protien from 3 base meals and 3 snacks. Im going to try to bump this up to 3500 calories. Getting these snacks in, along with 8+ hours of sleep deffinately isnt easy durring the work week.

EDIT TO ADD: Im also giving serious thought to picking up these... http://shop.fitnessdepot.ca/Powerblock-Urethane-90-Stage-III-Kit-90-125-Lbs-P340.aspx

Im pretty damn close to outgrowing my 90's

 

[JJones75]

Re: No gains in upper chest?

I have a good friend thats on a busy schedual and he is growing well off of three meals a day and three shakes.
He keeps a protein jug and shaker cup in his unit with a bag of almonds , he only has to eat one meal at work.

<span style="font-weight: bold">Meal-1</span>: 6 whole eggs , 1/2 cup oatmeal , banana

<span style="font-weight: bold">Shake</span> : 40g protein , 30 almonds

<span style="font-weight: bold">Meal-2</span>: 6oz chicken , 6oz sweet potatos , half an avocado

<span style="font-weight: bold">shake</span> : 40g protein , 30 almonds

<span style="font-weight: bold">Meal-3</span>: 6 oz lean beef (top sirloin or 93% ground) Spincah salad with no/low carb dressing

<span style="font-weight: bold">late night snack</span>: 40g casine protein,2 tablespoon peanutbutter

His strength and size has come up a noticable ammount and he aseems a little leaner as you can see more veins and some seperation in his arms. His training is basicaly a DC style , 1 working set , 1 pump set and stretching after per body part.
The working set for bench as an example would be , get good and warmed up , load a weight that you can bench 9-10 times then fail on the next one. You hit that weight to failure , take a 30 second break hit it again to failure , 30 second break hit again to failure , drop that weight in half and rep to failure. take a min or two break and do some extreme stretching. The stretching for chest would be using a weight that you can only get 1-2 flys on flat bench with and just come down like your doing a fly and hold it for a full min , slowly leting the weight sink and stretch the chest (it realy hurts !!) and your chest workout is done

 

[Wheres-Waldo]

Re: No gains in upper chest?

I actualy seriously need the upgrade in weights now...
Doing day one shows me I cant even do day 1 properly w/o more weight...

Im doing my 90's x 6 reps

 

[Jcas2012]

Re: No gains in upper chest?

Flat bar 5x5s as mentioned before are one of the best bench routines you can do. Did you say you do or not have access to a bench?

 

[teknikallysekure]

Re: No gains in upper chest?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: JJones75</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I have a good friend thats on a busy schedual and he is growing well off of three meals a day and three shakes.
He keeps a protein jug and shaker cup in his unit with a bag of almonds , he only has to eat one meal at work.

<span style="font-weight: bold">Meal-1</span>: 6 whole eggs , 1/2 cup oatmeal , banana

<span style="font-weight: bold">Shake</span> : 40g protein , 30 almonds

<span style="font-weight: bold">Meal-2</span>: 6oz chicken , 6oz sweet potatos , half an avocado

<span style="font-weight: bold">shake</span> : 40g protein , 30 almonds

<span style="font-weight: bold">Meal-3</span>: 6 oz lean beef (top sirloin or 93% ground) Spincah salad with no/low carb dressing

<span style="font-weight: bold">late night snack</span>: 40g casine protein,2 tablespoon peanutbutter

His strength and size has come up a noticable ammount and he aseems a little leaner as you can see more veins and some seperation in his arms. His training is basicaly a DC style , 1 working set , 1 pump set and stretching after per body part.
The working set for bench as an example would be , get good and warmed up , load a weight that you can bench 9-10 times then fail on the next one. You hit that weight to failure , take a 30 second break hit it again to failure , 30 second break hit again to failure , drop that weight in half and rep to failure. take a min or two break and do some extreme stretching. The stretching for chest would be using a weight that you can only get 1-2 flys on flat bench with and just come down like your doing a fly and hold it for a full min , slowly leting the weight sink and stretch the chest (it realy hurts !!) and your chest workout is done </div></div>

seems like a really easy maintainable diet for a busy lifestyle thanks for posting that.

 

[Wheres-Waldo]

Re: No gains in upper chest?

Question for Tim K or others using this routine...
(Tim K...PM sent out to you)

Am I to do my assistance exercises on day 2, light day?

EDIT: MEDIUM DAY, NOT LIGHT

 

[wnroscoe]

Re: No gains in upper chest?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Wheres-Waldo</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Question for Tim K or others using this routine...
(Tim K...PM sent out to you)

Am I to do my assistance exercises on day 2, light day? </div></div>

Yes, do the assistance excersises on day two as well as on day one and day three. I'm sore the next morning but it goes away by 1000 hrs or so. The routine is working very well as I'm seeing very good gains. Stay with it for the full six weeks.

Remember, diet, diet and diet are key to this working.

 

[Wheres-Waldo]

Re: No gains in upper chest?

Rgr that,

Im shoving down calories as much as I can, avg. about 3K per day w/ 1 gram protien + per pound. I need more than that in the calorie dept. though.

 

[tridianm]

Re: No gains in upper chest?

Couldn't agree more. More weight, less reps. Maybe twice a day.

 

[JJones75]

Re: No gains in upper chest?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Wheres-Waldo</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Rgr that,

Im shoving down calories as much as I can, avg. about 3K per day w/ 1 gram protien + per pound. I need more than that in the calorie dept. though. </div></div>

The over all calories are not whats immportant in muscle growth , its the nutrients in them. You will not grow muscle eating 3000 cals of lucky charms nearly as well as if you eat 3000 cals of steak and eggs

shoot for 1.5g protein per pound of body weight , 3/4 gram of fat per pound of body weight and add calories with some carbs but use fruits as the carb source.

for a 200pound guy shoot for 50g protein , 25g carbs , 25g fats <span style="font-weight: bold">per meal </span>, 6 meals a day will give you 3100-3200 calories a day.
its important to get the protein and fats with the carbs , they will slow digestion and blunt the insuulin spike cause by the carbs reducing the chance of fat gain yet still allowing the body to use they as glycogen

 

[dpairborneranger]

Re: No gains in upper chest?

First off stop with the decline bullshit! It's a waste unless you're a bodybuilder and lacking in the lower pec region. Switch up dumbbells for barbell bench/incline every once and while.

 

[benchmstr]

Re: No gains in upper chest?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Wheres-Waldo</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I cant gain strength in my upper chest to save my life.

Over the past 2 monthes Ive been doing an *Incline - Flat - Decline* all dumbell routine once a week. Warm up on incline before I start my working sets..no warm up on flat or decline.

4 sets of 8-12 reps
dropset or superset with push-ups on my last set per exercise.

Ive seen somewhat small but deffinate gains in strength in my flat and decline over the past 2 monthes, but almost nothing in incline.

I do work delts, but I dont isolate my front delts yet, if that might have anything to do with slow progress?

</div></div>
stop doing supersets for a while....make your primary chest movement inclines on a smith mache....yes, i said smith machine.....you will be surprised how quickly it pops out

 

[2guard]

Re: No gains in upper chest?

eat more, with more protein

I like to do 4 sets of max weight I can do starting with 6-8reps. After every set on flat bench I do diamond pushups to failure (not a lot after 8 reps of 300 or so). I do this workout 3 times a week on flat bench, and the other 2 days I will do 8-10 reps of lower weight, then flat bench dumbell press to failure with 45s.

I gained about 4" on my chest using this, eating right (200+ grams of protein and creatine), lots of water, and proper rest.
Also try adding clean & jerks.

 

[Wheres-Waldo]

Re: No gains in upper chest?

Ill toss a little update out there...

Ive been doing between 3200 - 3400 Cal. a day, with about 140 Pro. per day pretty steadily now, and still chugging away on this routine...along with morning PT, which is just a shit ton of pull-ups and a 3 mile.

I had to modify the heavy day (day 1) because I outgrew my weight set since I started, 90 lb. dumbells I could barely get up once, to doing sets of 6 - 8 if im fresh.
On heavy days, Im doing 6 sets of 3 - 4 reps instead of 5 sets of 1.

Ive also gained about 6 lbs of presumably lean mass...
Im sticking with it, but I feel almost constantly sore in my tri/bi/forearms...not horribly sore, but its certainly there.

 

[JJones75]

Re: No gains in upper chest?

If your getting 3200-3400 cals a day and only 560 of those calories are comming from protein where is the other 2640-2840 calories comming from??

I personaly like to make sure that at least 40% of my daily calories come from my protein at a very minimum 33% and that when running a 33% macro breakdown.

protein and fat are the only essential nutrients in muscle growth , having some carbs does help alot as it allows the body to keep the muscles full of glycogen.

the 6 lbs you have gained in this very short time i assure you is not lean muscle unless you are taking some reallllly effective "supplelments" seeing that your diet is defecient in protein and you are getting stronger i would wager to bet that this weight gain is mostly water
for a man over 25 yrs old that has been training for more than a couple years to gain 6lbs of lean muscle in a year (naturaly)is a big step. Now sombody new to weight lifting of younger whos hormones are naturaly high then its surely possible

 

[Wheres-Waldo]

Re: No gains in upper chest?

Mr.Jones...

So I should be getting 400+ grams of protien per day? Other than guzzling down ungodly amounts of protien shakes, I havent a clue how I could more than double my protien intake, unless I eat nothing but beef and chicken, and alot of it. Even then, thats coming with a lot of fat calories isnt it?

At this point, Im very happy to be gaining weight, but how can I tell if its good growth/weight?

 

[JJones75]

Re: No gains in upper chest?

400g is a little high but not unatainable
divide 400 by how many meals a day your get , should be at least 5 , 6-7 is optimal
400/5= 80g per meal (thats wont be easy and you body will waste a pretty good bit)

400/6= 66g per meal
400/7=57g per meal

not knowing your body or how it responds to carbs I would start off with 1.5g protein , 1g carbs and .75g fat per pound of body weight

lets say your 200 lbs
300g protein , 200g carbs , 150g fat = 3350 cals per day
50g protein , 33g carbs , 25g fat per meal

run this for 2 weeks and see how your body responds and adjust accordingly

 

[Wheres-Waldo]

Re: No gains in upper chest?

RGR, will do, thankyou.

 

[JJones75]

Re: No gains in upper chest?

If your going to have excess calories its better to have them as protein because the body will not readly store protein to fat stores and it will use the carbs for energy before attacking the muscle proteins.
the body will turn all excess carbs into glucose weather it needs it or not and if you can't burt it off as energy its sent to storage for later as fat

and protein is absolutly essential for muscle growth

 

[Wheres-Waldo]

Re: No gains in upper chest?

JJones, Im trying to put togeather a few meal plans and am having a little trouble....

First, I have to assess what I need on a daily basis correct?
Im 5'11", a consistant ~167 lbs. 9% Body fat (via some do-dad you hold onto the metal handles...ect) 24 years old. I'm either doing 3 miles a day with 30+ pull-ups or days 1, 2 or 3 of the referanced chest routine, respectively.

Several calorie calculators have given me a maintenance caloric intake of 2.6K - 2.8K per day. To gain weight, what should my caloric daily goal be? Should I devide this up into 5 EQUAL meals or 3 MAIN meals and 2-3 snacks?

Im also having a hard time reaching the protien consumption goals without relying moderately on protien and mass builder shakes....is this a bad thing? I can only afford so much steak on an E4's pay and chicken breast, while having a high calorie/protien ratio...doesnt have many calories at all.

I did pick up a whey protien with about 60% of its calories coming from protien (288 of 495 per serving).

 

[JJones75]

Re: No gains in upper chest?

well at 167lbs lets start off at 250g-P , 165g-C , 125g fat

if you can do 6 meals I would do
40g proetin , 30g carbs and 20g fat per meal

for 5 meals
50g protein , 33g carbs , 25g fat per meal

I fully understand the cost issue , i personaly don't use many shakes cause i don't feel full and will end up over eating if i have more than 1-2 a day but they are a very cost effective way to add protein to your diet and if thats an option then by all means use it.
also keep an eye in the paper for the adds for the local markets , most will run specials on chicken breast for like $.99 per pound for "split breast" its a cost effective way to stock up but you have to clean the meat yourself.
Also eggs are a great source of both protein and good fats and they are cheap , canned tuna is also a pretty cost effective way to add protein to your diet especialy if you buy it from like a Sam's club or Costco type place.
here is a little chart that makes meal prep alot easier , just look at the numbers per ounce and figure how many ounces you need of each to reach your macro goal

1oz 95% browned ground beef : 8.3g Protein , 2.1g Fat
1oz 90% browned ground beef : 8.0g Protein , 3.4g Fat
1oz baked chicken breast : 7.5g Protein , 1.2g Fat
1oz baked Salmon : 7.2g Protein , 2.3g Fat
1 can light tuna in water : 42g Protein , 1.4g Fat
1 large whole egg : 6.3g Protein , 4.8g Fat
1oz almonds : 6g Protein , 6g carbs 14gr Fat

1oz whole milk : 1g Protein , 1g Fat , 1.5g Carbs
1oz skim milk : 1g Protein , 0g Fat , 1.5g Carbs

1oz cooked brown rice : 6.7g Carbs
1oz cooked white rice : 8.1g Carbs
1oz dry instant oatmeal : 4.7g Carbs
1oz cooked skinless sweet potato : 5.2g carbs

1 medium apple : 19g Carbs
1 medium banana : 27g carbs
1 large orange : 21g Carbs
1 large peach : 15g Carbs
1 black plum : 7.5g Carbs
1oz fresh pineapple :3.5g carbs
1oz fresh blueberrys : 4.2g Carbs
1oz fresh strawberries: 2.1g Carbs

 

[JJones75]

Re: No gains in upper chest?

Here are a couple samples oif diets that have worked for gaining muscle and dropping bodyfat.
_____________________________________________________________

Meal 1: Protein shake( 2 scoops in water) , 1/2 cup cooked oatmeal or quick oats and a banana or apple

Meal 2 : 6 oz of lean chicken breast ( approx 1 large breasts) or lean turkey breast and 4 oz of brown rice OR 4 oz sweet potatos. Add 1 cup green beans or broccoli if the chicken and rice don’t fill you up

Meal 3 : same as meal 2 OR a 50g protein shake + apple

Meal 4 : 6 oz of lean meat( chicken, turkey or white fish) and 1-2 cups of green veggies , 20-24 almonds

Snack before training: small piece of fruit such as a bananana or green apple and protein shake( 2 scoops of whey-50g protein)

Meal 5 : post workout meal: 8 oz of lean steak and mixed green veggies or small salad (use a low carb dressing!!)

Meal 6 : protein shake (3 scoops)in water and 20-24 almonds or a large tablespoon of natural peanut butter.
_____________________________________________________________

Meal 1: Protein shake( 2 scoops in water) and 1/2 cup cooked oatmeal or quick oats (I mix my protein with my oatmeal) OR 10 egg whites+2 whole eggs & half cup oatmeal

Meal 2: 6 oz of lean chicken breast (approx 1 large breasts) or lean turkey breast and 4 oz of brown rice or a 4 oz potato, (add 1 cup green beans or broccoli , optional)

Meal 3: same as meal 2 , or a 40g protein shake and a banana

Meal 4: 6 oz of lean meat(chicken, turkey or white fish) 4 oz brown rice or potato and one cup green veggies

Snack before training: protein shake( 2 scoops of whey40-50g protein) , 1 tablespoon natural peanut butter (you want to have at least an hr after you eat this before your train)

Meal 5: post workout meal: 6 oz of lean steak (Top sirloin) of dark fish like Salmon or swordfish and mixed green veggies or small salad (try to use a little dressing as possible , Helmans Dejionase is great or the “Waldon Farms” calorie free dressings) Try to keep the carrots , tomatos and peppers to a minimum

Meal 6: protein shake (50 g-protein) in water , ¼ cup (1.5oz) roasted, no salt almonds OR a scoop of natural peanut butter. (I mix one scoop of whey and one scoop of casine with very little water and peanut butter so its thick

_______________________________________________________________
<span style="font-weight: bold">If you want to add some size</span>
Meal 1: 1/2 cup instant oats , 3 scoops whey , 2 tablespoons almond butter , large apple
70g-P , 50g-C , 18g-F

Meal 2: 6oz chicken , 6oz brown rice , 1oz almonds
58g-P , 41g-C , 15g-F

Meal 3: 6oz chicken , 4oz strawberries+4oz cherries and 1/2oz crushed walnuts , mixed in 4oz cottage cheese
64g-P , 26g-C , 17g-F


Meal 4: 3oz chicken 3 oz 95% ground beef , 4oz sweet potatos , 1cup fresh broccoli covered with 1 tablespoon EVOO
49g-P , 26g-C , 21g-F

PWO : 3scoops Whey , 50g WMS
70g- P , 50g-C

Meal5: 8oz 95% ground beef or lean steak , 3cups babyspinach salad , 1 tablespoon EVOO and 2 tablspoons apple cider vinegar
60g-P , 5g-C , 28g-F

Meal 6: 2 scoops Team Skip protein , 2 tablespoons almond butter
55g-P , 7g-C , 19g-F

Protein –426g
Carbs – 205g
Fats – 118g
Total calories <span style="text-decoration: underline">=<span style="font-weight: bold">3586</span></span>

 

[dpairborneranger]

Re: No gains in upper chest?

Decline press is worthless. It is just used for shaping, not strength

 

[JJones75]

Re: No gains in upper chest?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: DonniePD</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Decline press is worthless. It is just used for shaping, not strength </div></div>

that not totaly accurate
decline press and well as dips activate more of the pec muscle , more muslce fiber stimulated equals more growth which equals ability to handel more weight

 

[dpairborneranger]

Re: No gains in upper chest?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: JJones75</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: DonniePD</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Decline press is worthless. It is just used for shaping, not strength </div></div>

that not totaly accurate
decline press and well as dips activate more of the pec muscle , more muslce fiber stimulated equals more growth which equals ability to handel more weight </div></div>

Listen "stud" you are wrong! Here is just a few websites of people who actually lift weights who know better.

http://www.thefactsaboutfitness.com/research/bench-press.htm
http://www.musclenet.com/benchpress.htm
http://www.davedraper.com/decline-bench-press.html

You can lift more on decline because it's a shorter range of motion. Plus, you use a lot of back because of the angle. Just curious but how much do you bench? You say it activates MORE of the pec, where did you get that bullshit info from?

 

[cavemanmoore]

Re: No gains in upper chest?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: DonniePD</div><div class="ubbcode-body">

Listen "stud" you are wrong! Here is just a few websites of people who actually lift weights who know better.

http://www.thefactsaboutfitness.com/research/bench-press.htm
http://www.musclenet.com/benchpress.htm
http://www.davedraper.com/decline-bench-press.html

You can lift more on decline because it's a shorter range of motion. Plus, you use a lot of back because of the angle. Just curious but how much do you bench? You say it activates MORE of the pec, where did you get that bullshit info from? </div></div>

Someone wake up on the wrong side of the bed? And LOL at you questioning Mr. Jones credentials.

Dorian Yates says decline bench is THE lift for building chest mass. I suppose he doesn't know what he is talking about either?

Good luck to you in your fitness journey, Sir.
-Chris

**And I sincerely thank you for your service.

 

[JJones75]

Re: No gains in upper chest?

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH

wow is all i have to say

 

[dpairborneranger]

Re: No gains in upper chest?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: cavemanmoore</div><div class="ubbcode-body">

Listen "stud" you are wrong! Here is just a few websites of people who actually lift weights who know better.

http://www.thefactsaboutfitness.com/research/bench-press.htm
http://www.musclenet.com/benchpress.htm
http://www.davedraper.com/decline-bench-press.html

You can lift more on decline because it's a shorter range of motion. Plus, you use a lot of back because of the angle. Just curious but how much do you bench? You say it activates MORE of the pec, where did you get that bullshit info from? </div></div>

Someone wake up on the wrong side of the bed? And LOL at you questioning Mr. Jones credentials.

Dorian Yates says decline bench is THE lift for building chest mass. I suppose he doesn't know what he is talking about either?

Good luck to you in your fitness journey, Sir.
-Chris

**And I sincerely thank you for your service.

Dorian Yates says he only did biceps 10 minutes a week. Are you suggesting 10 minutes is all we need?
http://www.dorianyates.net/dorian/site/showthread.php?t=590
Instead of just jumping on someones balls maybe show some information on the subject?

 

[dpairborneranger]

Re: No gains in upper chest?

I have posted numerous links and none of them praise the decline bench. End of rant