pecs & genetics question

[userName-pLump]

This has been bothering me for a while, so I'll ask here.


here's the scenario:
friend #1 - benches 215
friend #2 - benches 225
me - benches 240

What bothers me are my pecs. friend #1 benches 215, he has thick pecs
friend #2 has huge pecs and benches the 225, and me, well I have what I
call 'average joe pecs'. I clearly out-bench them. I talked to my father and
he said my muscles are still developing. I kinda believed him because I
noticed my pecs were getting firm, but no size/thickness gains since I talked
about it.

My great grandfather was a farmer, my grandfather worked at GM and
retired, and my father works at GM and from what I seen in old pictures of
my father and grandfather, we all have 'average joe pecs'.

Is this how the genetics made my family?

If it is genetics and I cant change the shape I wont let it bother me, but if I
can get my pecs to shape i'll double the time I spend at the gym.

[Paul Stagg]

Genetics plays a huge role. Don't worry about it, keep getting bigger and stronger, and you'll be fine.

When you are 240 @ 8% bodyfat, only bodybuilding judges will notice your 'average' pecs.

[RussianRocket]

Benching is a compound movement not a pure chest exercise

[userName-pLump]

When you are 240 @ 8% bodyfat, only bodybuilding judges will notice your 'average' pecs.

hrmm, never thought of it like that. thanks

Benching is a compound movement not a pure chest exercise

yes, I know that, but when I was working out I would expect my pecs to fill out, even if it was just a little bit. to my dissapointment, they just got a little bit firmer for the months I was working out.

[BCC]

Your pecs filling out will be a function of diet. How much you bench has absolutely nothing to do with how your chest looks.

[d'Anconia]

I feel you bro I bench 275 and still have average joe pecs (since that's what we seem to be calling them).

A couple things: first of all strength and size are not directly related so check out at what repetition range you are usually doing your chest exercises at. Genetics does play a huge role but there are still things that you can do to get a bigger chest. If you want big pecs you'll also have to eat a lot of food and protein. If you follow the links in my signature and whatnot you can get to a pic of my chest...

[harv]

Good advice here...make sure getting enough protein or your pecs will not grow.

I bench 405 and there are many guys at the gym that have bigger pecs than I do but lift probably half as much. Even though bench is currently my strongest lift my pecs are my far my most lagging body part.

So, I've been hitting chest with somewhat high volume and using different exercises, (Flat BB, Incline DB, Flys) and have been having some progress.

[malkore]

I was just about to say "are you eating enough?"

[shansen008]

Just curious, how do your back (lats) and triceps look compared to your friends? ROM? Width of grip. These all play a large role in how much one can bench, there are many variables. I bench as much as some people with much larger pecs, but my triceps are HUGE compared to theirs. SO it kinda balances out.

[userName-pLump]

as for eating enough, I eat a lot of red meat when it's in the fridge, I eat a lot of
cereal with 2% milk, and I eat a lot of pasta, along with penut butter sandwitches, so
I think I am getting enough protein and carbs


and for the comparision, me and my friends are around the age of 16-17.
you brought up your triceps, well I have fairly big arms/shoulders. I was thinking
about that and the fact I out-lifted them in the arm/shoulder exersizes. The one
thing I dont understand is why would my pecs NOT be getting bigger, I was a bit
stupid when I was working out last year and I just did core lifts, this year ill do about
every lift for my routine, hopefully I will see progress in the mirror, and not just in the
weights.

[d'Anconia]

as for eating enough, I eat a lot of red meat when it's in the fridge, I eat a lot of
cereal with 2% milk, and I eat a lot of pasta, along with penut butter sandwitches, so
I think I am getting enough protein and carbs

Nooooooo ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho. Honestly take the time to count up how many grams of protein you eat in a day. I'd recommend that you eat over 150g of protein a day and some people would recommend 200+ grams of protein a day. Count your grams up and you'd be lucky if you hit 100g.
On another note nobody cares how many carbs you eat... sounds strange but are you getting enough fat also? I'm dead serious supposedly fat helps with different muscle-building chemical processes and whatnot.

[Titanium_Jim]

fat regulates your hormones, and growth hormone releases testosterone. That's a good thing. Check out the sticky thread titled What a Bodybuilder eats," in the diet & nutrition section.

[sharkall2003]

as for eating enough, I eat a lot of red meat when it's in the fridge, I eat a lot of
cereal with 2% milk, and I eat a lot of pasta, along with penut butter sandwitches, so
I think I am getting enough protein and carbs

Red meat, milk and peanut butter and you think you getting enough protein. No way. I drink a half a gallon milk every day, atleast 80 grams of whey protein, peanut butter sandwhiches all the time and I still dont get enough.

[d'Anconia]

*Cough* Told ya so...

[shansen008]

And finally...do decline press. No im not kidding.