What role does exercise play in weight loss? Which sports really help you lose weight? Are there fitness clubs where overweight people can feel accepted and comfortable? Discuss these and other exercise-related concerns here.
If you register for free, you will be able to post threads, vote on polls and lots more. If you have problems with the registration or logging in, please contact the administrator.
Hi everyone I am new and I really like this forum, as the title says, I have manboobs -_-" I am 18 yrs old 160lbs and 6 feet tall. I may not look fat but as soon as I take my shirt off...All hell breaks loose. I would post pictures of my problem but I do not know if I am allowed to that. Now I have been doing cardio at least 3 times a week running about 2 miles each session and I have been putting in some very light weight training at the gym for my chest. I know it is not possible to spot reduce but what other exercises am I suppose to do to tighten up or flatten my chest out?
Sorry for the wall of text, any advice is good for me. Thanks!
advice on flattening my chest? Post #2 (permalink)
Everything you are doing sounds GREAT, have you tried PUSH UP reps and TARGETED PECK exercises with weights...you can even find a bunch of the machines at the GYM that could steer you in the right direction!....KEEP IT UP!
advice on flattening my chest? Post #3 (permalink)
I only have been doing light weightlifting because I heard the lighter weight you do and the more reps you do can get you ripped. Maybe I am doing something wrong? I have yet to see results in my chest and the doctor said its not the Gyno thing.
advice on flattening my chest? Post #5 (permalink)
Everyone carries fat in different places, though I would think it odd if you carried fat only in the boob area (this would make me think my doctor was wrong about the gyno thing). So assuming you are flabby elsewhere and really are overweight, when you reduce your weight your body will decide where it wants to take fat from first, second, third or from a bunch of places all at once. Its not really up to you, your body decides. So if you lose some weight then eventually the fat will come off the boob area too. So I would lift not for the purpose of specifically working my chest, but more for boosting my metabolism and fat burning generally. Going heavy tends to burn a lot of calories, especially when working the legs, and also the chest and back (the larger muscle groups). Also, work on cutting some calories from your diet by cutting out sugary drinks (try to switch to water with just a splash of juice for flavor for a while) and other obvious junk food, and minimizing your portion sizes. But if there is only fat in that one area, I would get a second opinion.
advice on flattening my chest? Post #6 (permalink)
I only have been doing light weightlifting because I heard the lighter weight you do and the more reps you do can get you ripped. Maybe I am doing something wrong?
you heard wrong...
spend some time with the stickied threads in this forum - low weights don't do a lot for you.. you want to increase the weights...
advice on flattening my chest? Post #7 (permalink)
if your trying to reduce the size of your man boobs cardio is the only way to do it. now if you balance out the fat which is usually towards the bottom of your chest, then you need to remove flat bench chest exercises from your workout and replace them with incline bench, incline flys, and incline dumbell presses. flat bench exersices actually work the lower portion of your chest which makes you man boobs stick out even more.
so ladies if you looking for some cleavage, then hit the flat bench. and work that cleavage. im sure the men in your gym will appeciate this.
advice on flattening my chest? Post #9 (permalink)
if your trying to reduce the size of your man boobs cardio is the only way to do it. now if you balance out the fat which is usually towards the bottom of your chest, then you need to remove flat bench chest exercises from your workout and replace them with incline bench, incline flys, and incline dumbell presses. flat bench exersices actually work the lower portion of your chest which makes you man boobs stick out even more.
so ladies if you looking for some cleavage, then hit the flat bench. and work that cleavage. im sure the men in your gym will appeciate this.
Thanks for telling me that the incline works more on the manboob. I have done the incline benchpress but thats about it. I usually do more on the flat bench but I will stop that from now on because I never really saw any results doing that lol. So If I continue to run about 3-4 miles a week and Go to the gym about 3 times a week doing a lot of Incline benchpressing do you think I will make some progress?
advice on flattening my chest? Post #10 (permalink)
if your trying to reduce the size of your man boobs cardio is the only way to do it. now if you balance out the fat which is usually towards the bottom of your chest, then you need to remove flat bench chest exercises from your workout and replace them with incline bench, incline flys, and incline dumbell presses. flat bench exersices actually work the lower portion of your chest which makes you man boobs stick out even more.
so ladies if you looking for some cleavage, then hit the flat bench. and work that cleavage. im sure the men in your gym will appeciate this.
I wouldn't think it healthy to avoid certain muscles and build up others in the same area. Meaning, if you want to ignore your legs and pump up your upper body then you're probably fine. But if you work a part of your chest and purposely avoid working another crucial part, or if you work your chest but dont want to build up your back for example, you'll end up unbalancing your muscles and causing damage. You need to build up all your muscles equally.
IMO, the problem is NOT muscle. I believe the OP would love him some hard muscle. The problem is either fat or breast tissue, and the doctor said it was not the latter. So basically you need to lose fat. True that my boobs look at least a size bigger (Ds, for BigCheese's benefit LOL) because I've lifted weights on and off for about 15 years. So yes, you're boobs could look even bigger with weight training, but I truly think that's not the issue at all and its the flabby part that bothers you, not the hard stuff underneath. I say keep the flat bench and also work on dieting. However, if you really are only flabby in the boob area and slim everywhere else I'd get a second opinion from a doctor and have the tissue removed surgically if its breast tissue (which wont go anywhere from dieting).
Last edited by Blancita; April 3rd, 2008 at 04:12 PM.
advice on flattening my chest? Post #11 (permalink)
I am kind of flabby around my stomach to. I have these love handles but they are not noticeable like my chest. I guess I should just try and lose more weight overall, but I do not want to go lower than 150 pounds.
advice on flattening my chest? Post #12 (permalink)
the incline instead of flat bench is a tip a lot of pro fitness athletes use. Ie bikini pro's fitness pro's and mens bodybuilders. Many Trainers i've talked to like to have thier clients only use incline pressing movements bacause they do a better job or hitting the overal pecs.
and yes ladies it does work. not only cus it puts muscle under your breast to push them out. but the muscle also acts as an internal bra to lift an perk.
advice on flattening my chest? Post #14 (permalink)
You can't say one exercise does a better job than another for everyone. We each have unique anthropometrics, so what works best for one won't necessarily work for another.
And I'm not trying to be rude or anything, but the last people I suggest taking advice from are pros in the professional physique community.
To the OP, Blancita is right.... lose the fat and everything will fall into place. While you're doing this, supplement your weight loss plan with a balanced resistance training routine that touches on all the major muscles of your body.
Don't spend an inordinate amount of time training your chest relative to everything else or you'll wind up with imbalances and potential injury.
advice on flattening my chest? Post #15 (permalink)