One Of The Most Powerful Pow erful Chest Exercises For Men by G A R R Y D A V I D S ON ON on D E CE CE M B E R 1 8 , 2 0 1 2
T he best best chest exercises for MEN foc MEN focus us on growing growing chest muscle as quickly quickly and efficiently as possible and at the same time, widening widening the the chest to give giv e you y ou that unstoppable unstoppable masculine mas culine look. look . When it comes to burning chest fat and losing man boobs, boobs, while at the same time, growing muscle and sculpting an unstoppable unstoppable masculine chest, this one ex erc ercise ise is perhaps the best I’vee ev er known. It’s far better than bench I’v bench presses, pushup pushups, s, cable crossovers, cro ssovers, dumbbell flys and the like. I was first conv inced about using using this exercise exerc ise when when I learned about a guy called called Vince Vince Gironda.. Now let me tell yo Gironda you u a little about Vince. V ince was a bodybuilding bodybuilding legend who who was known as the ‘Iron ‘Iro n Guru’, and known for getting his clients big and ripped in reco rd time. For 50 years, he trained more champion physique competitors than anyone in the business. He trained some of the most famous bodybuilders, as well as some of the world’s best actors and actresses. He was also known to get great results re sults with regular joes like y ou and me. Vince was the “go-to” guy for fo r absolutely anyone anyone who who wanted wanted to get into shape. shape. Now y ou could argue that there were and are plenty plenty of other o ther guys around who know a lot about training, but Vince was different. Back in the day, Vince came c ame up with with a lot of weird and and controversial controv ersial ideas ideas about exercise exerc ise and nutrition, nutrition, a lot of people thought thought he was crazy and avoided avo ided taking taking his advic advice, e, or ev even en going to his gym. gy m. But what what we’re finding now, is that new scientific researc r esearch h is showing showing us that Vince was right all along!
One of Vince’s most controversial ideas was that the bench press is a poor a poor exercise exercise for the chest. I n fact, he threw thre w out all the benches in his gy gy m and replace replaced d them with with dipping dipping stations.. Vince believed that when it comes to dev eloping the stations the chest, the c hest dip is is a far superior superior exercise to the bench press, and guess what? Electromyogram (EMG) studies today, rev reveal eal that he was was right!
Chest Dips If y ou could do just one chest chest exercise ex ercise to carv e out a set of pecs that you see on the statue of a Greek god, the Hulk or a mythological beast, it would be chest dips. Not the bench press, not pushups, and certainly not dumbbell flys. Chest dips dips work the entire upper upper body, body , and really really give y ou that hormonal hormonal boost you y ou need to grow muscle, muscle, tone your yo ur chest and lose those man man boobs. They work your yo ur arms, arms, your yo ur shoulders, should ers, your y our chest and your upper back.
Chestt dips are a powerful Ches powerful exercise exercise for for bu ilding a mu sc scula ula r chest. Th ey a lso wo work rk y our en tire u pper body body in cluding your ba ck, arm s and shoulders. shoulders.
When it comes to both performance perfor mance and sculpting your yo ur body through t hrough muscle-gro muscle-growth wth and hormonall stimulation, hormona stimulation, bodyweight exerc ises always always come c ome on top. to p. T his is largely largely because unlike weight-training, which tends to isolate one particular body-part, bodyweight exercises require you yo u to stabilize stabilize your y our entire body as it mov moves es through space. space. When you yo u use y our core co re stabilizers and other muscles throughout y our body , not only do you y ou get a bigger bigger hormonal boost from boost from the workout, y ou also lose more fat, gain a more more ev en distribution of muscle throughout the body, which means better posture, less injuries and a betterr more attractive bette attract ive appearance. appearanc e. Since most guys rely almost completely on the bench press for build building ing chest muscle, muscle, let’s discuss…
Wh y Dips Are FAR Better Why Better Than The Th e Bench Press Pres s For Building A Hurculean Chest
Disadvantages Of The Bench Press 1. A Poor Exercise For The Chest Now don’t get me wrong, many body builders DO use the bench press to build some huge muscles. But did you ever stop to think how many people fail with the bench press? Almost every guy that goes to the gy m spends time on the bench press – but how many of these guys end up getting a huge, wide, stone-slab-like chest that gets women weak at the knees? See, the trouble with the bench press is that it is more an ex ercise for the front deltoids of your shoulders, than it is an exercise for the chest. EMG studies reveal that the front deltoids receive the same stimulation as the pectoralis major of the chest during the flat bench press.
Th e front deltoids are v ery sma ll in comparison t o th e pectoralis ma jor m uscle of the chest.
Since the front deltoids are a v ery small muscle compared to the huge pectoralis major of the chest, it stands to reason that during the bench press the deltoids of your shoulders will fatigue way before your chest even starts to get a proper workout. As a result you will end your workout before fully inv olv ing your chest. 2. T he Most Common Cause Of Shoulder Injuries In T he Gym Due to the rising popularity of the bench press, rotator cuff surgery is at an all time high. The bench press places too much strain on the rotator cuff muscles of the shoulders, and very commonly leads to injury, damage and wear & tear of the rotator c uff ov er time. For this reason, the bench press is widely reported as being the most common cause of shoulder injuries in the gym. 3. Kills Shoulder Flexibility, Leading To More Injuries The bench press kills shoulder flexibility. T he massive strain on y our shoulders from this exercise makes your rotator cuff muscles tighter and tighter ov er time. The first sign of this
Wa t ch a s t h is g u y t ea r s h is l ef t pe c wi t h t h e b en ch pr es s… You u ch !
With this injury, the tendon that attaches your pectoralis major muscle to y our upper arm bone, is torn right off the bone. It can be extremely painful and in most cases requires surgical repair. It will take many months before you are lifting anything again. Advantages Of Dips For Developing T he Chest 1. Faster And Better Dev elopment Of T he Chest When doing dips, you are mov ing your arms in a downward motion. T his downward motion ensures that y ou by pass the shoulders and isolate the c hest muscles far better than any other compound exercise for the chest. Although your shoulders are still involv ed to a large extent and get an excellent workout, they are not as engaged and overloaded as they are during the bench press. Studies have shown that the deltoids are much less involved during the decline bench press, compared to the horizontal bench press. Since chest dips are a bodyweight variation of the decline bench press, this means that more foc us is placed on the chest than on the shoulders
while doing dips compared to the bench press. 2. Wider Chest Development I’ve seen guys with 6-pack abs who look like scrawny wimps when they hav e a shirt on. The key to looking like an unstoppable alpha-male is to work on widening that upper body , namely your chest and upper back. Chest dips performed with a wide grip and the elbows flared to the sides, target the outer chest better than pushups, bench presses, or any other exercise for that matter. In doing Chest dips give you wider ch e s t d ev e l op m e n t t h a n t h e be n ch pr es s.
so, they give y ou that huge, wide chest that resembles a set of stone slabs set on your chest sideways. This is yet another reason why chest dips are one of the most
powerful chest exercises yo u can do. 3. I ncreased Shoulder Flexibility At the bottom of the movement your shoulder muscles are both strengthened and stretched, giving you improved flexibility. Do be careful however, since if you already have inflexible and/or weak shoulders, you can still suffer shoulder injuries while doing dips, especially with weighted dips. The key is to only go as low as you feel c omfortable. Over time, y our shoulders will get stronger and you’ll be able to descend write the way down, thereby fully stretching those pecs. 4. Dips Are Functional – They Give Y ou Strength That You Can Use Dips require you to lift and move your entire body through space. Y ou need to keep yo ur body tight so you maintain your posture, and as a result you not only inv olv e your chest, upper back, shoulders and arms, but also your legs, abdomen and lower back. It is a true whole-body workout that trains your body to function as a unit as opposed to targeting individual sections of the body. By working your entire body in this way, dips will help you to lose weight, look better and build strength all round. They will help make you a better athlete, better able to handle yourself in a fight, better able to manage your body weight, and even help you bench more. 5. Hormonal Stimulation – Better For Weight Loss And Man Boob Reduction Because dips engage y our entire body , they result in a greater release of testosterone and growth hormone both during and after the workout. Increased lev els of these hormones help to reduce man boobs, burn fat and pack on ex tra muscle.
How To Do Chest Dips Dips can be modified to foc us on the triceps, upper back or chest. Here I will tell y ou how to do chest dips. Place y our hands on two parallel bars on either side of y ou. If you don’t have access to parallel bars, you can also use two tables, or the t op of the back-rests of two c hairs facing away from each other. If you are using the chair option, it helps to wear a set of garden gloves to take the pressure off your hands.
1. Prop yourself up with your arms straight and your 2.
elbows locked out. Bend your knees so your feet are behind you. This helps to balance your weight as you lean forward. Leaning forward is necessary to target the chest.
3. Bending at the elbows, lower your body in a slow
and controlled fashion, without ever touching your feet or knees to the ground. Breath in while doing this. 4. Stop when your shoulders are level with y our elbows, then while breathing out, slowly raise yourself back up to the starting position. 5. Repeat steps 3-4, always making sure to maintain good posture and a forward-leaning position.
In case that ain’t clear enough, check out the following video:
Incorporating Dips Into Your Training Changing The Resistance The only real problem with bodyweight exercises is unlike with weights it isn’t easy to change the level of resistance. But not being easy doesn’t mean it’s impossible. All you need is a little creativity and you can change the resistance all y ou like. If y ou’re not accustomed to training, or y ou are a little on the heavy side, you may find it difficult to perfo rm even one repetition of dips. If this is the case with you, then all is not lost since there are many things you can do to work around the problem. This includes getting someone to help you, letting your feet touch the ground and aiding the lift with your legs, doing static holds at the top position or doing partial reps and negative reps to condition yourself until you are strong enough to do full reps. If you find dips to be too easy, y ou can do weighted dips by wearing a backpack and throwing some weight plates into it, or using a weight belt with weights hanging off it, holding a weight plate between your knees, or getting your buddy to jump on your back. Combining Dips With Other Exercises If you just did dips and nothing else, y our chest and upper body would look phenomenal. Y ou will however get better results if you combine dips with other ex ercises that target different portions of y our chest – like incline and decline pushups and, in the gym, cable crossov ers and the pec dec. In order to get that truly wide, masculine and unstoppable upper body physique, it’s important also to do upper back exerciseslike bent-over rows, pullups and lat pulldowns.
If y ou only worked out your chest, your shoulders would be pulled forward in a hunched position. If on the other hand you work out y our chest and upper back equally, your shoulders will be in a neutral position in the middle and to the sides, giving yo u a wider appearance. It is also important to throw some whole-body If you a re workin g on y our chest, it’s also importa nt to work on y our upper ba ck for good pos t u r e, sy m m et r y a n d th at wider look.
training and leg training into the mix, to help get rid of those overly ing layers of fat. Dips may be a good ex ercise for building muscle
and burning fat, but it is well known that nothing gets rid of ex cess fat than whole-body training and a good diet.
FAQ: “Won’t Dips Make Your Man Boobs Stick Out?” I’m yet to see this happen. It is theoretically possible that in a minority of guys, dips will stimulate more of the lower chest than the upper chest. However, EMG studies have shown that, surprisingly enough, the decline bench press stimulates the upper portion of the pectoralis major muscle, better than it does the lower. I’m willing to bet that dips (again, dips being like an ex treme decline bench press) stimulate the upper chest just as w ell as the lower, since all of my clients who only do dips, end up getting perfectly even chest development. But hey, EMG studies also show that the incline bench press does isolate the upper chest more, so if y ou are for whatever reason, afraid that your lower chest will get bigger and your man boobs will stick out if you do dips, then you can always do both dips and incline presses to ev en things out.
Summary Dips are a powerful exercise that target the entire upper body. They are arguably the fastest way to build a wide muscular chest, while at the same time making you stronger, increasing your core strength, and helping you to lose chest fat. Not only are dips more effective than the bench press at working out the muscles of the chest, they are also safer, work out more muscle groups (effectively the whole upper body) and – by targeting the outer pecs – give y our upper body a much wider and more powerful appearance. For these reasons it is easily one of the most powerful chest exerc ises for men.
What Do You Think? Have y ou tried doing dips? What was your ex perience? Are y ou having any difficulties performing dips? What else would you like to learn about? Please share y our comments,
questions and experiences in the comments box below. Just type what’s on your mind and hit the reply button
Where Can You Learn More? Dips combined with a good upper back exercise like chins or pullups can be all a guy needs to build a powerful upper body . But sometimes, you can’t help but wonder, “What are some other ex ercises that can help develop y our chest better than just the usual bench press and pushups?” What about training the shoulders, the abs, the lower legs and the arms? Aside from dips, what other non-conventional workouts can help you to dev elop a powerful physique that makes you look and feel like a living tank? What other unconv entional workouts will work where conv entional methods have failed for y ou in the past? Well you can learn all these things and more on this here free v ideo on Chest Sculpting. Go check it out and let me know what you think.
The 3 Biggest Man Boob Mistakes
Download Your Free Copy Are you m aking thes e 3 comm on m an boobs m is takes? Exercises that shrink man boobs VS exercises that grow man boobs
Your Email:
Download For Free
{ 62 com m ents… read them below or add one } Tony Nguyen
February 27 , 2013 at 11 :10 am
Thanks for this article. Hope this will fix my man boobs problem. REPLY
Garry Davidson
February 27 , 2013 at 1 2:46 pm
1
Hi Tony, no problem. Let me know how you get on.
2
REPLY
matt yaeger
April 1 0, 201 3 at 4:2 5 pm
3
Great article man. I’m trying to get cut up for a summer vacation to puerto Rico in 2 months, im eating healthy and taking good supplamentation . I can dreally notice the changes in my body getting stronger, but the one thi g I really want to work on is the bottom part of my pecks. The top and sides are solid, but I still have a little point around the nipple area. I’m gonna take this advice and started dippin my ass off in the gym hoping to get some good results. Thanks a lot. Is there any specific technique to fous on the bottom portion of the peck around the nipple? REPLY
Garry Davidson
April 1 0, 2 01 3 at 6 :3 1 pm
4
Hi Matt Nice one. Generalized body fat reduction and hormonal methods are important here. During dips, the bottom part of the pecs are best worked toward the top of the movement when your arms are straightening up. As an advanced tactic, you might consider doing partial reps with heavier weights, where you don’t descend all the way down. Conventional wisdom suggests you can’t target any one particular PART of a muscle using partials, but the studies suggest not all muscle fibers extend from one tendon all the way to the other, there are those that end within the belly of the muscle. T his basically means partial reps CAN indeed work one particular portion of a muscle. So give it a go and let me know how you get on REPLY
george
April 3 0, 201 3 at 8:1 9 pm
5
Im try ing to do the same thing but im not sure what supplements to use e.g protein etc. Any tips? REPLY
Jack Casler
April 3 0, 201 3 at 1 0:3 5 pm
6
Hey Matt. great article. Quick question for you. I LOVE doing dips. I do mine on gymnastic rings, and find it impossible to lean forward as in bar chest dips. Do you think I am still hitting the pecs? REPLY
Garry Davidson
May 1, 201 3 at 1 2:04 pm
7
Hi Jack. Y ou most certainly are. The pectoralis major muscle of the chest plays a big role moving your upper arms toward yo ur body from the sides. By doing the exercise vertically, you end up also stimulating the lats in the back, but there’s still a lot of pec involvement. REPLY
Ibanez
May 7, 201 3 at 5:27 pm
8
I can understand but isnt spot reduct ion a myth?? I mean isnt it true that one cant lose fat from a selected spot in the body. I would be grateful if y ou could ex plain it to me why it burns off fat from the chest in particular. Like other exercises it too stimulates the pectoralis nd if its the whole body workout which makes the change how does it defeat squats in its performance? REPLY
Garry Davidson
May 9, 2013 at 7:50 am
9
Hi Ibanez, exc ellent question. Though I’ve had some experiences that suggest spot reduction DOES occur to a very small extent, it’s better to assume that it is a myth, since y ou’ll always get better results if y ou focus on whole-body f at reduction. As a whole-body worko ut, dips don’t even come CLOSE to squats, but the advantage dips have over squats is they also directly stimulate the muscles in y our upper body. So y ou not only get that hormonal boost of stimulating multiple muscle groups, but you also get more muscle growth in your upper body with dips than if you just do squats. The best scenario of course, is to do both. It isn’t that dips have some magical ability to spot-reduce lots of chest fat. What they DO do is transform the appearance of y our upper body by widening your chest and building your arms. REPLY
SAEED
May 1 3, 2013 at 2:10 pm
10
Thanks Garry, I have been reading so much different stuff ov er the years but finally have found advice that really makes sense and saves so much time! REPLY
Garry Davidson Hi Saeed
May 1 3, 2013 at 7:11 pm
11
Thanks for the comment. I’m glad you find the content useful. Please do get started, and let us know how you get on. REPLY
Robert
May 14 , 2013 at 2 :58 am
12
Can we get a sample workout with upper back included? Doing dips once or twice a week? How many sets and reps can we do so we don’t ov er train? Great article! REPLY
Garry Davidson
May 1 4, 2013 at 6:48 am
13
Hi Robert Sure, I’ll see if I can post that up on the site at some point in the future. Y ou can do dips on non consecutive days, so 3-4 days per week. I n terms of ov ertraining, this is something that varies between individuals, and depends on your level of conditioning. Remember that the bigger your muscles, the more time they need to reco ver. As a beginner, you can get away with doing say a single set every day. As you progress, you’ll find that you need to do multiple sets for further gains. At this point, y ou need to add in rest days. Generally the studies suggest the best protoc ol for muscle hypertrophy is 3-4 sets of 6-10 reps. REPLY
Eymeric VAUTREY
May 19 , 2013 at 2 :58 am
14
It’s really interesting I would Like to know how many reps and sets I have to do to obtain the best results André lost my boops. I’d like to know what you think of the Vince Gironda Dips. Thank you for your answer!! REPLY
Garry Davidson
May 1 9, 2013 at 6:24 am
15
Hi Eymeric. Gironda dips are the best form of dips around. A wide V-grip with your elbows flared out puts your shoulders in just the right angle for maximum stimulation of the chest. Studies suggest multiple sets are better than one (though as a beginner, one set will serve you just as well). I generally get best results with 3-4 sets, though you can push it to 5 as well, especially if you’re not able to do all that many reps in one go. A good rep-range for hypertrophy is 6-10. If y ou’re doing 10 reps, stick to 3 sets. If y ou’re doing 6-8 reps, you can push it to 4 sets. If y ou’re only able to do 5 or less reps in one go, consider doing 5 sets.
There’s no hard and fast rule, but many of the classic bodybuilders did 3 sets of 10 reps on most of their exerc ises. Though some, like Reg Park, got great results with a 5×5 regime and other variations. REPLY
Mike
May 21, 201 3 at 1 0:15 am
16
Really enjoyed this article. Just wondering what you would recommend for someone who has hit the flat bench for too long and is suffering from an uneven chest. I had a reasonably well shaped chest before, but now my pecs appear to droop a little, and I suspect it has to do with too much flat bench. I’ve since dropped all my usual chest stuff, and am only focusing on incline to hopefully balance things out. I noticed you touched on the fact that dips build the entire upper body – how much do y ou think this will affect my attempts to even out my pecs? Or will this naturally happen as I incorporate dips with my incline work. Thanks. REPLY
Garry Davidson
May 23, 2013 at 11 :24 pm
17
Hi Mike Though dips are excellent for targeting the entire chest, if you already have droopy pecs from ov erdoing the flat bench press, then I suggest you stick to mostly incline work for now. Dips will target both the lower and upper pecs. Continual stimulation of the lower pecs may make it harder for y ou to lose any unwanted thickness in the lower chest. REPLY
Robert
May 21 , 2013 at 6 :52 pm
18
I usually work out at home. I have v ery basic equipment bench, dumbbells, etc… But I do not have access to a dip chair. what would be the next best alternative fo r that problem? REPLY
Garry Davidson
May 23 , 2013 at 11 :16 pm
19
Hi Robert I work out at home too, it’s the best way to go about it ^_^. With a little creativity, you can usually find a couple of equally elev ated platforms above hip level for doing dips on. Have you
seen my page on doing dips at home? When I was on holiday in India last year, the walls had a horizontal border that stuck out enough to place y our palms on. I propped myself up on a c hair and did my dips up near the ceiling. At home before I got my power rack, I used to do dips in the corner of my kitchen worktop. If all else fails, you may consider getting yourself a simple mobile dip stand. If y ou absolutely can’t do dips, then you may consider doing the neck press, which is another powerful chest exercise that we Chest Sculptors and many others in the bodybuilding community swear by for spurring on chest-growth when no other variation of the bench press was working. REPLY
Joseph F
May 2 2, 2013 at 2:32 am
20
Hi Garry, I have had surgery on both of my shoulders. I had loose shoulders and had to have them tightened which I believ e involved the labrum. I am still recovering and try ing to find chest and other upper body exercises that do not put to much pressure on the front of my shoulders and help correct my poor posture problems. Would dips cause more damage or would they be ok? REPLY
Garry Davidson
May 2 3, 2013 at 11 :03 pm
21
Hi Joseph I’m afraid dips cause a huge strain on the shoulders. When you are starting out, you’ll especially feel the pain in your shoulders, and it takes some time for the shoulders to adjust. Where with the bench press the shoulders are doing most of the work, with dips, the shoulders act merely as stabilizers, with your pecs doing most of the work. But ev en as stabilizers, y our entire body weight is a big load to bear, no matter how small you may be. I wouldn’t advise anyone with shoulder problems to do dips, especially not to start out with. I recommend you work closely with a physiotherapist or under medical supervision to find out which chest exercises are most suitable for you. Unfortunately , any chest ex ercise will involv e the shoulders, since the prime function of the pectoralis major muscle is to move the upper arm at the shoulder joint. One tip I can give y ou is that pushups put far less strain on the shoulders than any variation of the bench press. This is because with the bench press, the only contact you make with the weight is with your arms. With pushups on the other hand, your feet are also acting as stabilizers, helping to take the strain off y our shoulders. While the bench press is the commonest cause of shoulder injuries in the gym, I’ve never heard of anyo ne getting shoulder injuries from doing weighted pushups.
If y ou suffer from exc ess chest fat, then I suggest you focus mostly on generalized body fat reduction through lower body weight training and fixing up your diet. REPLY
phil gomes
May 23, 201 3 at 5:38 pm
22
Hi Garry,im a 25yr old man weightin at 264 and 6ft.I have trouble doing dips.i have manboobs and had it for y ears and its very uncomfortable,how should i start off to to lose them. Thanks REPLY
Garry Davidson
May 23, 201 3 at 1 0:20 pm
23
Hi Phil I had trouble doing dips to start o ut with as well. You can start by doing partial reps. Just hold yourself at the top position with your elbows straight and locked out, and descend by just a few inches. Place an object like a bucket below yo ur knees so you know how low to go for each rep. As y ou get stronger, use a smaller object beneath your knees so you can descend lower. In a few weeks, y ou’ll soon be doing full-depth dips and you’ll notice how much stronger y ou are, and how much better yo u look. Remember though, that dips are just one piece of the puzzle. It’s important to also sort out your diet and do full-body training to reduce body fat and get rid of those man boobs. REPLY
Mo Maklawalo
May 27 , 2013 at 6:40 pm
24
Thanks for the lights, I am doing a program of fitness called INSANIT Y . my questions are : -1- should I stop doing the program and just start practic ing dips ? -2- how many reps of DIPS should I do ? -3- and is it just 3 day s a week ? Thanks a lot. REPLY
Garry Davidson
May 2 8, 2013 at 6:14 am
25
Hi Maklawalo 1. I’ve heard about Insanity, though I haven’t had a chance to loo k at their training regime in detail. Seems like a lot of calisthenics with cardio combined with resistance training in
the same workout. I don’t think you have to give it up, unless you find yo urself being totally drained from their workouts. It sounds pretty intense, and if they are c ausing you to ov ertrain a muscle group, then it really won’t help much with growing muscle, and can even impede on losing man boobs. If y ou find you’re doing lots of different chest ex ercises with Insanity, and feel too drained to do dips, then you certainly can’t do both. I haven’t looked into I nsanity training though, so you’d have to decide on that yourself. 2. Aim to get to 3 sets of 1 0 reps 3. 3 days a week is sufficient, though you can do it every other day. Also, don’t forget to combine dips with other ex ercises for good ov erall upper body development. Please read this article on developing a wide chest. REPLY
Rodrigo
June 4, 2013 at 1 1:00 pm
26
I do dips often maybe 1 0 sets of 1 1 is it bad to do them 6 times a week?? will they help burn chest fat REPLY
Garry Davidson
June 5, 2013 at 8:58 am
27
Hi Rodrigo I’m afraid you can’t spot-reducing using dips in this way. If y ou can do 10 sets of 1 1 reps, it might be a good idea to increase the weight to the point where y ou are doing a maximum of 4 sets of 1 0 reps (where the weight is heavy enough so y ou couldn’t complete 10 reps in a 5th set). 6 times a week does not allow enough time for the muscles to recov er. I would advise 3 day s a week, or a maximum of ev ery other day. REPLY
David
June 9, 201 3 at 1 :56 pm
28
Hi Gary, I’m a 18 y ear old skinny kid. I started doing dips to widen/strengthen my chest. After a few sessions of dips, I c an see, my lower c hest on my right side by the under arm having the ripped cut by the rib cage that goes to the lower chest muscles. How do I ev en it out, to make my left side have that same cut? REPLY
Garry Davidson
June 9, 2013 at 2:34 pm
29
Hi David Trouble with dips is it’s pretty much impossible to do one-armed training. You can do one-arm pullups and one-arm handstand pushups, but it’s impossible to get both the balance and angle right with a one-arm dip. I think what yo ur problem is, is that yo u are focusing too much of the weight on your right arm. It may be because of the way y ou position yourself while doing dips, or because you are leaning too much to the right. If this is the case, then try to correct y our positioning so everything is more sy mmetrical. Also, we all tend to have one side that’s smaller/weaker than the other. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s left arm was smaller than his right. If this is the case with you, then you might consider using a cable machine at the gym to simulate the dip movement (i.e.shoulder adduction) just for the left side. REPLY
gaurav pant
June 1 9, 2013 at 3:22 am
30
m doing workout since last 1 0 mnths and that 2 regularly but still m not getting that mch result because i dnt think that i m taking proper diet so i want 2 knw the exerc ise and also the diet chart. REPLY
Garry Davidson
June 1 9, 2013 at 4:17 pm
31
Hi Gaurav I’m writing about more and more stuff about diet and exercise on my site, please feel free to look around. If y ou want to get stuck in with all the advanced stuff, then you might benefit from my program, the Chest Sculpting Blueprint. It has all the exerc ise instruction (with workout routines), and dietary guidance you’ll need. REPLY
Rage
June 18, 2013 at 8:48 am
32
Hi Gary, I am 26 year old and I have puffy nipples, along with some fat deposited beneath my underarms. Will Dips help me shed the fat and remov e the puffiness. Also, please let me know whether there are any other chest exercise that will help me deal with puffy nipples. REPLY
Garry Davidson
June 19 , 2013 at 4 :13 pm
Hi Rage
33
Dips will most certainly help, but they are best combined with a multitude of different whole-body exercises, and a good diet. Dips are an excellent exerc ise for the c hest, but their main function is to grow chest muscle, rather than to help lose chest fat. T o lose c hest fat, you need to do whole-body weight training, eat the right foods, and maybe even try intermittent fasting. Other good exercises that will really help to improve the appearance of y our chest, include the incline dumbbell bench press and the dumbbell pullov er. REPLY
David
June 29, 2013 at 10:16 pm
34
Fantastic article. Thanks Garry. My main problem with my physique, and has been for a long time, is my lower chest fat is not going away at all. Its been there for at least 3-4 years and I cannot get rid. T o give y ou an idea of how much lower chest fat i have, when i put my middle finger under the nipple side of the chest it covers 2/3 of my finger. Really getting me down as I cannot wear normal fitting clothes but baggy clothes ev en though every thing else looks good. Need some advice when you get a minute please. Much appreciated. David P.S. There is no lump under the nipples, it is just fat. REPLY
Garry Davidson
July 4, 2 013 at 8:05 am
35
Hi David. No lump under the nipples is great news. It means you most certainly CAN lose your man boobs and get a completely f lat chest without surgery. Though chest dips are an excellent ex ercise fo r growing muscle in the chest and improving the appearance of y our upper body, if your main problem is large layers of fat, you need to foc us on three things: 1. Diet 2. Reducing your exposure to the female hormone estrogen 3. Whole-body weight training 4. Cardio It’s also important to see your docto r, just to make sure there isn’t some underlying hormonedisrupting disease. REPLY
bob
July 3, 201 3 at 7 :55 pm
hi gary,been reading our article and a v ery interesting read.Could i incorperate the dips into a chest
superset?and which exercise to best superset with?
36
cheers bob REPLY
Garry Davidson
July 4, 2013 at 8:17 am
37
Now why would y ou superset with dips? :p Dips are a very draining exercise, especially when you start adding weights to a dipping belt. Y ou need all the rest you can get between sets. Since dips pretty much kill y our triceps along with your chest, I would advise doing other chest exercises that don’t involv e the triceps. The dumbbell pullover is the best one I can think of. Others include isolation exerc ises like incline dumbbell flys and cable crossov ers that are angled to target the upper chest. REPLY
Lee
J u ly 1 7 , 2 01 3 a t 7 :1 7 a m
38
Hi Garry,thanks for your great article.I have a rounded lower chest muscle with a triangle gap between them,it makes my chest muscle looks really narrow at the lower part and the boundary of lower outer chest muscle is very close to my nipple.So my lower chest muscle looks oval in shape.Will dips widen my ov al chest muscle? I don’t have dips station in my gy m so i do dips in my house by using two equally high desk.However,there is no bar for me to hold it,i just put my palms on the surface of the desk and i can feel strain on my wrist(near to thumb side)while doing dips,so will this hurt my wrist?Do i need to hold something to prev ent wrist injury while doing dips? REPLY
Garry Davidson
July 22 , 2013 at 5:22 pm
39
Hi Lee, thanks for the question. The triangle gap and oval-shape you mention is actually something I personally had when I was overweight with man boobs. This appearance is bought about by fat deposition on your chest, rather than by the shape of yo ur muscles. Rather, I am willing to bet the actual muscles in your chest are underdeveloped . Full pectoral development will see the gap in the lower sternal area filled. Dips are actually the best exercise to remedy this problem, especially when you use a slightly narrower hand placement than usual. A narro w hand placement will hit the triceps harder, but it will also better hit the lower, inner aspect of the pectoralis major muscle. Just keep at it until your triceps are conditioned, and soon enough the lower inner aspect of your pectorals will start to
respond. Please also remember that you have to take care of yo ur diet to get rid of the exc ess chest fat. I always explain to my clients how no amount of ex ercise can undo a bad diet. With regards to wrist pain, it’s all in the positioning of your hands. You will get wrist pain if you position your hands in a way that your fingers are pointing straight ahead of you (i.e. your hands are parallel to each other). T ry positioning your hands with your fingers pointing INWARDS – as much as by 4 5 degrees. T his will both help to totally prevent any wrist pain/problems, AND help you to flare y our elbows, thereby better targeting those pectoral fibers. Remember to condition yourself with this exercise GRADUALLY, to av oid putting more strain on your shoulders than they are ready to handle. REPLY
mahmd
July 23, 201 3 at 4:30 am
40
hii Garry, iam 20 yrs old, 76 Kilogram, i have the same problem of gynecomastia, and i have started diet and workingout trainings from 1 mounth ago, but my whole body is transforming to better except my chest ! :S and i don’t know what to do, and i don’t have the c ost of the surgery so i want to do anything to make my man boobs go without resort to the surgery… please help me bec. iam very sad and Embarrassed. REPLY
Garry Davidson
July 23, 2013 at 9:23 am
41
Mahmd Having excess chest fat can be a result of your genes, or a result of environmental influences on y our hormones (or both). Even if the problem is genetic, y our genes can only cause you to store ex cess chest fat by influencing your hormones. The key to getting rid of ex cess chest fat, is through a diet, ex ercise and lifestyle regimen that foc uses on changing your hormones. I have had a lot of clients who have had the same results as you, by following a traditional diet and exercise regimen – they had lost weight from every part of their body ex cept their chest. It was only when they started focusing on decreasing their estrogen to testosterone r atio, that they started to see their chest flatten at the same time as the rest of their body, and sometimes even before the rest of their body. I cover this in detail in my advanced program, How To Lose Man Boobs Naturally. Y ou can check it out here: http://chestsculpting.com/how-to-lose-man-boobs-naturally-free-video/
REPLY
Mark
July 2 6, 2013 at 4:05 pm
42
I found this really useful. But I was wondering how many and how long the chest dips should be done for REPLY
Garry Davidson
July 26, 201 3 at 9:18 pm
43
Hi Mark It depends what your goal is. Are you looking to build strength? Hypertro phy? Or a bit of both? If you’re looking to improve y our appearance in the quickest time possible with the least amount of effort, I suggest following a hypertrophy protocol, where you do around 3-4 sets of 1 0 reps. Do them no more than 3-4 days per week. Y ou can check out my program, the Chest Sculpting Blueprint, for further details. REPLY
Joshua
July 26, 2013 at 7:18 pm
44
Hi Gary, I’ve had man boobs for as long as I can remember, ev en before puberty . I’m 21 now and I think I have hardened lumps under my nipples. Does this mean that even if i follow the exercise/ diet regimens you suggest, I will see No reduction in chest fat? A nd that I’ll still be stuck with puffy nipples? Please Help!! REPLY
Garry Davidson
July 26 , 2013 at 9 :26 pm
45
Hi Joshua Y ou can most certainly still reduc e chest fat using my methods, but if you have large hardened lumps beneath your nipples, then there’s no guarantee the puff y nipples will go away. A good surgeon will tell y ou you need surgery when your glands are 4cm or more in diameter. Many of my clients who have hardened glands beneath their nipples, still manage to get a perfectly flat chest and do away with puffy nipples, but admittedly, there are those who doend up needing surgery.
Whatev er the case though, your best course of ac tion is always to reduce the size of your man boobs as much as possible using natural methods first, before y ou even consider having surgery. This will take away the need for extensive liposuction, and skin and chest wall reconstruction after surgery. It will also reduce the cost of surgery, reduce the chances of serious complications (scarring and permanent chest wall deformity) and failure of surgery, and reduce the chances of recurrence after surgery. REPLY
Kevin N.
July 28, 2 013 at 4:56 pm
46
Hi Garry, I have been through a variety of exercises to try and reduce my man boobs. I even tried doing some chest dips but my ex ercise schedules are intermittent (I will exercise for a few weeks, when there is no apparent change I end up giving up). I have also tried checking on my diet. T his had worked since I have reduced from 68 kgs to 59 in a period of two y ears. (I’m 19 turning 20 this month). Chest dips might seem like a good recommendation but upon reading the conv ersation thread above, I can’t help but be alarmed. when I feel my chest, I think I have lumps on my nipples (not an even hard mass, but scattered small hard lumps). Taken that I have been through a series of exercises, my c hest is quite well formed ( since I c an sense the muscle beneath the fat). My problem however is, is losing more fat advisable (taken that i am 59 currently) and will regular chest dips flatten out my chest completely(taken that I have small lumps). T o add, when it is cold the protrusion on the nipples diminishes completely , but when it is hot they regain their normal appearance. (Is this a sign that if I reduce c hest fat, the nipples will regain a normal appearance). will the nipples flatten out completely irregardless of the small lumps. Confused. REPLY
Garry Davidson
Au gu st 1 1 , 2 01 3 at 1 1 :1 5 a m
47
Hi Kevin The main role of chest dips is to form the muscle underneath the fat. T his in itself can take y ou a long way toward improving your appearance. If y our main problem is excess chest fat and breast glands, then just chest exercises, like chest dips, alone may not be enough. Y ou need to take a whole-body approach with weight-training, preferably combine this with some high intensity interval training, and also adopt a diet & lifesty le regimen that’s geared toward reducing the effects of estrogen and enhancing the effects of testosterone on y our body. For a comprehensive explanation and guide, I suggest you check out my program, How To Lose Man Boobs Naturally: http://chestsculpting.com/how-to-lose-man-boobs-naturally-free-video/ REPLY
Jeremy
August 4 , 2 01 3 at 2:09 pm
48
I tore my pec minor about 8-9 yrs ago. I nev er got it repaired, and have manage to do push ups, dips, and some bench press With this injury. I can do dips with no problems, but I wonder should I. I will try doing dips for the next couple of weeks and let you know how it goes. Thanks JCoates REPLY
Garry Davidson
Au gu st 1 1 , 2 01 3 at 1 1 :4 1 am
49
Hi Jeremy When it comes to serious injuries like a torn muscle, I’m afraid I can’t assist you in this manner. Y ou need to work closely with a personal trainer and see advise from a medical professional. My thought would be that the pec minor play s a relatively minor role (no pun intended:p) in doing dips, so it shouldn’t be too much of an issue. But this totally depends on the sev erity of the injury, and the extent of healing (if any), considering that you didn’t get it repaired. REPLY
Siddharth
Au gu st 7 , 2 01 3 at 1 2:54 pm
50
Hiiii Garry.. i am 18 years old. i am 167cm tall and i weigh 82kilos.. thats way too much. i wanna get rid of my man boobs and build a great body. i am willing to buy y our book. but i am confused. which one should i buy? the chest sculpting blueprint OR how to lose y our man boobs naturally. i want to know the correc t diet plans, exercises and tips to get rid of these man boobs fast. so please help me out. thanking you in advance REPLY
Garry Davidson
Au gu st 1 1 , 2 01 3 at 1 2 :00 pm
51
Hi Siddharth How To Lose Man Boobs Naturally is on reducing man boobs using diet, exerc ise, estrogen reduction tactics e tc, while the Chest Sculpting Blueprint is more based on exerc ise and growing chest muscle to sculpt a chiseled set of pecs and overall masculine physique. I generally recommend How To Lose Man Boobs Naturally to skinny guys with man boobs, while I recommend the Chest Sculpting Blueprint to overweight guys with man boobs. The best option for ev eryone though, would be to get How To Lose Man Boobs Naturally first, for
a good grounding in the fundamentals of male breast reduction, and then to get the Chest Sculpting Blueprint, to take your physique to the next lev el – bey ond just losing man boobs, and sculpting a truly masculine physique. In your case, if you were to choose one book, f rom what you have told me RE your weight and height, I think maybe the Chest Sculpting Blueprint would be a good choice. I hope that answered y our question REPLY
Anthony McGlocton
Au gu st 2 4, 2 01 3 at 5:5 6 am
52
Just read your article, i’m 270lbs and i’m going to start the dips and upper body routine Mon.Aug 24 201 3 will write back in a few weeks with results. Thanks Anthony Mc. REPLY
Sheldon
September 24, 2 013 at 2:46 pm
53
Great info, learnt something new today, thank y ou. REPLY
Scott
September 28, 201 3 at 2 :51 am
54
Hi Garry, Thanks a lot for this incredibly helpful article! I have been thinking a lot about this before finding your expertise. This summer I was doing dips at home with a stool and a table (same height) on those days when I co uldn’t hit the exerc ise gym. To my astonishment, I was noticing that my pecs looked much better after my dipping days than my machine workouts of bench, incline bench, curls, flys, and more. I thought it must be my imagination. But truly I thought that while I know I will benefit from this gym, the dips were really working to create a much better shape, ESPECIALLY at the top where that little point occurs at the to p of the pec just kitty-corner down from the shoulder. Now everything you’ve said makes sense and validates my personal observations! I am going to go back to my dips with a smile! The one thing I would like to add, however, is that my right wrist started to get sore afte r a few weeks. T o the point where I gave it a rest fo r awhile. So I bought two “push up handles” at a store the other day so that I can keep my hands at a more appropriate angle when doing the dips. For $15 it seemed worth it. I’ll update! Thanks again, Garry! REPLY
Garry Davidson
September 29, 201 3 at 1 :43 pm
55
Hey Scott, nice to know dips are working out for you. I’v e seen so many trainees fail with all the variations of the bench press, ye t succeed with dips. Dips really do isolate the chest muscles well. People mistake it for primarily a lower chest workout, but it really hits the upper pecs hard as well. If y ou are using two flat surfaces, then pushup handles are an excellent idea. Let me know how it works out for you. REPLY
Joe
October 8, 201 3 at 7 :57 am
56
Hi Garry , What a fantastic article about dips , I am now 46 years old and I can no longer do bench press , it causes to much pain in my shoulders , dips have been my sav iour , I do a set with my body weight to warm up then I do weighted dips . I would recommend dips to anyone to build their chest . Many T hanks Joe Canberra , Australia . REPLY
Garry Davidson
October 2 0, 201 3 a t 9:06 am
57
Hi Joe, nice one! Y our shoulders are in a MUCH stronger position when doing dips, than when doing the bench press. This may not seem true when you first start doing dips, but that’s only because you usually lift a much heavier weight when doing dips than when doing the bench press. With dips being a body weight exerc ise, you can’t lift anything less than your full body weight. REPLY
Brian
October 1 5, 201 3 at 7 :57 pm
58
I whole heartedly agree that dips are a great chest workout. I’v e been trying to incorporate more body weight exercises in my workouts; single leg squats, pull ups, dips, to name a few. One thing this article didn’t mention is using rings. If y ou can get y our hands on a set of gymnastics rings you will incorporate more of your muscle stabilizers and get a wicked burn. There are several other uses for them by adjusting the length of y our straps you can do body weight tricep or bicep curls. Do leg lifts to work your core meanwhile also working your chest just to hold yourself up. T hat is one piece of equipment I would never want to be without after having used them. REPLY
Garry Davidson
October 20, 2 013 at 8:51 am
59
Thanks for that one Brian. Rings are awesome! Body weight exercises are generally seen as being limited, partly because it’s difficult to target every muscle group. But rings change all of that! All y ou need is a little creativity, and by adjusting the angle at which your body faces gravity , you can target absolutely any thing! I don’t have a set of rings myself, but I improv ise by hanging my jiu jitsu belts off my pullup bar. Currently working on doing bodyweight rows for the mid and upper back – those are tough! REPLY
Medardo
October 2 5, 201 3 a t 5:03 am
60
Hi, I completely agree with you regarding chest dips. My wife bought a dip station from Ultimate Body Press but she stopped using it so I started using it last year. T he only regular workout I do now is the dips and Perfec t Push Ups. I hav e natural wide shoulders; these workouts have made my whole upper body sculpted beyond my imagination. I get compliments very often so I just take them gracefully but modesty aside I am very proud. I am 64 years old, by the way. I am 5’11 ″ and weigh 170 pounds. It is so motivating to see the results. People tell me I don’t look my age but this is not the reason for my working out. I just want to be in good shape; looking y ounger is just a bonus. Medardo REPLY
Garry Davidson
Nov ember 6, 201 3 at 9:22 am
61
Good going Medardo, it’s great to hear another success story :p. It helps to have naturally wide shoulders, but I’ll bet y our body will be better still if yo u add in a regular back ex ercise. I would suggest the wide-grip pullup, lat pulldown, or the bent over barbell row (the pendlay variation). REPLY
ROCKY
Nov ember 3, 201 3 at 7 :34 pm
62
Hey, thanks my friend I like your article now I will do more dip (earlier which I left in gym), and make my chest more stronger and attractive. Thanks bro
