Dedicating time in the gym with an aim to develop pecs can vary for many people. However, if you hit a snag, it is important to know how to fix lagging upper chest development when it’s staring you in the face.
It’s very common for any workout to hit a wall; whether it’s through marathon or resistance training, this type of setback affects most everyone. While pushing through your continued program may be an answer for some, finding ways to adjust your workout may help to fix any walls you are faced with. The content ahead describes how to fix lagging upper chest development with some practical options to incorporate in your usual routine.
What are Common Reasons for Lagging Chest Development?
If you have noticed your gains are slowing despite working your pecs regularly, then maybe you are experiencing lagging chest development. This problem can affect athletes for various reasons and when it comes about, it can be a nuisance. Let’s take a moment to look into some of the reasons that lagging chest development could affect you and how to come out of it.
- Over Training. If you think there is no limit on training frequency, then guess again. Too much focus on one area of the body may blunt muscular gains, which can happen to the go-getters in the gym. With too much volume without proper rest, muscle fibers tend to struggle to repair as quickly as needed making gains slow considerably.
- Workout-Based Diet. This reason for slowing chest development is two folded: a workout program that tries to negate unhealthy diet habits and a dieting pattern that is too little to allow for growth. Utilize healthy eating patterns to help fuel your body, remembering you’re trying to grow pec muscles.
- Not Enough Protein. Perhaps your chest muscles are lagging because of your protein intake. While the total amount of protein should approach 1.5-2.0 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight, making sure to hit your total every day could be a reason that your chest muscles are lagging. Also, the timing of protein consumption should come around your workouts preferably within 30 minutes of exercise.
Top 5 Ways on How to Fix Lagging Chest Development
- Adjust your workout. Perhaps your lagging chest development is due to other areas of your body growing at a faster rate. If this is the case, slowing down on other arm gains may help to showcase your chest. Adjusting your workout to emphasize more pecs and chest areas may be the breakthrough to get you over that wall, while slowing how much you do on other areas.
- Be cautious of overworking. In comparison to working the pecs more, sometimes overworking muscles can slow progress (citation). If you have been going endlessly on chest without getting the gains you feel should be present then consider slowing down on your frequency of chest days throughout the week. Stick to no more than 2 days of dedicated chest days during the week and no more than 3 for a mixed-body format.
- Go back to the basics and dedicate your time to your form. With more experience you have in your lifts, you might be overlooking some of the most basic elements in your form. Sometimes going back to the basics, dropping weight, and focusing on your form can help to reset your workout to get you through an entire range of motion. More range of motion could be what your pecs need to hit that next level and overcome the wall.
- Change up your exercise selection. Hitting a wall in your chest workouts may not have anything to do with you; it could be a function of your body adapting to your lifts. For this reason, you may benefit from trying unusual or non-standard lifts to see if a new angle could work your pecs differently.
- Take a day off. Recovery is vital for muscle fiber hypertrophy, so having days off is crucial. Some ways to maximize your recovery process to get over lagging muscle development includes:
- Massage- Deep tissue or Swedish varieties can be very effective for recovery and to aid in blood flow throughout the body. If you have specific areas that are tough to get to, then consider a trigger point massage.
- Steam room- Steam rooms are very relaxing and may help to draw toxins out of the body. Especially built up chemicals in the body that contribute to soreness, steam rooms can essentially help the body to speed recovery.
- Gentle yoga- Sometimes movement is key for recovering muscles. Try to avoid poses that stress the chest and aim for gentle, meditative options.
- Sleeping more than your usual- It is very basic, but if you sleep 7 hours at night, consider trying to sleep 8-9. Also, a nap on your rest day may help the body to heal more quickly, especially after chest day.
- Hot tub soak- Hot tubs or baths can help to take stress hormones away so the body can heal the way it needs. Try adding relaxing music to enhance relaxation.
- Meditation- Drawing the mind and body into mindfulness and performing meditation can help to take the mind off the work performed. It’s a small technique that can pay large dividends in helping to overcome lagging chest development.
Aim Your Diet to Maximize Cellular Growth
If your pec development isn’t where you thought it would be, maybe your diet isn’t designed to specifically provide nutrients to your muscles after a workout. A balanced diet which includes a mixed macro profile and more protein could help push your muscles to the next level.
Full protein sources such as chicken, beef, pork, and salmon contain all nine essential amino acids, meaning they are complete protein options. Alternatively, supplementing with whey protein within 30 minutes after your workout and casein protein before bed can help to optimize your diet.
Conclusion
It can be frustrating when the body hits a wall and gains have slowed. However, if your chest muscle development is lagging, consider the information above to help drag you out of this tough time. While we all hit snags, sometimes small changes can make a difference in leveling out the chest with other muscles.
Resources
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5852756
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6566799
image sources
- clean-protein-shake: JANIFEST on Depositphotos
