sculpting the torso

[eversio11]

Alright, spring has begun and that means summer is right around the corner. With summer comes swimming, volleyball, car washes everyday, etc; general activies that require removal of the shirt.

I'll start with the pecs. If I flex you can defiently feel some muscle in there, but they're nothing special at all. What kind of exercises are great for pectoralis growth? I don't have access to fancy gym machines, but an adjustable bench, pair of dumbbells and a barbell.

As for the abdominal region, I have a very fine layer of fat that I assume is stopping me from getting my rather tight abs to show. I just don't know where to begin at all, any help on how to improve this area would be great.

My arms, shoulders, and back are at a decent shape, I don't really need to target these regions.

TIA for any advice.

[Oz]

For the pecs, lie flat on the floor and with your arms outstretched, grasp the dumbbells and raise together in front of your chest until they are touching. 3 or 4 sets of 12 until developed. o

[chicago_guy]

For the pecs, all you need is what you have already. You can do dumbbell presses, bench presses, and chest flys for starters. In order to develop the upper pecs, you will have to figure out a way to tilt the bench so that you can do sufficient incline bench presses. You can also just do pushups to develop the upper pecs by placing your feet on the bench so that when you are up, your body is parallel to the floor. That way when you lower yourself to the ground, your upper pecs will be doing a lot of the work.

As for the abs, do sit-ups and crunches like everybody else. And don't be afraid to run some miles, because running burns fat and is also good for the abs. Make sure to mix it up too, by running normally and then sprinting, or just variations of that sort.

Good luck. Now I'm off to do the exact same thing.

[eversio11]

Originally Posted by Oz

For the pecs, lie flat on the floor and with your arms outstretched, grasp the dumbbells and raise together in front of your chest until they are touching. 3 or 4 sets of 12 until developed. o

I did that last night and afterwards I didn't feel a thing. But this morning, I got up to my shirt on and I couldn't lift my arms through the sleeves.

[kittedb18bt]

Originally Posted by eversio11

I did that last night and afterwards I didn't feel a thing. But this morning, I got up to my shirt on and I couldn't lift my arms through the sleeves.

yup, thats what is supposed to happen. i would wait about 3-4 days, and then do it again until failure. if you are sore the second time doing it, i guarantee you will not be sore the third.
-stretch after your workout. drink plenty of water also. you know to drink protein shakes, so i will not go into detail here. the stretching and water consumption will allow or help your body to rid the lactic build up in your muscles. this is caused by anaerobic activity.

i hope your bench can be adjusted to fit both your incline and decline bench needs. there are sooo many exercises you can do with just a bench and weights. i would look up a few on some body building websites. oh yeah, good luck on the abs---- Diet diet diet. cardio, then training. in order of importance.