problem with symmetry

[SouthCounty]

Got a bit of a problem. I currently 5'11'' at 215 and have 26'' legs, 17'' arms, 37'' waist, and a 47'' chest. I am starting to really train again, but no mater what i do or did seems to make my upper-body, mostly my chest, not grow. My legs grow quite large if I even so much as look at them. Obviously I am predisposed to have bigger legs. So what I was wondering was if anyone else encountered this problem and/or has any advice on the mater. I have been training for 2-3 years and would be happy to provide workout info if it would help. Thanks. (btw my pant size is 34 but actual measurement of the waist was 37)
Reason for edit-sry i said made my chest grow. it doesn't grow thats the problem. I have the chest of a ten year old boy. It sucks

 

[american dream]

Wwhhaatt!?!?!?!?

 

[american dream]

Keep Going, The Bigger The Legs, The Bigger The Rest------enjoy It While It Lasts

 

[Behemoth]

Keep Going, The Bigger The Legs, The Bigger The Rest------enjoy It While It Lasts

Not really. You can't do calf raises and expect your arms to grow as a result.


OP - I have the same problem. I'm all legs and back. What I would suggest, assuming you are doing a non-retarded routine already, is to simply cut back volume on legs until it is just enough to maintain the size, and then increase the volume for your chest and back. Do this for 6 weeks or so and see what happens.

What does your routine look like right now? If you are doing a bodypart split where everything only gets hit once a week, then we'll need to look into devising a non-retarded routine for you.

 

[SouthCounty]

Ya i am doing a body part spilt with a good amount of volume for everything but legs, which used to be close to 30'' before an injury. For the last 2 months i really haven't even touched the legs, the just don't get any smaller than 26.

 

[Mr.SUST]

if your doing a split routine, shake it up a bit by backing off on body parts you consider to be your strong points. add a second day to your weekly schedule for things you consider to be weak points. if your training these lagging body parts hard enough, they will catch up eventually.

 

[Mudge]

Tom Platz had this 'problem.'

You are measuring your gut it sounds like, not your waist. Either way I'd suggest getting that under control because it sounds like you have a little extra, I do too, and if you don't get it under wraps it will increase as you continue to bulk.

 

[Behemoth]

Ya i am doing a body part spilt with a good amount of volume for everything but legs, which used to be close to 30'' before an injury. For the last 2 months i really haven't even touched the legs, the just don't get any smaller than 26.

I would strongly suggest looking into a better routine such as DC, HST, 5x5, anything with higher frequency than just once a week. For specialization, you could keep legs at only once a week, then move up to doing chest and lats/back twice a week with something like 5 sets of 5, starting at 80-90% of your max for those exercises at that set/rep range and then ramping up to your maxes very quickly over the course of two weeks. Hammer at them trying to attain new maxes each week for four to six weeks while simply maintaining the loads you are using for legs. Make sure you eat big during this time and see what happens.
After that period, taper back the volume for chest/back but keep the loads heavy, bringing legs back up to normal amounts of volume all over the course of a couple weeks.

 

[SouthCounty]

K. Thanks for the help. I have done 5x5 in the past but i think i was over training a bit because I would always add supplemental lifts into the work out. When doing a 5x5 routine is the focus just on one lift or several?

 

[Behemoth]

K. Thanks for the help. I have done 5x5 in the past but i think i was over training a bit because I would always add supplemental lifts into the work out. When doing a 5x5 routine is the focus just on one lift or several?

Standard 5x5 is focused on the main lifts - the Madcow spreadsheet, for instance, focuses on bench, rows and squats and on getting those lifts up. You don't really need to do supplemental exercises at all. I'd stick to what the spreadsheet has and not add in more stuff or substitute at all until you've tapped out any strength gains you can make on those lifts. The point of 5x5 is to get stronger because as we all know, the stronger you are, the bigger you can become.

Anyway, I'd suggest DC over 5x5 any day if you are serious about trying something else. DC is great and allows slightly more recovery than 5x5, plus it isn't as hard on the lower back. It's also a lot of fun. Head over to intensemuscle.com to find out about DC.

As for specialization, if you go to bodyrecomposition.com, Lyle McDonald has a great Specialization Routine posted up on the forums there. You can follow that link, but you'll have to be registered and logged in to see anything.

 

[SouthCounty]

K. The dc routine looks interesting but I have one question. If I read correctly
then you only do one exercise for each body-part. Also there was no mention of how many sets of the exercise in any of the articles. Any additional info would be appreciated, in the meantime I will continue reading on the DC stuff.

 

[Behemoth]

Yep. One exercise per bodypart, and only one working set done rest-pause style for most things. Obviously you might have several warm up sets depending on how strong you are. Might not sound like a lot of work compared to the typical bodypart split... but you can't argue with the results. More people are getting huge from DC than from bodypart splits.

 

[Mr.SUST]

dorian yates trained in a manner similar to this, with only one working set....look what it did for him!! but you gotta warm up, then go balls to the wall or your wasting your time.....pick up a copy of "heavy duty" by mike mentzer.......he really explains the theory behind this routine pretty in-depth.

 

[Behemoth]

Heavy Duty is okay, but it's a bit outdated... I feel I can comfortably say that HD is inferior to DC for the vast majority of the population. Just stick to DC, it will take you further than HD could. You don't have to go totally balls out if you use DC rest-pause techniques because it ensures full recruitment of all fibers and it also trains the CNS with each set, which leads to rapid strength increases. HD would be difficult for most to sustain even on drugs, as Dorian Yates was definitely a very exceptional individual (as was Mike Mentzer) so emulating them might not be the best plan for people who do not possess exceptional genetics.
DC is laid out in such a way to ensure that naturals and steroid users alike will be able to push themselves in this manner and still be able to recover.

And yes, I know it sounds like I'm sucking Dante's dick a little too much, but oh well. I think he came up with an amazing system, and it's far superior to the stupid bodypart splits, which for the life of me I don't know why people are still following. I just don't understand why people would go to the gym almost everyday if they are only going to hit each bodypart once a week. Damn. It must be disconcerting for those folks to go to the gym so often and see guys growing faster by only showing up three times a week.

 

[Mr.SUST]

true, it is a bit out-dated. merely suggesting another option. it will ultimately be up to him to figure out what works best for him......and he certainly should not emulate anyone elses routine for the sake of looking or training like that person.......all good points, behemoth....hope we could help him out.

 

[SouthCounty]

Thanks for all the info guys.

Mudge, no I don't really have a gut i have really wide hips so it makes that measurement bad, also i do have some fat on the love handle area but not a ton. I'd say I am at 15% maybe?

Also I'm not really bulking just crusin right now. This problem has just been a concern of mine for a long time so all the info helped alot. Not that most of you would view this as a problem but I just don't like having big legs. When I have to buy new pants it pisses me off.

And I forgot to add that I am 22 and natural so i wonder if maybe my upperbody will catch up as I get older?

 

[IronRobi]

I just want to say I am incredibly jealous of your problem!

 

[Ready2Roid]

Teqnique is also very improtant when training chest, many people tend to push forward theyre shoulder when pressing, which adds stress to the shoulders and decrease stress on the chest.
So keep youre shoulder pinched back and your chest arched. Dont lay flat on the bench.