Chest exercises with big boobs

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truth_seekers

New member
I am not sure how to work my chest muscles properly. Just about every video I have looked at shows a man or a woman with a small bust but every time I do it I don't feel my pecs activating at all, and the next day my arms/shoulders or lats are sore. Where exactly should the bar be touching my chest? Is having G cups stopping me from doing the exercise properly? If anyone can point me to a video that shows the correct form and placement that would be very helpful. Thank you.
 
@nathan2018 Came to say this. I didn't know straight up and down was wrong until I worked with a trainer. Also yeah OP can just use dumbbells if there's boob in the way of a bar, it's the same lift. You don't *need* need to BB bench as long as you have a bench motion in there someplace.
 
@truth_seekers You should contact in the lower half of the solarplexus. On someone smaller chested, it would be roughly in-line the nipple.

One thing also worth noting - don't let something like feeling the burn make you think you're doing an exercise wrong. You cannot bench press without activating your chest, it's mechanically impossible. If you do feel activation/burn in other places first, it's more likely that those muscles are just weaker than your chest and are fatiguing first. If you really want to feel your pecs activate, I highly recommend cable cross with the cables set above head height.

There's nothing inherent about your bust that's preventing you from doing the exercise properly, if anything it's the opposite. You should ultimately be able to bench more in a competition setting since their bulk cuts down on the distance you are required to move the bar in a technically correct lift lol.
 
@truth_seekers Hi! I have H/I cup, but I love working my chest! It’s always been one of the strongest parts of me lol

There are lots of exercises you can do. I really like dumbbells since they don’t really have to actually touch your chest, and you can bring them down as far as you’d like (or is safe). Flyes and chest press are really good with those.

For barbell, I just bring it down till it touches my chest. Depending on the bra I’m wearing, it’s not that much of a difference- maybe an inch at most? The girls usually slide into our armpits when we lay down, so that’s useful.

As for not feeling your pecs activate, that’s more concerning. I would be wary of which exercise you’re doing, because some can engage more muscles and cause the body to simply skip those that are weaker or not commonly used. Doing targeted exercises (like chest press or pec flyes) and doing them slow, with control, and less weight is usually how I activate and “find” the muscles I struggle with.

That all said, don’t forget to work your back as well! Us chesty people have a lot to lift in the front, and having a strong back can seriously take away a lot of the usual pain, and help with posture. My physiotherapist told me “Rows, rows, rows!!” And she’s totally right.

Best of luck!
 
@truth_seekers I have DD/DDDs and got into the gym by working out with my male coworkers and for some reason I couldn’t get the form right no matter what they said- I was using my shoulders to compensate and I couldn’t get my chest to engage properly or at all. I actually watched Megsquats on YouTube(couldn’t tell you the video lol) and got the form down! I’m a smaller size/band than you probably are, but I go right on my sports bra band/below the tits.

I say do it to where you can lock your shoulders in place and try to actively engage your pecs when the barbell is above you. It might be a different place from anyone else, but if you’re doing it safely and working out the targeted muscles you should be good.

Also, there’s a few exercises where I have to do them differently do to my chest size, like cross body curls. I just have to stand or sit differently. It looks awkward lmao but I get the muscle engagement I want.

Also also please try to do a weight where you can do the form that suits you perfectly before trying to go too heavy cos you’ll start to use other muscles to make up for the lack of strength and you’ll never feel like your doing it right(personal experience 😂😂) good luck!!
 
@truth_seekers I do bench press and butterfly press with dumbbells on a decline bench. I find it really helps me not use my shoulders and activates the lower pectoral area instead of upper boob area. Best of luck finding what works for you.
 
@truth_seekers If you go to the gym, have you tried any chest machines such as the chest press or chest fly machine? They don't use a barbell and might be a good starting point if you can't engage your pecs properly on a free weight exercise.
 
@bringmetothelight I have tried them but because they have a lot of different settings I still get the same result. When I use any machine for the first time I don't use any weight because I want to make sure my form is correct before adding weight. I still can't get the right combo though.
 
@truth_seekers Are you checking the seat settings too? Your bar path could be incorrect because your seats on the machines are set too low to get your chest where it needs to be to have proper alignment.

You also need to make sure you're "pinching a pencil" with your back when you're doing chest exercises, otherwise your accessory muscles might try to compensate.
 
@truth_seekers Had a trainer and big boobs. Are your shoulders (traps) sore? If so, you are over-compensating with your shoulders. Before doing a chest exercise, roll your shoulder back and down, this is the position your shoulder should stay in, if they rise, you aren’t activating the chest as well.

For the barbell, it hit my chest about where the underwire goes (at a G, bottom boob region possibly)… never really had an issue cause gravity flattens things a bit and I just aimed the bar at the band of the sports bra (for standard bench pressing)
 
@truth_seekers I also wear a G cup, and have experienced the same problem. I switched to dumbbells for bench press, because I find I can get slightly deeper with them than with the bar, because my boobs are less in the way. I feel chest flies (either machine or dumbbell) are good for focusing on my chest and not accidentally working my back.
 
@cnewton65 I have H Cups and I find with proper back arching, my breasts tilt up and back enough that I can touch the bar to my bra band. If you're interested in trying barbell again, that's what I'd recommend.
 
@hurtzlotstexas I recommend watching technique videos geared toward powerlifting because they usually have a slightly lower touch target. Personally I target the very top of my rib cage. It’s between by boobs normally but when I lay on the bench and get my shoulders underneath me properly, the girls fall toward my face just enough that I can get right under them. I’ve benched 125 so I’m pretty sure it works just fine.

Edit: sorry I didn’t mean to post this as a reply to your comment but it still stands and fwiw I agree with where you’re describing. OP this is for barbell bench presses; frankly I think flys help you learn to engage would pecs a lot better.
 
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