What is the end-goal of working on your chest as a woman?

[kbhurst]

Hi y'all!

I've just started lifting, with a full body weights program that targets all of the major muscle areas, but I was really curious about the chest. I know men have something obvious that they're working for when they work their chests, trying to get really defined pecs. But as a woman with c cups, I don't really know what result I'm seeking from these workouts. And yes, I know strength and posture and all of that, but I was curious about visual gains. For those of y'all who work on your chest a lot, what changes did you end up seeing, and what are you aiming for as your final destination?

 

[thisisreality]

@kbhurst The ladies will stay up longer, defying gravity for as long as possible!

 

[danieljames]

@kbhurst For me as a 40yo, having breastfed a child, I found that the “ladies” got a bit of a lift! I’m pretty flat chested naturally (B at best), but they definitely sit a bit higher and perkier!

As for goals, for me, I just wanna bench press like a beast. Too many women are told that they shouldn’t or can’t bench press, that it’s too masculine, so of course that makes me want it more. Lol

 

[mikebyfield]

@danieljames Love the second part! Pretty much a big motivation for me when it comes to a lot of weight lifting

 

[bandarbo]

@danieljames Came here to say this. I had a great perky rack until post 40 and the deflation began. After I started lifting, everything started looking great again. I was actually pretty surprised at the difference lol.

 

[lukas741]

@danieljames I’m so glad heavy weightlifting is more socially normal with people my age. My boomer parents were discouraging me for a bit but now they think I’m cool.

 

[dwells]

@danieljames Your message is very encouraging! This year I definitely want to do more bench press. How much do you lift now? My upper body progress is super slow but I don’t hold much body fat there so I look more defined than I deserve honestly.

 

[danieljames]

@dwells I stared 2 years ago and could barely press the bar lol (45lbs)! Over the course of this past year I’ve gone from 60lbs last January to 90lbs for 3 reps this week. I’m not a huge person (115lbs mid bulk right now and 5’3”). Upper body lifts are often slower for women. But slow and steady wins the race. Being in a bulk 100% makes all the difference too!

 

[dwells]

@danieljames 90lbs is amazing! Knowing your weight is even more impressive.

 

[holidystm]

@kbhurst For me it's about strength & balance - I rock climb and if I don't spend time building up my chest strength as well as my back strength, I end up with rounded shoulders & a tight/weak chest.

 

[binhhb8b]

@holidystm I was about to answer the same thing! Last year I didn’t do any chest related workouts and I definitely felt (and kinda) saw the imbalance. This year monday is chest day

 

[jeberle]

@kbhurst Definitely helps with keeping them perky

 

[dragonite]

@kbhurst Before I had a mastectomy and a lift, I wanted to see a bit of boob lift. Also was powerlifitng and wanted to put up high competition numbers. Benching works your chest, but also shoulders and arms, back and abs also come into play as secondary muscle groups. Benching helps develop upper body strength which most women need more of, so it is a highly functional exercise. Visually, development of the pectoral muscles also give a nice look to "décolletté as the muscles are attached at the clavicle and working them help to create a lean, smooth neckline.

 

[abastzar]

@kbhurst Chest stuff is also great for your shoulders and back, so it's a good way to counter desk job posture imo.

 

[wamiti]

@kbhurst Keeps breasts lifted and I don’t know if this it the right word or if I’m describing this well but when I’m consistently lifting chest, my breast tissue feels more “anchored”. I guess that’s another way to articulate that it lifts the tissue as a whole haha

Also I find incline press also helps build my shoulders.

Last reason is for balance. I do naturally have tight pecs causing bad posture, so I don’t go crazy on pecs but I feel that a good lifting routine encompasses all your muscles to maintain balance in tension and strength across opposing muscle groups.

 

[cleansoul]

@kbhurst Posture and strength plus if you’re small chested to begin with it makes them appear bigger.

 

[lukas741]

@kbhurst I definitely noticed perkier breasts. I always thought this was a lie but I didn’t notice it until I actually grew those muscles.

I also like the muscle separation the create.

 

[johnst48]

@kbhurst I love the muscle definition and the strength helps my biking

 

[sacm]

@kbhurst I want to be able to climb up a rope for obstacle course races, so I regularly train my chest for that.

 

[dynadin]

@kbhurst As a fellow C cupped gal (31 with no kids) with a pretty good set of underlying pecs, I feel like they add a bit extra to cleavage and did give me some extra “fullness” to the bust evident in clothes. And agree with everyone saying it’s good for shoulders, esp anterior delts.

Remember to work your back and stretch your chest, you can get something called anterior cross syndrome which gives you this terrible posture that pulls your shoulders forward and is not a good look.