What is the ideal male chest? Plenty of people would say that they’d recognize one the second they saw it, and might look to muscular (but not overly so) men.
If we are to take this as the ideal male chest, then, we’d be talking about well-defined pectoral muscles that are clearly visible.
That said, many people would say that professional bodybuilders go too far to the other extreme, with muscles that are not generally found appealing outside of the field of bodybuilding.
Learn more about what an ideal male chest could look like and how to achieve one for yourself.
What Is The “Ideal” Male Chest?
We are, of course, products of our cultures and times, and so what the perfect chest is varies.
However, it’s often cited these days that the ideal male chest is not a flat one, but has a distinct contour to it that is defined by well-developed pectoral muscles.
We’re not talking bulging pectorals that you might find on a bodybuilder, but they should be well defined and easily visible. However, this is not always the case; some people prefer a less defined chest without much development of the muscles.
In general though, chest fat or gynecomastia are both considered undesirable, and most men will seek to eliminate either condition.
Is There Any Fat On The Ideal Male Chest?
You might expect the answer to this to be “no”; isn’t fat, after all, generally undesirable?
If that were true, then the ideal form would consist of nothing other than muscle and skin – a condition that may look esthetically displeasing.
In fact, about half an inch of fat is a good amount to have on even a muscular chest. The answer is therefore “yes”.
Is There Any Breast Gland Tissue On The Ideal Male Chest?
Again, although you might expect the answer to be “no”, it’s actually normal for men to have a small amount of breast gland tissue present directly behind the areolae. It’s a very small amount, but it’s nevertheless there and perfectly normal.
Is It Possible For Anybody to Achieve The Ideal Male Chest?
Sadly not. Even if you don’t have any complicating conditions (such as gynecomastia or pseudogynecomastia), it’s quite difficult to achieve and maintain developed chest muscles.
Other factors, such as illness and age, can also affect the ability to achieve the perfectly sculpted physique we might dream of.
What Muscles Are In The Chest?
There are three muscles in the chest: the pectoralis major, the pectoralis minor, and the serratus anterior. Let’s take a look at each of these muscles.
Pectoralis Major
The pectoralis major is, as its name suggests, the largest of the chest muscles. It’s fan-shaped and covers your chest from the clavicle (collar bone) to your sternum, and crosses over into the humerus (upper arm bone).
This muscle helps move your arms across your chest, and is also involved in shoulder movement.
Pectoralis Minor
This small, narrow muscle is triangular and attaches the clavicle to the third, fourth and fifth ribs. It helps to pull the shoulder forward and down.
Serratus Anterior
This muscle is not technically part of the chest muscle group, but because it borders the pectorals on the ribs, it is often grouped with them. It’s actually between the chest and shoulder blades, and facilitates the movement of your scapulae (shoulder blades).
What Do The Chest Muscles Do?
The chest muscles are part of the various muscles throughout your upper body that are used for pushing. Accordingly, any exercise that focuses on pushing (like that old mainstay, the push-up) will likely work your chest muscles.
What Exercises Will Help Me Get The Ideal Male Chest?
It can be hard work trying to attain the perfect male chest, but the good news is that there are plenty of exercises that can help you sculpt those chest muscles. Let’s take a look at some of the best.
Barbell Bench Press
This gym favorite is a classic for a reason – it’s really efficient at building chest muscle. It’s the easiest and most efficient way to shift plenty of weight in a controlled manner. Be sure to vary width and how you grip the bar in order to encourage development of all the chest muscles.
Incline Bench Press
This exercise is great for building the upper chest and can be done with either a bar bell, multi-grip bar or dumbbells. It can work your shoulders just as easily as your upper pectorals, so be sure to use the right grip for the muscle workout that you want.
Dumbbell Bench Press
There’s a lot of debate around whether barbell or dumbbell bench presses are better. Some might say the point is moot, since there’s nothing stopping you from doing both.
Dumbbell bench presses certainly have their plus points; because the muscles on both side of your chest are working independently of one another, dumbbells result in more balanced size and strength. It’s also a lot easier to vary your grip and technique to work different areas of your chest.
Decline Press
Decline presses allow you to actually lift more than you would with a flat bench. In addition, although it’s commonly perceived that the decline press only works the lower chest, it actually works the whole of the chest.
You can mix up double-arm presses on decline machines by sitting sideways and doing unilateral chest presses, which are great for working the pectoralis major.
Push-Ups
A classic for a reason, the humble push-up doesn’t need any specialized machinery and is a great way of working the chest and arm muscles. They’re also very easily modified to work different muscles.
Variants like the diamond, knee, wide and staggered push-ups all help to mix things up and make sure you’re working and developing all parts of the chest equally.
Machine Chest Press
While using free weights has a great many benefits, the same can be said of machine exercises too.
Because machine presses are tightly controlled compared to free-weight presses, you can make sure that you focus exclusively on the chest muscles rather than working incidental muscle groups (such as the shoulders or abs).
Chest Fly
Flys are a group of exercises that involve pulling – rather than pushing – your arms up and across your chest. They are highly effective at targeting chest muscles, and there are many variations that you can do to mix things up.
Though cable cross-overs are an old mainstay, incline bench flys are also a great workout that can really work your chest muscles.
Machine Fly
Like machine chest presses, machine flys are great at working your chest muscles to the exclusion of everything else. They’re easier to do and put you at less risk of straining anything during your workout, too.
Though both machine and free-weight flys produce similar muscle growth, the fact that machine flys are safer means that it’s possible to push yourself harder without worrying about it.
Dumbbell Pull-Over
Long considered a staple of the upper-body workout, dumbbell pull-overs are not as favored as they used to be. They nevertheless still have application, and they are an efficient way of working the upper chest when done properly.
The key is to ensure that the elbows remained fixed and rigid, lest you accidentally end up working the triceps instead of the chest.
Impediments To The Ideal Male Chest: Chest Fat And Gynecomastia
There are two conditions that can pose a significant impediment towards attaining the ideal male chest: gynecomastia and excess chest fat (pseudogynecomastia).
What are these two conditions, and why can they threaten the development of the perfect chest?
Gynecomastia
Gynecomastia is a condition that can affect infant, adolescent and adult males. It is the irregular growth and development of excess breast gland tissue, and can range from barely noticeable (at grade 1) to highly visible even through clothing (grade 4). At the highest grade, sufferers can develop full breasts that are very similar to female ones.
Though the condition is benign, it is highly embarrassing and can cause no small amount of emotional upset. Needless to say, having gynecomastia can significantly interfere with the attainment of the perfect male chest.
Can I Develop The Ideal Male Chest If I Have Gynecomastia?
Gynecomastia is an embarrassing and (for many) unsightly condition, but it is treatable. In fact, it’s possible to attain a strong male chest even if you suffer from the condition. Let’s take a look at the ways in which you might deal with gynecomastia:
Exercise
Male bodybuilders suffer from cases of gynecomastia. This is likely due to the use of anabolic steroids, which can cause hormonal imbalances (the primary cause of many gynecomastia cases).
Despite this, many male bodybuilders are able to successfully hide their condition with rigorous exercise and bodybuilding. Female bodybuilders tend to have very small breasts due to their low percentage of body fat and high volume of muscle mass, and this holds true for men. Well-developed chest muscles can largely hide a case of gynecomastia.
However, gyno exercises will not eliminate the condition completely. For that, surgery will be necessary.
Surgery
Surgery is the most realistic way to completely eliminate a case of gynecomastia. The most effective way is for the excision of excess breast gland tissue combined with liposuction. This will take care of the root source of gynecomastia and then remove any potential excess buildup of fat tissue (with the liposuction).
Gyno surgery performed in this way can also help patients achieve a chest shape that they’re much happier with. The nipple can be left in place and repositioned, and enough chest fat is left behind that the chest can be re-sculpted following surgical recovery.
Pseudogynecomastia
Though superficially similar to gynecomastia, pseudogynecomastia is a build-up of excess chest fat. Because it’s not a true medical condition in the same way that gynecomastia is, it’s much easier to treat than gynecomastia. Generally, diet and exercise can be used to get rid of chest fat (if not, liposuction may be used).
Can I Develop The Ideal Male Chest If I Have Pseudogynecomastia?
Generally speaking, yes. As mentioned above, it’s perfectly possible to eliminate chest fat with nothing more than a healthy diet and plenty of exercise.
Diet
Following a healthy diet rich in unprocessed foods, wholegrains and fruit/vegetables will help with reducing body fat in general, and will therefore help eliminate chest fat.
Exercise
Exercise will help with reducing overall body fat, and cardio in particular is good for this. For exercises that target the chest muscles specifically, see the detailed breakdown of chest exercises found above.
Liposuction Surgery
Surgery is generally not necessary or desirable for cases of pseudogynecomastia. However, in cases of particularly stubborn pockets of fat, liposuction may be desirable. There are also a few pseudo-surgical options that might be considered.
Coolsculpting
Coolsculpting is an entirely non-invasive procedure to reduce fat. Fat cells are targeted and frozen with the use of a special wand placed on the skin. Then the fat is broken down into liquid & reabsorbed into the body.
Although Coolsculpting may reduce the fatty tissue, it does not remove the breast gland tissue, and as such may not be a long-term solution if chest fat is not the only issue.
It should also be noted that Coolsculpting is generally not nearly as effective as liposuction to reduce excess fat.
Ideal Male Chest Recap
Though it can seem to be an uphill struggle to attain the “perfect” male chest, the fact of the matter is that it’s perfectly attainable – even if suffering from complicating conditions like gynecomastia or pseudogynecomastia.
That journey is different for each person. It may be that simple dietary changes and the right exercise regimen will do it for some people. For others, more drastic measures such as surgical excision may be necessary before you’re feeling confident enough to hit that beach.
Whatever the solution in your particular case, however, it’s important to remember that there is a solution. It’s just a matter of identifying that solution – and making use of it.