Hi guys I've had issues building my shoulders and chest I started working out in September 2013 and have gone from 158 to 175 in that time all lean but its going slowly in the chest and shoulders. I've been pushing really hard espiacially on chest mixing it up every couple weeks. Always touching my chest in bench and shoulder exercises as little momentum as possible and while overhearing pressing not straightening fully at top and going just below t level on the way down. Can anyone help I just start Joe mangeniellos evolution 6 week workout Monday to see how that works. Any help you guys can give me would be awesome and I'm 17 just for the record

You should mainly focus on 3 exercises for chest and shoulders. Clearly it is not a nutrition problem because you are gaining muscle overall, so it must be the way you are training your chest and shoulders.

- Barbell bench press. You should do a slow negative and PAUSE on the bottom with the bar touching your chest. Pause for 2 seconds, then push the weight up as fast as possible. Do 5 sets of 5.

- Dumbell incline bench press. You should do a fast negative and fast positive without pausing at the bottom. Try to go as deep as possible without risking shoulder damage. ( keep your elbows tucked in). Take advantage of the stretch reflex at the bottom of the movement, something that you cant benefit from, if you are using a barbell. Aim for 4 sets of 8-15 reps.

- Overhead standing Barbell Press. Same tips as the barbell bench. Do 3 sets of 8 reps.

This is an excellent chest and shoulder workout for someone with lagging pressing muscles. Do it 3 times a week for maximum effeciency.

Kostas

To be honest chest and shoulders are 2 of my strong points and I know its because they are 2 of my favorite muscle groups to train. I suggest training each muscle group twice per week for maximum benefit. At least thats what works for me. Just stick to the basics man.

Chest:

Flat bench press: 4 sets of 8-12. pyramid.

Incline barbell or dumbbell press: 4 sets of 8-12. pyramid.

Flat or incline dumbbell fly: 4 sets of 10-12. pyramid.

Dips: 4 sets of 10-12. Do them weighted if your storng enough.

Cable flys superset with pushups: 4 sets of 10-12 for the fly and 4 sets to failure for the pushups.

Shoulders: Start with the weakest link which for most is rear delts.

Seated bent over dumbbell raise: 3 sets of 8-12. pyramid.

Standing over head barbell press: 3 sets of 8-12. pyramid.

Lateral dumbbell raises: 3 sets of 8-12. pyramid.

Front dumbbell raise: 3 sets of 8-12. pyramid.

EZ bar upright rows: 3 sets of 8-12. pyramid.

Dumbbell or barbell shrugs: 3 sets of 10-12. pyramid.

This chest and shoulder routine is packed with lots of volume which is what's needed for muscle growth. If you train your chest and shoulders every 3-4 days with routines like this I guarantee you will see results. I always recommend to pyramid the weight each set because for one its safer and prevents injuries and for two it warms the muscles better for heavier weight in the following sets. For chest and shoulder presses I recommend that you get a spotter to help you with forced reps. Also dont be afraid to use some advanced techniques such as drop sets. They really help to stretch the fascia that surrounds the muscle tissue which ultimately means more growth. One technique that I use off and on is the FST-7 protocol. You do it for the last exercise of your routine. Its 7 sets of 10-12 reps with only 30-45 seconds rest in between all 7 sets. You keep the weight the same for all 7 sets as well. FST-7 stands for fascia stretch training. Try it out.

Looks like a great plan for chest. My problem is that my chest usually takes several days to recover. Often times when I really go hard I won't feel 100% for another 6 or 7 days. Not sure what the deal is. I make sure that I'm eating lots of protein usually 30+ grams per meal eating 3 meals a day. I also take my bcaa chains with l-carnitine for recovery immediately after and the next day or so with protein and carbs. Any recommendations?

What was your chest and shoulder workout prior to starting the evolution 6 week programme? Also I'm not too familiar with this workout you are about to start, can you give me an insight or send me a link?

My workout before i started the evolution program for chest was one warm up set for each exercise then 3 building sets

bench press 5-8 reps

incline press 5-8 reps

decline press 5-8 reps

dumbell fly 12-15 reps

cable fly 12-15 reps

bar dips to failure

shoulders same set build

dumbell shoulder press 5-8 reps

arnold press 5-8 reps

dumbell lateral raise 10-12

dumbell front raise 10-12

dumbell rear deltoid raise 10-12

barbell standing military press 5-8

This was my 2 routines prior and i id each once a week.

Evolution is Joe manganiellos training program from his book he got from his trainer who also trained hugh jackman its 6 weeks 6 days per week, chest and back, legs triceps, shoulders biceps repeat twice. each day for the week is different exercises for the week so chest back day 1 exercises are different than day 4 exercises. repeat same exercises for week 2,  week 3 4 same thing completely different set of exercises etc etc. then cardio and abs are thrown into that mix. it is generally a mid weight higher rep routines performed in circuits with less rest each second week.

Its difficult to explain i have it on pdf if you would like to take a glance and thanks everybody for the help