Imre
Excess chest fat is something that no men want to see if they look into the mirror. Mainly, in this era, when the media is full of well-built guys. Without a doubt, snagging chest makes the life of a lot of guys harder.
Most of us can’t afford to live the “fitness life of the models.” But that doesn’t mean we can’t do anything about getting rid of that terrible man boobs.
What causes chest fat in men?
Typically, there are two reasons: your genes and high body fat.
Unfortunately, some of us come with genes that make our chest narrow and sagged. And, if it’s coupled with excess fat, it just makes things worse. That doesn’t mean we can’t do anything about it. With the right workout plan, dedication, and a balanced diet plan, we can shape our upper body to be much more attractive. Simply put, don’t give up, and the results are going to come.
What is gynecomastia?
In males who have gynecomastia, there is an abnormal increase of breast tissue, sometimes accompanied by abnormal breast growth. This occurs when testosterone levels and estrogen levels are imbalanced. Get in touch with a medical professional if you think you have gynecomastia and want to get rid of the excess tissue.
The other reason is high excess body fat, which is far more usual. We don’t move and overeat. And, all those unused calories are stored everywhere in our bodies. Hence, the muscles are invisible, and if the fat is thick, it snags.
The following picture perfectly shows the vast difference between a man having under 20% body fat and a guy having over 30%. So, the goal is weight loss.
How to make a caloric deficiency?
As I mentioned before, we have a high-fat level because we take in more calories than our body requires, so it stores them in the way of fat. If we take in fewer calories than our body needs (deficiency), it starts to burn the stored fat. Here is how to get a calorie deficit.
The most important: nutrition
The logical step is to eat less, which is somewhat true, but I think it’s more important what we eat.
Modern men overeat processed and junk food that is packed with unhealthy sugar, fatty acids, and artificial ingredients and high in calories. The same is true for the drinks we have. They are nothing more than harmful calorie bombs.
If you cut out these things from your daily eating regime, you make a considerable step forward in calorie efficiency and with that fat loss.
Of course, you still need to pay attention to what you eat and how much, but your worse enemy is eliminated.
Does this mean you have to switch to a special diet?
Well, I know numerous healthy diet plans are promoted as the easiest way to lose weight. But, typically, they just come and go, since most of them are hard to follow or implement in our lifestyle. Frankly, I’ve never tried any of them. Instead, I have easy rules.
- I consume what my great grandparents had a hundred years ago. They prepared their meals, had no packaged and processed foods, and mostly they drank water. To simply put, they ate naturally.
- I have as many greens, fruits, and nuts as possible for vitamins, minerals, and fiber. Plus, they are low in calories.
- Lean meat and seafood for protein to have ammo for my muscles.
- Healthy carbs in the way of whole grains.
- Healthy oils, mostly olive oil, because I love it.
- Drink a lot of water and teas (without sugar).
To sum up, I eat naturally in moderation 5 times a day focusing on caloric intake and healthy habits. These simple changes alone will remove chest fat.
I don’t say you shouldn’t follow a diet. Just these rules work for me very well. Anyway, here are a few sources for nutrition and diet to learn more.
Speed up your fat loss: cardio exercise
Depending on the workout you do, you can speed up the caloric deficiency. Typically, cardio and HIIT works are the most effective training for this goal. They are essential not just for weight loss but for health (cardiovascular benefits).
What kind of cardio is the best?
Well, anything that boosts your heart rate. Running, jogging, playing football, swimming, circuit training, burpees, etc. Just choose the one that you enjoy the most.
For example, I hate running, and I’ve never been interested in typical sports. But, I know cardio is so important, so I do boxing training and jump roping that I love so much.
Within the following presentation, you can learn about various activities and how many calories they burn at a given time.
Note: In HIIT (high-intensity interval training), exercise is carried out in short bursts with a few seconds of rest between them. It doesn’t matter how short the session is, you ought to be breathing heavily at the end of it. As a result of HIIT, you will lose weight, burn calories, and gain muscle. You can also improve your blood flow and oxygen level with it.
Boost your metabolism: strength training
Ok, the two principles above are effective alone to get rid of man boobs, but here is another trick. That is: build muscles!
Why?
The more muscle mass you have, the faster your metabolism is. The muscle cells require energy even if they rest, unlike fat cells. That means your body burns calories after your workout.
Not only that, but strength training also makes your muscles bigger and defined, so you are going to look better. It also helps to increase testosterone levels.
You can lift weight at home, a pair of dumbbells will do. Or do bodyweight exercises that require no equipment. Just work your entire body, never neglect any body parts.
What are the best home exercises to lose chest fat?
Within the previous sections, we were talking about ways to burn fat and eliminate chest fat. Now let’s see which are the most beneficial exercises to target your chest to make your pecs bigger and shaped.
Further reading: How to build chest muscles at home with no equipment.
Push-ups
Push-ups are compound exercises that, besides the pecs, engages almost the entire body. Moreover, there are numerous variations to target various parts of the chest or to match our fitness level.
Within this video, you can learn a lot of push-up types.
Dumbbell presses
Having a pair of adjustable dumbbells is an excellent idea for strength training since they are very versatile weights and easy to store. Of course, if you have a gym membership you can do barbell presses instead.
For the chest muscle, you can do presses or flyes. Use lighter weight and do high reps between 12-20. Do following is a good example chest workout with dumbbell chest exercises.
Related: Find more chest workouts with dumbbells here.
Bench press
If you have a home gym or you decide to go to the gym for weight training, the bench press is the best way to build chest mass. You can do also do decline bench press to target your lower pecs or incline presses for the upper chest.
Burpees
The burpee exercise is one of the most effective ways to burn fat and build strong muscles all day long. The calorie burn will last long after your workout, as will the loss of chest fat. Plus, it works your core perfectly leading to a better posture.
In the exercise described below, a jump is incorporated at the end to generate more power and increase activity levels.
- Place your hands with your fingers slightly wider than your shoulder width in a squat position.
- Reverse to the starting plank position by kicking your feet.
- Return to squatting immediately.
- Squat and jump up as high as you can, then drop back down.
The burpee exercise should be done at a fast pace and you should jump high. Maintain control and fluidity as you move and focus on your chest area. The correct form is important..
Chest Dips
Press until the arms are extended to move into the starting position. Place the legs above the ground so that they hang.
Put your body as low as comfortable while breathing throughout the movement, either until your chest is level with the bars or until your arms are parallel to the floor. Do not lower too quickly or you risk causing injury to your shoulders.
Throughout the motion, exhale while pushing your body upward.
Continue repeating steps 2-3 until desired repetitions are obtained.
Tip: If you find it hard at the beginning, use a workout bench for triceps dips first.
FAQ
Do push-ups get rid of chest fat?
In short, no, but they can still contribute to acquiring a firmer, flatter chest. Although push-ups contour the pectoral muscles, they do not burn fat. Chest exercises like push-ups offer excellent results for developing the muscles of the chest, shoulders, and upper arms as well as strengthening and tightening the muscles of the arms.
To sum up
Is it possible to lose chest fat and build developed pecs at home? Sure. Just follow the rules you’ve learned that is: eat right, do cardio, strengthen muscles, and target your pecs with various chest exercises. For getting rid of chest fat you need to do change your lifestyle.
Sources
- Schwartz, Robert S., et al. “The effect of intensive endurance exercise training on body fat distribution in young and older men.” Metabolism 40.5 (1991): 545-551. – https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/002604959190239S
- Braunstein, Glenn D. “Gynecomastia.” New England Journal of Medicine 357.12 (2007): 1229-1237. – https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMcp070677
