How to Tighten a Flabby Chest

Take steps to firm up your flabby chest.

Having a firm, tight, buffed out chest is a goal for many men. While not everyone can have a chest like a prime Arnold Schwarzeneger or Evander Holyfield, you can take steps to achieve a lean, tight, firm chest that will enable you to hold your head up high as you walk shirtless.

Things You'll Need

• A Plan
• Knowledge
• Effort
• Gym Equipment

Instructions

1. Understand fat loss patterns. Fat loss occurs as fat is pulled systemically (from all over the body). To lose chest fat and tighten up a flabby, loose chest, you have to lower your overall body fat levels. When you do this, the fat on your chest will reduce. You cannot just lose the fat on your chest.

2. Focus on the cardio. Weightlifting is a great exercise, but when striving to lose chest fat and firm up a flabby chest, cardiovascular exercise should be your exercise of choice. Cardio burns a lot of calories and boosts your metabolism, which helps you to shed body fat. Weight training will strengthen and help shape your chest muscles, but it won't do much for fat loss. Do some weight training, but don't focus too much effort on it.

3. Get moving and get your heart rate up. Pick cardio exercises that you enjoy -- walking, jogging, cycling, elliptical trainer -- and do them as often (and as intensely) as possible. The more often you do cardio, and the more vigorously you push yourself, the more calories and fat that you will burn. And the faster your chest will tighten up.

4. Alter your diet. You need to create a caloric deficit to burn fat from your body. To do this, eliminate fatty, greasy and high-caloric foods from your diet and replace them with fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean cuts of meat and low-fat dairy. Fill up on low-calorie but bulky items. A big part (perhaps the biggest part) of your chest-tightening and chest-firming routine centers around a healthy, high-quality diet.

5. Cross-train your chest. To add the most definition and muscle tone to your chest, attack your chest muscles with a variety of exercises. Do bench presses, both flat, decline and incline, and mix in some push-ups. Alternate between high weight/low rep sets and light weight/high rep sets to further shock your chest muscles. Add in some dumbbell chest presses and dumbbell flys to add further variety to your chest-tightening and firming program.

Tips & Warnings

• Don't expect change to occur overnight; fat loss and building chest definition both take time.

• Strive to work out a little harder and/or longer as you progress.

• Always remember to mix up your workouts and change your routines periodically to prevent overuse injuries and burn out.

References

• Food & Diet: Chest