Is bench pressing really a bad thing

[mrstew12]

i heard the muscle behind the tissue gets bigger and pushes out the gynecomastia even more

[mrpower33]

I've never really believed this.  Always better to get in shape.  In some cases it may push it out a little bit, but if you have minor case, I doubt it will make much difference.  If you have a serious case, then your best bet is surgery.  Anyway you look at it, you will be better off with more lean muscle and less body fat.  Don't listen to people who say you should lift weights and get in shape, they're just lazy and trying to think of excuses not to exercise. 

[thetodd]

No it does trust me, if you have a moderate case of gyne like i used to have then it makes it look way worse

i used to bench really heavy weights, and i used to love doing it. But when i used to go down town i had big arms and a big chest youd get people feeling your arms and then poking your chest and going "urr wait youve got breasts". Im not saying dont go and work out ! Im saying try to do an all over workout and dont start power lifting or you may look out of proportion. Try keeping to weights 50kg and down and doing lots of reps

Id reccomend just doing some cardio, and basic all over weight routines. And saving up for surgery if you want to go down that path. Getting fit is great but just dont concentrate just on your chest

[KryptoKnight]

I disagree with you thetodd.  Before I got surgery I used to be big into weightlifting and although my chest got bigger so did the rest of my body.  Obviously I knew I'd look much better if my chest was just smaller but working out made me look a lot better even with my gyne. 

I think you just have to know how to properly workout.  But I guess that's dependent on your goals

[thetodd]

But what he was asking whether it would push the gyne out, and make it more apprent

And benching (which is what he asked), will make his chest get bigger and it will push his gyne forward.If your main goal up the gym is to try and hide your gyne then building your chest is going in the wrong direction! Sureley?

[Jake]

All valid points made here.  Buffing up your body will make your chest more noticeable and may draw attention to any case of gynecomastia present.  But working out will make everything else bigger and can, in effect, help to mask the problem.

Because let's face it, gynecomastia is "pronounced" on both average and muscular builds.  It would be better to have a fit, muscular body with the gynecomastia in my opinion.  At least then not many people would make fun and may just attribute your chest to being well built.

But having seen mrstew's pictures, I don't think it would help honestly.  It's a more than mild case for sure.

[GynO_DuDe]

Hold on, if anything, ok, so it makes gyne stick out, but if your planning surgery, doesn't that help the surgeon reach/see EXACTLY where the gland/fat is to be removed? because you have a better 'base' so to speak underneath.

[FreeinVegas]

It made mine more noticeable.  While my muscles were becoming more toned, it seemed to make my gland and fat tissue hang down and protrude even more.  It really sucked to do chest exercises and just see that dead flab hanging motionless while my chest muscles were working and growing.  That was really the breaking point for me. 

I worked out really religiously doing full upper body routines for quite some time before my surgery.  I wanted to give my surgeon the best 'canvas' to work with for my chest.  And, I wanted my skin to tighten around a toned frame. 

I just had my 4 week post op appt today.  I was cleared to start back with cardio, but I'm not supposed to do heavy weights for 3 more weeks. 

[iwannabefree]

bench pressing focusses on your lower chest - which can push the gyne out a bit since the breasts r located there.

i have noticed that working on your upper chest (incling bench presses and flyes) helps the gynecomastia appearance and gives you a better appearance.

focus on upper chest - dont too much lower chest.

[KryptoKnight]

Hold on, if anything, ok, so it makes gyne stick out, but if your planning surgery, doesn't that help the surgeon reach/see EXACTLY where the gland/fat is to be removed? because you have a better 'base' so to speak underneath.

Oh from a surgery standpoint working out and then getting surgery is so much better.  My doc has done tons of BB'rs and he says it's so much easier because there's usually less fat and it's easier to contour the chest correctly because it already has some pretty good definition.