Chest measurement

BrianD3

What is a decent chest measurement for a guy in his twenties about 5 foot 9 tall. At the moment, I have a 39.5 inch chest and can't help feeling that it is very skinny. It's even skinnier given that I have quite well developed lats and these get included when measuring the chest and make it sound bigger than it actually is.

Women constantly describe me as "skinny" which I find annoying and regard as an insult. However it's better than the "rail" and "stick insect" type comments that I used to get when I was thinner than I am now. I am naturally thin and find it very difficult to put on weight (even with lifting weights and a having a high calorie, high protein diet)

One good thing is that my waist is 28.5 inches so at least I have a good waist/chest ratio of ~0.72

No real point to this post except to ask what sort of chest measurements do other guys here have and what do you think a decent measurement is. Also a chance for people to brag about their huge chests if they want

BrianD3

daveirl

This post has been deleted.

rs

> Women constantly describe me as "skinny" which I find annoying and regard as an > insult. However it's better than the "rail" and "stick insect" type comments that I
> used to get when I was thinner than I am now.

I would not worry about this too much. Given that your average male these days is a bit of a tubby b*stard, anyone who has a chest that is significantly larger than their waist will appear thin, even skinny.

A lot of it has to do with what you wear as well. If you wear large black jumpers you'll look thinner, if you wear tighter, light coloured t-shirts with shorter sleeves, you'll appear bigger.


BTW: If you quickly point to women who call you skinny that their arse, hips are a bit on the hefty side, or that they are as flat as a snooker table, you'll discover that they shut up pretty quickly.

BrianD3

Tell them **** off. They are the one's who say there's no pressure on men to conform to a certain body type

Yeah. Numerous times I have heard women claim that they like "a bit of muscle" in a guy but that they find big bodybuilder types "disgusting" However, I think they have really skewed and ridiculous ideas about what is big and what is skinny. Seems to me that if you're about average height and <13 stone, you're "skinny" 13-16 stone of muscle and you are in the category that they like i.e. you have a "bit of muscle" Over 16 stone and you're in the "disgusting" category. I mean, WTF? Do these women have any idea how much time, effort and hard work it takes to build a "bit of muscle" as they call it. Idiots!

BrianD3

Zulu

Originally posted by BrianD3
Yeah. Numerous times I have heard women claim that they like "a bit of muscle" in a guy but that they find big bodybuilder types "disgusting" However, I think they have really skewed and ridiculous ideas about what is big and what is skinny. Seems to me that if you're about average height and <13 stone, you're "skinny" 13-16 stone of muscle and you are in the category that they like i.e. you have a "bit of muscle" Over 16 stone and you're in the "disgusting" category. I mean, WTF? Do these women have any idea how much time, effort and hard work it takes to build a "bit of muscle" as they call it. Idiots!

BrianD3

True Brian, but in all honesty, women are a LOT MORE forgiving than us. Personnaly I'm glad I'm a bloke. I'm not fat - but I wouldn't get away with this beer gut if I was a woman. I find, if you fit into the "avgerage/normal" catagory and you can have a bit of craic, your elected.

rs

> True Brian, but in all honesty, women are a LOT MORE forgiving than us.

Nonsense, they are just as shallow as us, they just use a different rating scale.

I believe it's something like as follows

1. Fame
2. Money
3. Looks

in that order

BrianD3

True Brian, but in all honesty, women are a LOT MORE forgiving than us. Personnaly I'm glad I'm a bloke. I'm not fat - but I wouldn't get away with this beer gut if I was a woman.

I actually think that being slightly fat or having a big of a gut is less of a problem for a guy than being skinny. If a guy is skinny, he's not regarded as a real man. Women think that if you're skinny you must be some unmasculine weakling. You'll also find women thinking that you're younger than you actually are.

In contrast, the chubby guy with the beer belly looks "big" and "well built" to women. I have found that many women can't seem to differentiate between fat weight and muscle weight in a guy.

I disagree about women being more forgiving. A good example of this is height. I would be willing to date a woman of just about any height, (assuming she was willing to date me) Anything from about 4 foot 8 to 6 foot is fine by me. Similarly, most guys are not too fussed about height. Whereas many women are very fussy about height - won't date a guy who's shorter than they are, regard any guy <6 ft 2 as short. Again, you're seen as unmasculine if you're in any way short

BrianD3

rs

> I actually think that being slightly fat or having a big of a gut is less of a problem
> for a guy than being skinny. If a guy is skinny, he's not regarded as a real man.
> Women think that if you're skinny you must be some unmasculine weakling. You'll
> also find women thinking that you're younger than you actually are.

That's probably true, because generally men get fatter as they age, so the common perception is thin = young, fatter = older. I don't know if I'd agree with the unmascline bit.

> In contrast, the chubby guy with the beer belly looks "big" and "well built" to
> women. I have found that many women can't seem to differentiate between fat
> weight and muscle weight in a guy.

It takes a lot of muscle for people to notice that you are muscluar, particulatly if you have a fairly low body fat percentage. The taller you are the harder it is.

I'd also say that the "ideal" male physique is much harder to attain than the ideal female physique. Your average 20 year old female could attain the ideal female phyisique with perhaps 6 months of hard training and a decent diet.

The "ideal" male physque can takes several years to build, because you are unlikely to gain more than 10 pounds of muscle a year, and the more you gain, the harder it is gain any more. The average male starting at 20 could take 6 years to reach the "male" ideal. In fact, most cover models for the likes of mens health magazine are in their early 30's.

But you'll find as you get a little older (late 20's) that those well built guys with beer bellies start looking pretty fat, and those poeple who trained through their early 20's now look pretty solid.

> - won't date a guy who's shorter than they are

True, but the vast majority of women are shorter than the vast majority of men. So generally it's not an issue. Short rich men never seem to have a problem though

> regard any guy <6 ft 2 as short.

I don't think so, I'm 6'1 and no-one has ever called me short. I don't think height is a huge factor provided you are average height or above. But I suppose that's easy for me to say.


Brian, 3 questions

1. how old are you and how long have you been training?
2. Are you a member of a gym?
3. If so, do you squat and deadlift regularly?

BrianD3

1. how old are you and how long have you been training?
2. Are you a member of a gym?
3. If so, do you squat and deadlift regularly?

1. I am 26 and have been training and eating well for about 10 months. I'm not exactly sure how much weight I have gained in that time but I think it's over a stone. I estimate that most of the extra weight is muscle. I am 11 stone now @ 5'9"
2. No, but I do exercise at home. However, I am quite limited in what I can do as I only have basic equipment and no spotter. So I am considering joining a gym.
3. I deadlift regularly. But I don't squat or bench press. I do weighted chin-ups though which I reckon is a pretty tough exercise.

I don't think so, I'm 6'1 and no-one has ever called me short.

Maybe I exaggerated *slightly* about the <6 foot 2 bit


BrianD3

Zulu

Originally posted by rs
> True Brian, but in all honesty, women are a LOT MORE forgiving than us.

Nonsense, they are just as shallow as us, they just use a different rating scale.

I believe it's something like as follows

1. Fame
2. Money
3. Looks

in that order

LOL
excelent, absolute brilliance.

rs

Originally posted by BrianD3
1. I am 26 and have been training and eating well for about 10 months. I'm not exactly sure how much weight I have gained in that time but I think it's over a stone. I estimate that most of the extra weight is muscle. I am 11 stone now @ 5'9"
2. No, but I do exercise at home. However, I am quite limited in what I can do as I only have basic equipment and no spotter. So I am considering joining a gym.
3. I deadlift regularly. But I don't squat or bench press. I do weighted chin-ups though which I reckon is a pretty tough exercise.

Joining a gym will certainly help, just because of the wider rande of exercises you can do. If you can join one, you certainly should.

To put on a stone of mostly muscle in 10 months is certainly very good going, but 10 months is not a very long time to be training. You have to be a bit realistic about how much you can accomplish in a year. At your current rate of progress you will be pretty solid 12 - 12 1/2 stone in another year or so, but it will take that at least than long to get there. You are certainly heading in the right direction.

When I started I was 6'1 maybe 10 - 10 1/2 stone. It took me at least 3 years to get up to 13 stone, and another year or 18 months to get up to 14 stone.

I'd highly recomend bench pressing, squatting and deadlifting if you want to really add some size. But learn how to do them correctly before you try any serious weight or you will certainly hurt yourself. (particularly squats and deadlifts) I made my best progress when I started squating and deadlifting seriously.

The squats and deadlifts will broaden your thighs and glutes. They will also thicken your waistline (in a good way) by increasing the size of your abs and lower back, which will make your lower body and mid-section look a lot more solid.

Bench Pressing is the best way to increase your chest, shoulders and triceps. It's not to be missed.

Weighted chin-ups are great for the lats. I'm also a big fan of wide grip chins, which are one of the best upper back execises.

R

Guv

When you require a 52 or 54in tux jacket you have decent size on the chest.
A mate who is 5ft9 could not get a jacket in black tie to fit him. The arms were to small for his bi's and even the 54in was a bit tight on the chest and massive on the gut. He is 17st.

I wore a 52in tux recently and it was a bit tight. Most blokes wear 40 something jackets and most of them have no chests. Then you have guys wearing upto 60ins for their stomachs. If you are up around the 50in mark and reasonably lean you are onto a winner.

Chucky

Originally posted by BrianD3
I disagree about women being more forgiving. A good example of this is height. I would be willing to date a woman of just about any height, (assuming she was willing to date me) Anything from about 4 foot 8 to 6 foot is fine by me. Similarly, most guys are not too fussed about height. Whereas many women are very fussy about height - won't date a guy who's shorter than they are, regard any guy <6 ft 2 as short. Again, you're seen as unmasculine if you're in any way short
BrianD3 [/B]

I agree with this guy, especially that you are not seen as being masculine if you are in any way short.

I feel though, in a wider sense that our nation is becoming more like the United States. More gyms are opening up and more people are joining up. Then you still have people on the other end of the scale who just eat all day...everyday.

So it's all a big load of **** tradition about Irish men just being fat and ugly that will probably be broken when the next few generations grow up. It seems, that if a man lives a healthy lifestyle here and wants a good figure he must be homosexual or else a 'psycho'.

I was in Rio last summer and the people are unbelievable - people going out in the city in their speedos and stuff. But my point is that there I was like a giant, even though I'm slightly over average height here. And yet when Irish girls see a brazilian bloke here, no matter how small he is, they go mad!

R33F

My Chest size is over 54' inch and I am over 6ft

I have a small beer gut, but am healthy (gym 3 times a week)

I love my beer gut. Why would you want to break something this good into 6 pieces ??

Who needs a 6 pack....:p