Man boobs a huge confidence killer…unless you are Rick Ross.
Have you ever wanted to take the shirt off at the beach or at an outdoor swimming pool but couldn’t because of man boobs?
Trust me, you are not alone. Many men face this man boobs problem. While most of them never get out of it, you will! This article will show you how to get rid of man boobs as fast as possible.
To get rid of man boobs, you’ll first need to know why you have them.
You have moobs because of either of these two reasons:
- Gynecomastia – this is when one has excess breast tissues under the nipples. This is caused by hormonal imbalances. Precisely when estrogen levels are high and testosterone levels are low in adult or teenage males.
- Excess chest fat – Man boobs can also be a result of excess body fat – in this case the fat settles around the chest.
Sometimes it can be both cases – excess body fat and gyno.
Let’s look into how you can get rid of man boobs, whether it is caused by gyno or excess body fat.
Gynecomastia
I remember waking up one day and everything felt weird and different.
At first I thought something was wrong with me……..My nipples were painful and swollen. Only later did I realize that it’s something most teenage boys go through. I knew puberty came with many changes but swollen nipples were a surprise.
This transformation most teenagers go through is called pubertal gynecomastia. And it’s caused by hormonal imbalances between estrogen and testosterone.
For most teenagers, the excess breast tissue goes away as they enter adulthood. But for some the nipples remain puffy.
So if you are still a teenager, wait and see if the man boobs will disappear with time. But if you are already an adult here is what you should do:
First you will need to know if your case is gynecomastia or excess fat. And the best way to know is to see a doctor. Alternatively, you can use this simple method – pinch your nipples. If you feel a gland under the nipples – that’s gynecomastia but if it’s all soft – that’s body fat.
The size of the gland or breast tissues may vary from person to person. In cases where the breast tissues are big – surgery is the only option.
It’s not possible to get rid of gynecomastia through diet or exercise. In fact in the last 30 years, over 1500 bodybuilders have been treated surgically for gynecomastia, as this study shows.
But for people with mild gynecomastia surgery is not necessary – you can get rid of it naturally. In my case, I have mild gynecomastia and you can’t tell by looking at my chest.
How do you know if you have mild gynecomastia……if your nipples are puffy when you are warm but when it gets cold or after you take a shower or when you rub them – they reduce in size and look normal – that’s mild gyno. If this is the case for you – keep the surgery money in the bank and read on.
The problem comes when you are overweight and have gynecomastia. Because you can’t know if your case is mild or not.
For someone in this situation, surgery might not be the best option. Always try the natural ways first. There are many risks involved in surgeries.
So reduce the body fat percentage. Aim for 9-10% body fat. And if at this point you still have man boobs then get a surgery. But chances are at this body fat percentage the man boobs will have disappeared.
You’ll use the same approach to get rid of mild gynecomastia and excess chest fat. And I will discuss them under excess chest fat.
Excess Chest Fat
How fat is distributed in the body depends on hormones and genetics.
It’s not surprising to see an overweight person with a flat chest. But that’s not the case for everybody.
The genetics part we can’t control, hormones we can.
To completely get rid of man boobs you will have to lower your body fat percentage. By the time you reach the percentages I gave earlier, your chest will be flat. But this doesn’t mean you can’t start transforming your chest now. I will share a few exercise tricks you can start doing right away.
Let’s get into the methods you can use to get rid of man boobs.
How to get rid of man boobs
To get rid of man boobs you need to focus on these three things – exercise, diet and balancing hormones.
Resistance training
Resistance training will play a big part in getting rid of man boobs.
My regularly blog reader already knows why resistance training is important. But if you need a reminder, here is how strength training will help you get rid of man boobs.
- It will increase testosterone levels. Low testosterone level is one of the causes of man boobs. Resistance training will lower estrogen levels and raise testosterone.
- Boost metabolism and enhance fat burning. Resistance training keeps metabolism up for up to 72 hours. And more muscles means the body will burn more calories.
- Reduces man boobs. Even though spot reduction is not possible. There are exercises will help create the illusion of lesser man boobs.
Most people will argue that exercises don’t help reduce man boobs. That’s not true – I agree that spot reduction is not possible but the exercises I’m going to share will make your man boobs less visible.
Chest exercises
When trying to lose man boobs, chest exercises can work for you or against you, depending on how you do them.
Most people who try to get rid of man boobs through chest exercises fail miserably. Because they do the wrong exercises.
The muscles you target make all the difference. You should only target the upper chest muscles (big upper chest muscles will make the man boobs looks smaller). Targeting lower chest will only make things worse, because the man boobs will even look bigger.
Push ups
Do push ups which target the upper chest. All push exercises done with the feet elevated target the upper chest more. Avoid doing push ups with your feet on the floor because they work the lower chest.
So place your feet on a chair every time you do push ups. Do different grip variations and keep advancing to harder exercises.
Be warned though, doing push ups only is not a good idea. It leads to muscle imbalances and it will also cause the forward shoulder posture – which will make the moobs more visible. Combine push ups with this exercise.
Pull ups
Pull ups are vital in reducing the size of man boobs.
They will give you a wider upper body, which creates the illusion of smaller man boobs.
Pull ups will build the upper back muscles. These muscles hold the shoulders back – which will make the moobs smaller. Notice when you retract the shoulders the man boobs look smaller…..?
Even though these exercises will burn fat and make the man boobs look smaller, they won’t be enough.
You will still need to focus on more compound movements and bigger muscles groups – legs and back exercises reduce the body fat percentage faster.
Doing resistance training will have a big impact on how fast you get rid of man boobs. Download this workout routine if you don’t have one.
Steady cardio or High intensity interval training
These are both effective methods to burn fat.
If your preferred method of training is steady cardio, combine it with resistance training. Even though you will lose weight with steady cardio alone, you will lose muscle mass too. This is not something you want when trying to get rid of man boobs. Because you might lose the weight and the man boobs remain there.
And having muscle mass makes moobs less visible and your metabolism will always be up.
According to this study, long steady cardio lowers testosterone and growth hormone levels.
HIIT on the other hand boosts testosterone and burns more calories.
Diet
Back in olden day, men naturally had high testosterone. Sadly that’s not the case anymore. Men have become more feminized and our testosterone levels have gone down. Due to the bad quality of foods we eat and the chemicals in them, as well as the use of drugs.
The testosterone for the average adult today is 200-800 ng/dL (nano grams per deciliter). These numbers are quite low compared to a century ago when an adult’s testosterone was between 800-2000 ng/dL.
Hormones play a key role in getting rid of man boobs. And what you eat greatly affects your hormones. So, eat foods that will boost your testosterone and avoid foods that raise estrogen levels.
It’s not just the foods you eat. Diet composition is key too.
To tell you the truth, proteins are overrated. You just need enough protein to maintain muscles mass and recover from your workouts. Too much protein has been known to lower testosterone levels.
Eat enough healthy fats (saturated and monounsaturated) – they are very important for overall health, energy and testosterone. Get most of your fats from avocados, meat, eggs, fish oil, nuts…..and so forth.
Eating low carbs has also been known to lower testosterone. But you have to be careful on the carbs you eat. Most of your carbs should come from vegetables and fruits. Avoid sugar, complex carbs and foods that contain wheat.
Maintain a low calorie deficit and make sure you eat enough. Low calorie diets also lead lower testosterone levels.
You’ll also need to keep your estrogen levels in check
Avoid foods that raise estrogen levels.
Some of the things you need to do to keep your estrogen in check:
- Avoid factory meat and fish
- Avoid commercially grown foods
- Limit alcohol intake
- Don’t drink water from plastic bottles
- Do strength training
Once you fix your hormonal imbalance losing man boobs will become easier.
Supplements
There are many drugs said to boost testosterone and lower estrogen.
I haven’t used any of them but I’m confident most of them are garbage. In fact some of them have negative side effects.
Surprisingly, in this study estrogen levels rose in men who were treated with injectable testosterone.
Not only have most supplements had thousands of grams of sugar.
I don’t think any of these supplements are necessary. Instead focus on naturally boosting testosterone.
Other important tips
Get enough sleep
Drink lots of water
Reduce sodium intake
Final word
Knowing the cause of your man boobs should be the first step. Only opt for surgery if you have a major case of gynecomastia.
For an overweight person with gyno it’s not possible to know if your case is major or mild. So lower your body fat percentage up to 10%. Consider surgery if the moobs will still be there.
To know your testosterone levels have our blood tested by a doctor.
Exercise and diet are important to reducing fat and keeping the hormones in check. Once the hormones a balanced it will be easier to get rid of the man boobs.
Follow this advice and you’ll soon be able to comfortably take your shirt off at the beach. Remember to enter your email below to get articles and fitness tips in your inbox.
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