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Many people seek out fitness advice for the same goal: to be more attractive.
In the case of most men, they want to look more attractive by looking more masculine.
However, there’s something that has the opposite effect. It can be embarrassing and, in the worst cases, can send you to the store for a bra.
Gynecomastia.
But don’t worry!
Once you know what it is and what causes gyno, you’ll know how to get rid of your man boobs!
What Is Gynecomastia?
I must admit, this man bra does look pretty good!
Moobs.
Man boobs, man breasts.
Or, if you want to get technical, it might also be called adipomastia, lipomastia, or pseudogynecomastia.
Or just “gyno.”
In all of these cases, it’s when a man’s chest appears to have female breasts.
In fact, the word gynecomastia means “female breast.”
Gyno may be embarrassing, but it’s actually pretty common, and you can do something about it.
Why are there so many words for when a man needs a bra?
Because there are two types of gynecomastia, depending on what causes the breasts.
You can even have both forms of gyno at once!
What Causes Gynecomastia?
Both gynos are caused by an excessive amount of tissue. But, like any excess in the human body, there are other contributing factors as well.
True Gynecomastia
What doctors call gynecomastia is an endocrine system disorder that leads to the production of breast tissue on a guy’s chest.
The exact causes of this disorder are not entirely known; however, doctors have a good idea.
Gynecomastia most likely comes from a hormone imbalance:
Too much estrogen, too little testosterone.
It can also be caused by such diverse causes as puberty, cancer, metabolic dysfunction, or even prescribed medicines.
By the way, most puberty-induced gyno goes away before two years have passed.
Naturally, medical gyno is something you should discuss with your doctor.
But not all gyno is breast tissue.
Pseudogynecomastia
Whether you want to call it pseudogynecomastia, adipomastia, or lipomastia, the man breasts are the same:
Too much fat tissue under the nipples. Maybe with extra skin as well.
Well hey, that’s something I can help with!
Diet and exercise can help reduce chest fat, sculpt and tone chest muscles, and turn your moobs into a manly chest.
Both at Once
There are supplements you can take to try to block estrogen and so have a manlier body, but I’d recommend trying diet and exercise first
It is possible to have both excess breast tissue and excess fat tissue.
So, your gyno may come from both sources.
It’s always best to consult a doctor first, but there’s hope here as well.
Not just for the pseudogynecomastia, but for the true gynecomastia as well.
That’s because all that the adipose tissue has a dirty little secret.
Aromatase is an enzyme that’s responsible for producing estrogen.
Now, I’m not going to guarantee that one month of the following exercises will remove all gyno…
…but there’s the possibility that burning off that fat will lower your estrogen and therefore reduce your breast tissue.
It’s worth a shot, especially since the medical cure for gyno often involves surgery.
Heck, if you do a Google search for “gynecomastia,” most of the results will be plastic surgeons trying to sell you on that surgery!
Exercises to Reduce Man Boobs
…unless you don’t want to expend any effort and want to spend a fortune on compression tank tops to hide your man boobs. But that’s no way to get fit!
Here’s a friendly reminder that there is no such thing as spot reduction of fat.
If you want to get rid of your man boobs fast, focusing solely on the chest won’t do it.
In fact, many men with gyno are weightlifters!
So, you should use the following exercises as a highlight of a weightlifting routine, not the sole movements.
All of them focus on your chest.
This will help strengthen the underlying muscles and make your chest look manlier.
With a full routine and a good diet, you’ll also burn off the fat.
This should reduce your man breasts or even get rid of them entirely if there’s not a doctor-required cause.
By the way, if you’re a lady and you’re reading this, you can do these exercises as well!
They can help firm up your chest muscles and make your bosom look better.
Incline Bench Press
To do this exercise, you need an incline bench, one that’s angled up at 45 degrees.
You can use either a barbell or two equally-weighted dumbbells.
Lay on the bench with your feet flat on the floor.
With a barbell, unrack the weight, hold it straight up, lower it down to your shoulders, then push it back up for one rep.
With dumbbells, I like to start with the weights at my shoulders, push straight up, then slowly lower them back down for one rep.
Dips
Find some parallel bars, like on a dip rack.
I’ve used railings before but make sure it’s not raining!
Hold onto the bars with your arms straight but not locked out and with your feet off the ground.
Lower your body while keeping your shoulders down and tight. Then push yourself back up.
That’s one rep.
Push-Ups
Place yourself on the floor, facing down.
Start on your knees if you aren’t fit yet, or on your toes if you can.
Keep your hands flat on the ground, about shoulder width, with your elbows pointing toward your toes.
Lower yourself until you can kiss the ground then push yourself back up for one rep.
Keep your neck, back, hips, and legs straight, and keep your elbows from flaring out!
Dumbbell Pullover
Lay on a flat bench (not the same one as with the Incline Bench Press!) on your back and grab a dumbbell with both hands.
Start with the dumbbell directly above your chest, with your arms straight but not locked out.
Lower the dumbbell behind your head until your arms are in line with your torso (or a little past) then return to the starting position.
That’s one rep.
This exercise can be more difficult than it looks, so start with a lighter weight than you think you need!
Dumbbell Flies
Stay laying on that bench for this exercise!
Hold onto two dumbbells, one in each hand.
Start with your arms straight forward, again, not locked out.
Lower them to your side until they are even with your chest then return to the starting position for one rep.
Rowing
A great way to work out your chest is to row.
Nah, not necessarily by doing a few rowing movements. I mean actually rowing.
Gyms often have rowing machines. Spending a day with those once a week will help a lot.
Or, if your school has a rowing team, join them! You’ll get fit in no time!
Alternatively, buy or rent a canoe or kayak.
Exploring the great outdoors has its own benefits alongside the exercise from rowing your way downriver.
HIIT
High-intensity interval training is an excellent method of burning off fat, fast.
You can find more information about HIIT here.
Anything You Can Do to Lose Weight
Really, the goal is to burn off that chest fat, so you should do what you can to lose that weight.
Weight loss often comes from a combination of eating less and moving more.
There’s an article about eating less here.
As for moving more, check out these tips to burn calories wherever you are, even at school.
A Workout Routine to Get Rid of Man Breasts
The chest muscles are complex because you have both the pectoralis major and the pectoralis minor.
Also, the pecs attach to the rest of the body in a rather complex manner.
So, you need to perform a variety of movements to hit all parts of the chest.
You may have noticed that those exercises were chosen to synergize with each other.
Incline bench presses focus on the top of the chest, push-ups the middle, and dips the bottom.
You get the idea.
When putting together a routine, you will want a day that focuses on the chest.
It’s like the Push day in a PPL split, but laser focused!
So here’s a one-day routine that you can use to get rid of your man boobs.
It’s a good idea to keep your muscles balanced. Why not follow it up the next day with a lat workout I put together?
The Gyno-Buster Workout Day
Unlike a normal workout day, don’t go through all sets of one exercise before moving on to the next one.
These are all chest exercises but hit the pecs slightly differently. The normal method would wear out your pecs unevenly because you’ll get exhausted before evenly hitting everything.
Instead, finish one set of 6 to 12 reps, rest, then move on to the next exercise.
Keep rotating through the exercises one set at a time until you start failing sets, then you can be finished for the day.
I would recommend going in this order:
- Incline Bench Press
- Dips
- Push-Ups
- Dumbbell Pullover
- Dumbbell Flies (Can be replaced with Cable Crossovers if you like machines)
Don’t forget to warm up with dynamic stretches and cool down with static stretches!
Conclusion
Gyno comes from two sources: enlarged breast tissue and enlarged fat tissue.
In the first case, the only way to get rid of moobs is to see your doctor.
But in the second case, losing weight and strengthening your chest can reduce or even get rid of the man breasts!
FAQs
What foods cause man breasts?
- Chicken soup. Most packaged foods, especially chicken soup, contain phthalates. …
- Sea food contaminated with pesticides. …
- Berries. …
- Supermarket meat and cheese. …
- Your water bottle. …
- Canned foods. …
- Fatty Foods.
Does gynecomastia go away?
Generally, the swollen breast tissue goes away within two to three weeks after birth. Gynecomastia during puberty. Gynecomastia caused by hormone changes during puberty is relatively common. In most cases, the swollen breast tissue will go away without treatment within six months to two years.
Does milk cause man breasts?
But we never hear of rampant man–boob problems over there. And that’s because there’s no good medical evidence that consuming soy will cause men’s breast tissue to grow. Soy is rich in isoflavones, which are plant-based molecules with estrogen-like activity. Estrogen is a female hormone.
Will testosterone get rid of moobs?
There’s more to obesity-related gynecomastia than just increased fat all over. In fact, that increased fat is what disrupts your hormones. … Since obesity lowers testosterone, you’re getting less of its “suppression” effect on breast tissue, so estrogen can take over and cause development of, well, man boobs
At what age does gynecomastia go away?
Gynecomastia in teenagers usually goes away by the late teen years. The excess breast tissue growth seen during puberty is a result of hormonal changes in the body affecting both androgens and estrogens. Within a period of 6 months to 2 years teenage gynecomastia should go away without any intervention.