I (Paul Miller, Personal Trainer Hawkes Bay) was in the gym the other day and overheard a conversation between a client and the trainer which went a little something like this….
Client:
‘Yeah I have seen good results lately but I just can’t seem to shift the excess fat around my chest’
Trainer:
‘You need to do more deficit push ups, that will do the job’
If you suffer from man boobs or moobs then deficit push ups are not going to do much for you. In a matter of fact there are no chest exercises that are really going to help. The rabbit hole goes much deeper than that.
Today I thought I would bring you an article addressing the real reason you have man boobs and what to do about it.
What Causes Man Boobs?
The short answer is that man boobs are caused by an imbalance between the two major sex hormones estrogen and testosterone. Specifically it is the conversion, via the enzyme aromatase of testosterone to estrogen. Testosterone is the hormone that is responsible for your muscle, sex drive and focus. Estrogen on the other hand is quite the opposite. Too much estrogen will leave you weak and limp not to mention soft around the chest and hips. In a nut shell excess estrogen is what will leave you with a female fat patterning problem.
What to do about Man boobs?
Essentially getting rid of your man boobs is a two part strategy. Part one you will need to focus on reducing and clearing your estrogen and in part two the focus will be on increasing testosterone. The very first thing that will need to be addressed is your lifestyle.
One of the major causes of man boobs is excess beer. The hops in beers are highly estrogenic. If you’re going to drink then I suggest a Pinot noir or a merlot as these red wines are high in resveratrol, a powerful aromatase inhibitor meaning it prevents testosterone converting to estrogen.
Stop drinking those soy lattes. And it’s not just the soy lattes, soy is big business, it’s cheap and it’s everywhere. Unfortunately over the last decade, soy foods and good health have been inextricably linked in the nation consensus. This couldn’t be further from the truth. Soy contains chemicals that mimic estrogen and lower testosterone. Soy also has many other negative effects but that’s beyond the scope of this article.
Another big cause of excess estrogen in men is in water. More specifically, females that are on birth control pills will ultimately recycle the synthetic estrogen hormone back into the waterways only to be drunk by the unsuspecting male. The other issue I see is drinking from plastic bottles. The phyto-estrogen in plastic bottles can leach into the water having a feminising effect. I would suggest drinking from glass bottles and if you do drink from plastic, beware of the plastic leaching bisphenol A or BPA. BPA has been shown in numerous studies to be a hormone disrupting chemical which has been linked to a number of health issues including reproductive problems. Most plastic bottles are marked with a number which represents the type of plastic it is made of. Plastic with the numbers 3, 6 or 7 are best avoided.
Number 3 – Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) has di-2-ehtylhexyl phthalate – is an endocrine disruptor and more than likely a carcinogen
Number 6 – Polystyrene (PS) likely will leach styrene – again is another endocrine disruptor and more than likely a carcinogen
Number 7 – Polycarbonate contains bisphenol-A, a hormone disruptor.
Side note
– If you have young kids, make sure the bottle they drink from is BPA free.
Once we have made the necessary changes to your lifestyle it is time to address your nutrition
First and foremost, when it comes to diet you need to make sure you are getting adequate levels of Zinc. Low zinc means increased aromatase activity. Foods such as oysters, scallops, grass fed meat and organic walnuts are all high in zinc. Also a good zinc supplement will help too.
Cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower, kale, cabbage and brussel sprouts contain estrogen modulators and contain a phytochemical that reduces estrogen levels
The final step with your nutrition is a specific supplement protocol. DIM, calcium D-glucarate and grape seed extract are all fantastic natural anti-aromatise agents that will go a long way pulling out foreign estrogens. It is also a good idea to make sure you have enough fibre in your diet as low fibre intake will make it significantly harder to remove estrogens.
With both lifestyle and nutrition addressed it is now time to take a look at your training. As I mentioned earlier, doing deficit push ups are a great exercise but really aren’t going to do much for your moobs. The key with training is to do full body workouts, lift heavy weights and keep the rest time between sets down. Exercises such as heavy deadlifts and squats have been shown to produce the greatest amounts of testosterone and growth hormone.
If you have moobs then you don’t have to go on suffering. Just follow these simple steps and you will be amazed as you watch your soft chest become tight sculpted pecs.
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