What's going on, guys?
Sean Nalewanyj on www.SeanNal.com.
Sorry if the lighting is a little bit dark here, but in this video today we're talking
about one of the biggest challenges natural lifters often face, especially those who want
to stay relatively lean as well, which is the fact that when you're wearing a tank top
or you're shirtless you're going to have that nice impressive muscular look but then once
a regular shirt goes on over top it basically eats you alive and leaves you looking like
you don't even lift.
Now obviously that's a bit of an exaggeration but there's no question that you will tend
to look quite a bit different shirtless versus wearing a shirt.
Because in clothes most of your muscle definition gets hidden and if you're maintaining a lean
body fat percentage then you actually won't be that objectively big in the first place,
and so clothes can really shrink you down if you don't dress yourself properly or build
your physique properly.
So in this video I'm going to give you a few basic tips you can use to look bigger in a
shirt and maximize your overall muscularity in clothes.
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So the first question is: which muscle groups are going to be the most important to develop
to really make your upper body look bigger and more muscular in clothes.
Now, this is kind of a tough question to answer because every muscle group is ultimately important
in bringing your whole physique together.
And if you're still a beginner or an intermediate then you should be training everything equally
anyway.
But if I had to focus in on a certain area I'd say that your delts and upper back are
probably going to have the biggest overall impact on giving you that wider more muscular
appearance in clothes.
The difference between having flat narrow delts versus rounder more pronounced delts
is pretty significant in terms of the overall size that it'll give your upper body.
So make sure your delt training is dialed in, the most important areas there being the
lateral and the posterior heads because those are the heads that are going to produce that
round 3D look.
And I did a video on that previously that I'll link in the description box below if
you want to check out my top recommended exercises for effective delt training.
And then for upper back, things like shrugs, face pulls, deadlifts or rack pulls, those
are all going to hit your upper back nicely as well.
I mean, so will rowing exercises as well if you pull the weight higher up more toward
your chest area rather than down towards your waist.
Arms are obviously important too so we can't you know exclude those especially if you're
wearing shorter sleeves.
And one area that sometimes gets overlooked is the long head of the tricep which really
adds a lot of mass to your upper arm on the backside.
And you can specifically focus on the long head by doing overhead tricep extension exercises.
And then one final area that also tends to get neglected but that will make you look
decently bigger in a shirt is having a thicker neck.
Now, this is an area I used to train back in my heavier bodybuilding days.
I've admittedly been neglecting it in recent years and it does show.
I'm personally not really into the bulkier look anymore though my neck could still use
some work regardless since it is naturally thinner, but yeah, having a thicker neck definitely
does make a noticeable difference in clothes.
And if I look back at older pictures of myself and I can really see the difference actually.
So maybe that is something that I will add back into my plan soon.
But in any case, deadlifts or rack pulls as well as shrugs those are going to increase
your neck size by training the levator scapulae muscles.
And then if you really want to hone in on your neck more closely, if it is naturally
thin, then you can also train your neck flexors and your neck extensors by lying on a bench
and doing neck curls or neck extensions.
So that's, sort of, the muscle building side of it.
Every muscle group is important but those are the main ones that contribute the most
when you're wearing a shirt, I would say.
Now, aside from that you also have to pay attention to your actual clothing choices
because this can have a big effect between just looking average versus really showing
off your physique nicely.
So the first thing is to buy properly fitted clothes, which seems obvious but it's still
something that a lot of guys really miss the boat on.
If your shirt is too loose and too baggy then your muscles are obviously going to be more
covered up and if it's too tight then it's just not going to look good and as well, if
it's too tight it could actually make you look smaller if you are fairly lean.
So you ideally want to land somewhere in the middle, meaning a shirt that's snug and form-fitting
where your muscle definition is visible.
It should be hugging your shoulders and arms but not over-the-top and excessively tight.
And you also want the shirt to be a bit more snug around the waist area as well rather
than just hanging down all loose and baggy because by having it tighter it's going to
give you the appearance of a smaller waist and that's going to accentuate that v-taper
look and make your shoulders look wider, and tighter fitting v-necks are a really good
choice for this, by the way.
Another thing to pay attention to is the length of your sleeves because this can really affect
how big or how small your arms look.
If the sleeve comes down too far and it covers most of your upper arm then they're going
to look a lot smaller, whereas a sleeve that cuts off higher up, maybe like an inch or
two below your delts, that's going to make your arms look a lot bigger since more of
your biceps and triceps are going to be visible.
And then if you really want to take this a bit further you can also look at the color
of your shirts.
That's because dark colors are technically more slimming.
This isn't something I personally worry about.
Black is actually my favorite color.
It's what I wear most often but if you do want to fully maximize how big you look, lighter
colors, especially white, will technically make you look a bit bigger overall.
And then aside from your muscular development and your clothing choice, another big thing
to consider is your body fat percentage.
So keep in mind that if you're going for that leaner more aesthetic look by trying to keep
your body fat more toward the low “teen-area”, so around twelve percent or so, you're probably
going to look more muscular and more impressive with your shirt off or in a tank top but you're
going to look smaller in clothes since you won't be as big overall.
Whereas if you go a little bit higher, maybe closer to fourteen or fifteen percent, you'll
lose some of that muscle definition but your physique is going to look thicker and fuller
and you'll look more muscular in clothes.
So you really have to find the right balance for yourself depending on your personal preference.
And for those guys who really want that bulkier sort of bodybuilder/power lifter type of look,
going even higher at around seventeen or eighteen percent is still acceptable.
You know, as long as you're still within a healthy body fat range, which would be anything
below about twenty percent for men, from there it just comes down to personal preference.
So if you do want to look more muscular in clothes and that's more important to you than
looking aesthetic with your shirt off then increasing your calorie intake slightly and
carrying a bit more body fat, you know, more overall water retention more glycogen, that's
going to fill your physique out more noticeably.
And then one final thing to take into consideration as well is your posture.
Now, I'm not saying to go over-the-top with this and develop exaggerated posture and turn
it to one of those dudes shredding around on the street with imaginary lat syndrome
all day, but maintaining proper posture with your chest up, your shoulders back, you're
head in a neutral position, arms at your sides, that's going to help to accentuate your appearance
as well in comparison to having closed off posture, you know, with your shoulders hunched
forward and your head hang forward.
Not to mention that that's just better for your body anyway.
So to quickly sum this up, if you want to maximize your appearance in clothing and look
bigger in a shirt, every muscle group is important but some of the ones that really stand out
in a shirt are your delts, upper back, neck and arms.
You also want to wear clothes that are form-fitting but not too tight.
Slightly shorter sleeves.
Lighter colors.
Don't try to get too lean because you'll lose muscle fullness, which will really come through
in clothes.
And make sure to maintain proper open posture as well throughout the day.
All of these things along with just having a well-developed physique in general that's
going to accentuate your appearance in clothes and show off your physique as nicely as possible.
So I hope this was helpful, guys.
If you want to grab my complete step-by-step plan that will show you how to fully optimize
your gains and look great both in a shirt and without one, the workouts, nutrition guidelines,
recommended supplements along with one-on-one coaching, then you can grab my complete Body
Transformation Blueprint by clicking the little icon at the top of the screen here, or by
heading over to www.BTBlueprint.com.
The link is in the description box.
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Thanks for watching, guys.
And I'll talk to you again soon.