A sensitive topic for many men, but ‘man boobs’ are a real and unfortunate condition them some men suffer from. The medical name for this condition is gynecomastia, which is most often seen in boys during puberty, but can in rare cases continue into later life.
Some men accumulate excess fatty deposits on their chest, and these fatty deposits often start to look like small breasts, which is why they are often referred to as ‘man boobs’. It is a medical condition, which is due to genetics. Our genes determine where we accumulate fat. Men mostly accumulate visceral fat, which surrounds the internal organs.
Women mostly accumulate subcutaneous fat, which builds up under the skin on the breasts, thighs and buttocks. However, sometimes the genetic wiring gets muddled, and women develop small bot bellies, and men develop female like breasts. So, how can you lose your ‘man boobs’? Can it be done with diet and exercise?
How To Lose Man Boobs
The are several ways to tackle ‘man boobs’. Extreme methods may involve surgery to remove fatty tissue or hormonal treatments to encourage the body to relocate its fat deposits. However, exercise and diet can help too.
If the medical approach is not an option, then the only way is to drastically reduce overall body fat. Although some recent research has suggested that spot reduction of fat is possible by working adjacent muscles, the best course of action is to aim to reduce total body fat and also build muscle to increase metabolism.
How To Use Intensive Exercise To Lose Weight
Intensive bodyweight circuit training exercises are possibly the best way to start this process. A major advantage of circuit training is that it can be done in the privacy of your own home, so there is no need to feel self conscious when working out. Also, it is free, as it requires no equipment or gym memberships. For those that are not sure if bodyweight circuit training will get you fit and toned, then remember that such exercises form the basis of most military fitness training and martial arts training.
We have several circuit training workouts featured here on MotleyHealth.com that will be suitable. However, this routine will also help you to burn fat and build muscle:
- Star Jumps – yes, that classic old school exercise, also known as jumping jacks. Similar to skipping, these will get your heart rate up and blood flowing. A good way to start a workout (after a few looseners/warm-up stretches). Aim to do about 50 in the first set.
- Squats – bodyweight squats are also a very effective exercise in terms of fat burning and muscle building. As they work large muscle groups, you quickly start to tire, and this increases fat burning as exercise becomes more intensive. Aim for 50 to start, and follow squats with alternate lunges.
- Alternate Lunges – start with your hands on your hips then take a long step forward, and sink your torso but keep your back erect. Once in the lowest comfortable position, push off on the front foot to return to the start position, and repeat with the other leg. Lunges are surprisingly tiring, especially after the star jumps and squats.
- Press ups – The legs should be tired by now, and blood racing though your body. So time to hit the chest and arms with press ups. Press ups will build muscle in the chest (potentially spot reduce some fat) as well as in the shoulders and arms, which can help to offset the fat. They are also useful for helping you to maintain an upright posture, which again helps to reduce the appearance of your ‘man boobs’.
- Crunches – After the leg exercises and press ups, you deserve a good rest, so do as many crunches as possible. Although these will not help with your chest directly, they will give a better full body workout.
- Squat Thrusts – The press-ups and crunches gave your legs a rest, so do a set of squat thrusts. These can be a real killer at the end of the circuit, and really get your heart rate thumping in the maximum fat burning zone.
- Vertical Jumps / Box Jumps – Box jumps are a fantastic plyometric exercise. You need a lot of practice in basic vertical jumps first though before you can perform a box jump. Box jumps are simply jumping from a stationary position up onto a box.
Once you have completed this circuit, take a short breather, then repeat. Aim to complete 500 exercises to start with. Star jumps can make up a bulk of these. A typical session may include three circuits (i.e. the above set of exercises repeated 3 times) with 150 star jumps, 125 squats, 50 lunges, 50 press ups, 75 crunches and 50 squat thrusts.
As you progress you can add more exercises, especially press ups. With a lean diet (see our fat burning food diet) and a healthier lifestyle you may be able to manage your body fat better.
Hi Kyle, you need to increase your running a little and really make sure that your diet is healthy. That means no sweets, no soda, just your daily meals, and ideally encourage your family to cook with more vegetables and less processed foods.
At 14 you should be able to run for 5 miles a day without much of a problem, athletes will be training similar distances by 14 years. Building it up over the next few weeks, aim to run 2 miles a day for the rest of this week, then next Monday try to increase it to 3 miles a day.
Hello, I have recently became a little concerned and aware of my weight, I have more chest thigh and belly fat then I would like to have, I am 21, 5 foot 11 and i weigh 180, I’m Moving to South Carolina next year, right on the beach so I figured its now or never, What should I do? Diet and exercise wise, Im willing to do anything (I don’t have time or money to throw at a gym currently) so anything “at home” would work great… please help! I’m more than motivated, I just need a get started push and a little information ya know? ALSO i do smoke, but i have cut down from a pack a day to 2 a day working on quitting all the way, thank you.. i look forward to your response.
Hi RJ, really any exercise is good so long as you do a lot of it. Running, swimming, cycling will all work, as well as circuit training, weight training or martial arts. If you exercise 3-5 times a week to a high intensity (i.e. working yourself hard, sweating, aching etc) then you will burn fat. As for diet, the key is to eat a well balanced diet and reduce total calories. Give your diet a full audit by keeping a diary for a week and then highlighting all the good things and all the bad things and working on improving it overall.
Hi, I’m 26 years old this month and I have always been on the heavy side. I’ve remained between 180 and 200 pounds almost my entire life (when I was younger it looked alot worse bc of my height)and never thought I would go over that weight. As I’m getting older I obviously got taller and the weight seemed to even out but now I’m weighing in around 220lbs at 5’10 and its ALL in my belly. My arms and legs are so thin I just don’t get it. I’ve been trying to eat less but its so hard to. What can I do to tone out and what should my weight be at this height and age? Also I work a desk job and I’m rarely active much, this week I will be doing some HARD workouts without weights and in my own home based on the guidelines of an article I found on your site to cut fat in my belly area and chest (man boobs are coming) I am really worried!
Hi Rob, really you just need to get into the habit of doing a regular workout and eating a healthy diet. There really is no “secret” to losing weight, it is just healthy diet and lots of exercise. Sounds like you have made the right start with the exercise. Mix it up, work on cardio fitness, bodyweight training and pure strength training. Cutting back on food is hard, but it gets easier in time. Plus exercise actually helps you to reduce appetite – you just have to overcome bad habit.
Ok thanks, what about my weight? where should I be as of now? Any ideas for me based on my height and age?
Depends on your build really, but at 5’10 you should be below 175 pounds with an average amount of muscle. If you train hard you will build muscle while losing fat though, so you should be aiming for something around 175 -185 pounds.
Okay. Thanks alot also what about loose skin around my belly area will that tighten up on it’s own?
Impossible to say, hopefully it will. Again, the healthier your diet is the better the chances of the loose skin also tightening up, but it is not really possible to predict what will happen, everyone is different.
Hello, I’m 22 years old and im 5’10 and i weigh 135 pounds. I have man boobs and i dont know how to reduce them. Please help because it looks very awkward since im thin.
Hi Rizwan, you really need to focus on getting yourself in shape. Doing a lot of exercise and eating a healthy diet. If this does not work, and give it at least 6 months, then you may want to consider visiting a doctor. But definitely give diet and exercise a go.
i am not fat or anything and i eat good, so why does this problem even exist
I could be a genetic variation or a medical condition.
yes you could be :P
Lol. Funny how one small letter can change the meaning of a sentence so much.
Hello, I am 17 years old and weigh 190 pounds. I have Noticeable “Man boobs” and a little fat on my stomch..I aim to do weightlifting the majority of the week (bench press, curl shoulder raises etc) and i also started to alternate between interval training and just burning calories in the last week(5-6) days. I want to get rid of my Man boobs and lose some belly fat and was wondering how long it would take to lose the belly fat and man boobs and in addition tone my body. P.s what time of day should i do my weightlifting and cardio to maximise weight loss? Thanks
Hi Brandon, hard to say how long it will take as the intensity of your exercise and diet are major determinants in speed of weight loss. Just work hard and eat clean and do your best. Regarding best time, bodybuilders often do cardio in the morning before eating and then weight training in the afternoon after a few meals (breakfast, snack, lunch). If it works for them then it is probably a good system to try.
Hi, I am 22 years and I’m 5’8 and I weigh 71kgs. I have mans boobs. how to get rid of it? I’m going to gym for the past 1 month and I’m doing muscle gaining workouts. another problem is that my left chest is little bit bigger than my right. I told about my problem to my trainer, but he said I can get rid of it if its going to be genetics. is it true? I fear because my father also have this. I used to do push ups along with my dad during my childhood days. later I stopped it. whether it could be a reason for getting mans boobs. pls help me. I’m confused. I’m ready to do anything to get rid of it. I want to have flat chest through workouts and diet. pls give me suggest me some ideas to get rid of mans boobs.
Hi Dinesh, first you need to give yourself every chance to lose the fat through healthy dieting and exercise. Give it a few months as it takes time to make big changes. If this still does not work then consider speaking to a doctor about it.
can you give me some dieting tips. both veg and non veg.
Take a look at the diet and nutrition section.
can i do decline chest exercise?. because i’ve mans boobs. i fear it would enhance it more.
Any build up of muscle under the fat has the potential to make the problem look worse. Best to focus on getting very fit and then working on the chest muscles later. Work on the larg muscle groups in weight training too, with squats, deadlifts, rows / pull downs, as well as shoulder presses an bicep curls.
Hi i am 27 years old and i always have this big belly and boobs problems. I’m 178cm and weight 101 kg. Early this year i hit the gym hard and lost about 12 kg in 2 months then i went about 3 times a week and manage to maintain my weight for another 2 months. After that 2 months untill now i’m back to my 100 kg weight. Now i started jogging for 30 minutes a day and eating wholemeal bread. I’ve move to another country hence i can’t go to gym anymore and i’m in southeast asian country where rice is like the main dishes here. I rarely eat any vegetables and the only fruits i like is grapes. So should i run more (like 2 times a day? By the way when i just started running i always feel short of breath but i always push myself to run at least 25to30 mins) or eat less?
Thanks.
Hi, I am 15 years old and 200lbs. I have man boobs and some fat on my stomach. During the school year it would be horrible, I couldn”t go through 1 whole day without someone beandiping me or making a comment about my man boobs. So I’ve been trying hard to get rid of the by doing push-ups, ab workouts, and body squats. And mountain climbers. But so far I don’t see much results other then my stomach flattening a little. And I’ve been doin this for a few weeks now.
Hi, i am 17 years old and i’m 5’6 and i weight 85kg. My -waist- size is 108cm and i have man boobs(CHEST SIZE-108 CM). I want to loose my BELLYFAT and MANBOOBS and become muscular, but i don’t know how to start,that is;
1.i don’t know how many calorie should i eat a day,
2.and what workout to do and how to plan it.
**At home i have a MANUALTREADMILL, 2 DUMBELL(10KG EACH), HAND GRIPPER,and a spring chest expander.
Hi Hansen, in short, you need to do both – run more and eat less. You did really well to lose 12 kg in 2 months and it is a real shame you gained it back. But you have proved that you can lose it when you work hard. It is really important that you try to improve your diet and rely less on rice. Vegetables are really important in a healthy diet. At 100 kg you are clinically obese, although if you have a lot of muscle then you may just be overweight. But you have to lose that fat for the sake of your health as well as how you look and feel. Take a look at our fitness section, we have various articles on circuit training and exercising at home. You can get fit and strong without the use of a gym. As for running, twice a day is good. The more you run the fitter you will get which will allow you to run more.
Hi Jorge, if your stomach has flattened then this means that you are losing fat and so it is working. Also look at your diet, reduce sugar and high GI carbs (like white bread, boiled white rice, all cakes, cookies etc). You can lose all of this weight if you keep working at it. Exercise every day. start walking / running too, ideally workout twice a day if possible. The more exercise you do, the fitter you will get and the quicker you will get in shape. I would also suggest that you consider taking up a martial art, as this will help you get fit too and may come in handy to quickly stop any unwanted advances on you.
Hi Johnson. For diet, it is more about what you do not eat, i.e. junk food, sugar etc. At 17, if you are exercising hard then you need around 2900 to maintain your weight. If you want to lose weight then you need to cut down to around 2000 Calories and still exercise hard each day. Workout plan: exercise twice a day, morning running / cardio session and an afternoon/evening circuit training / weight training session. You can do many of the exercises here with dumbbells: Beginning Weight Training. Rather than use the chest expander just do lots of burpees and push ups.
Hey it’s me again I had a question, right now I’m still vacationing here in Hawaii and theirs hardly any space to run and I was wondering if their are some at home cardio workouts I can do to prepare for football this season.
Nowhere to run in Hawaii? What about barefoot on the beach? Take a look at the fitness section, under home workouts and circuit training you will find plenty of routines you can follow.
Hi there,
my name is john and I am a 15 year old boy. I currently weight around 170 pounds and have quite a big belly. I currently do not exercise much and I don’t eat the best, and I am really wanting to get healthy and loose this belly.
What are your suggestions on a good starting workout & diet? I like most foods besides fish. I am motivated to do this and have read a lot about it, but I am looking for a good starting point and would like to hear from someone who knows a lot about this!
Thanks,
John
Hi John, hard to give a good starting point without knowing more. I would suggest though that you do these 3 things this week:
1. Go for a run. That is a good starting point! Aim to walk / jog / run for 20 minutes to start with.
2. Search for a martial arts club that is local. Don’t worry about the style, just find something nearby. Try it out, give it a month at least, you may find that you love it. If not, it will still teach you how to exercise as most classes include a physical fitness part.
3. Start eating healthy. This does not mean eat so called “health food”, but to not eat junk food and eat fresh fruits and vegetables, lean meats, dairy and ideally, learn to like fish. Fish is good!
Hi, 15 years ago I developed hypoglycemia, [ I’m age 58 now ] at the time I was 160 lbs, then my weight slowly climbed untill I reached 185 lbs! I understand hypoglycemia and how it works! 4 years ago I was badly injured at work, [I fell]. For 3 1/2 years I sat in my lift chair and ate and felt sorry for myself. My weight went up to 230 lbs! FINALLY 5 months ago, I decided to get fit again; I put on my special back brace and joined the local gym and started doing the recommended exercises by the fitness guide! I started an excellent eating program and I am sticking with it ,[about the same as you recommend here]
In 4 months I dropped down to 197, WOWWWWWWWWWWW,,,then I gained back 3 lbs, my fitness guide said I’m eating too much salmon now, [I didn’t before] I stopped and cut back to once a week ,but I still haven’t lost an OUNCE in over a month; I lost 6 inches of my stomach and a total of 16 inches overall in the first 4 months , nothing since ! I continue to eat properly and now I’m into a lot of cardio and weight training, PLUS I walk 2 -3 miles each morning after breakfast [1/2 this is uphill] SO FAR, NO RESULTS! OHH YES, I eat 3 glucose tabs before my morning walk and 5 more before my evening workout so as to give my the extra energy I need, I find it very to work-out for more than 1 hour if I don’t take them ! I also eat well and have 1/2 a protein drink before work-out and 1/2 protein drink, plus a small helping of chicken and veggies ! CAN YOU PLEASE GIVE ME SOME TIPS AS TO HOW TO KICK START MY METABOLISM AND START LOSING AGAIN ????
THANKS, WAYNE
Hi Wayne, I guess to start with, I trust that you are now monitoring you blood sugar levels on a regular basis? Do you take a basal insulin to ensure that you do not go hypo? It sounds like you are doing enough exercise so the key is ensuring that you balance your food intake, sugar levels and exercise.
Maybe rather than consuming more sugar before working out you actually need an extra dose of insulin. The lack of energy is due to no sugar in the muscles (i.e. no glycogen). If you consume more sugar but insulin is not present in large enough quantities then you will not take up that energy, and you risk raising blood sugar levels too high.
Have you spoken with your diabetes specialist about your exercise / diet and insulin regime recently? This is not an easy thing to get right so really it could be a case of seeking advice direct from the pros in this instance.
hey hey it’s been awhile wanted to say thanks for all the help !
a few month ago i was 81kilo now am at 83kilo after joiing a gym for 2 month am stronger and i can see some muscle on my bi-tri thanks for the all advice i still have my man boobs (i think it’s my loss skin ) but my chest got bigger by doing the bench press and push ups i can do push ups yay me thanks for all the help!! =D if u got any other tips for me i would love to get em currntly i think am gaining fat it’s ramadan i fast all day then i eat at night :P i eat normally and little but then by midnight i eat to much sweets and choclates and what not ;p
Hi Khalid, well, the first tip would be to eat healthier foods at midnight. Sweets and chocolates breakdown quick and will leave you feeling hungry by morning. Eat low GI vegetables, oats, lean meats (if allowed) and ideally a stew / soup as these help you to feel full for longer, and are better for your body.
hi i have been working out for 6 months lost 4 inches around the belly looking through your articles the circuit should it be done without stopping or can i stop after every exercise or after 2 sets
Either way. Stop if you need to, don’t stop if you don’t need to. Best to pause at the end of the circuit.
Ok so this is 3rd post since I started my workout. So now I started at 157 lbs now I’m 137 lbs after 7 months. I do 50 curls 30 presses 30 shoulder lifts with 15 lbs weights. Then I do 30 pushups with my hands far apart and 20 with my hands almost touching. Then I do 1 min 30 sec of planks 10 sit-ups with one leg up and then the other leg up then I do 30 sit up with both of my legs up then I do some arm exercise for 60 seconds then I run for 30 mins then I jog for 30 mins. Then I repeat the upper body stuff without the planks and the random arm things. And yah. Am I doing this right because I seem to be losing weight my stomach is all tight now when I jump my muscles ripple and I feel great. Btw I’m 14
Hi, my weight is 110 kg, age is 21, height is 172 cm. Due to heavy weight I cant able to do heavy exercise. Can you say simple exercise to reduce weight for initial stages. I need your complete guide. Can I really reduce my weight to 74 kg. Is possible that tread mill can reduce body weight.
Just need to lose a bit of stomach fat and got slight man boobs. I eat a white bread ham sandwich at 11am, which is kind of a breakfast / lunch meal, and a cooked dinner, changes daily. I only want to lose my stomach fat and man boobs so I only do 100 sit-ups a day, but I want to lose it quickly so could u give me some advice for quick fat loss, and exercises / work-outs I can do at home.
I am 5ft 10in and weigh 10 stone + 14 years, have slight stomach fat and small man boobs, is that ok for my age?
Hi Andrew, sounds good. You are getting fitter and stronger, well done. Remember that any workout plan is only a guide, if you change parts to suit you then that shows that you are in control and are focusing on what is needed to get the results that you need – so well done.
Hi Ersh, you need to start with walking and build it up from there. Take a look at our walking plan first. Set yourself a daily routine (say 45 minutes of structured walking every day) and build from there. To lose weight you just need to consistently burn more calories than you eat. If you treadmill can incline (slope) then use that function and walk uphill too – this burns a lot more calories and will help you to get fitter faster.
Hi Ben, take a look at our fitness section, there are several circuit training / callisthenic workouts that you can do at home. Swap your sandwich for a healthier option, such as wholemeal bread with egg or chicken and salad. Also get more cardio – go running as well as doing bodyweight workouts.
This is BS! Gynecomastia cannot be cured via exercise. I started growing man boobs (gynecomastia) when I was in the 2nd grade! I spent all my elementary and middle school years wearing a jacket to hide them so that other kids wouldn’t tease. I got a breast reduction the summer before I entered high school. I get angry when I see so many people treating this topic as a joke or when they respond with diet and exercise is the cure. REAL gynecomastia is when a man has glandular tissue which cannot be cured by diet or exercise— the only option is surgery. Have empathy because this condition really kills a kids self-esteem.
We do say that surgery is needed and that exercise can be a solution. Exercise should be the first approach as often there is just a tendency for some males to accumulate more fatty tissue than average, and this can be reduced with a healthier lifestyle. Also it often affects boys in puberty and then subsides once the changing hormone levels have subsided, so again surgery is not required and should not be really encouraged until you are sure the problem persists after puberty. Some health professional may suggest hormonal treatment before surgery too. It is a difficult issue though and for many immediate action is wanted. Another benefit of exercise is that it actually raises testosterone levels which can help to address the balance between testosterone and estrogen. We are not saying that exercise is the solution for everyone, but it should certainly been a first port of call.
Hey it’s me again I’d love to say thanks for helping me out and everything. I still have my man boobs and belly I mainly think it’s loose skin but here’s the story again. After my weight loss 160 KG to 80KG then started strength training as u told me so and gained 2 kilo of muscle. Then I kinda stopped working out gained 4 kilo of fat ;p 86KG. Been eating alot of sweets, don’t know whats happening to me. I can do a biceps curl using about 15-18KG Dumbbells is that good? I wasnt able to do 5KG XD XD reached doing 16 push ups in a row. I did strength training, my squats reached 80KG total weight then I had to stop due to school-work. I don’t know how to fix my eating since I cant do the count calorie thing nor can I do it in the family-friends don’t know what is a hell a calorie we just have a if u eat alot u need to work alot XD
I saw this current thing that helps u lose weight, kinda works about eating 27 dates throughout the day and on each mean which is 3 meals, you drink yogurt or milk with it what do u think ?
the date thing was used to in the old days to get energy to do work when there was no food ;P
Hi Khaled, it sounds like you made some good progress. I do not like the sound of the 27 dates diet, not a balanced diet. You do need healthy fats and proteins and dates alone is not going to provide this. Curling 15-18 kg is good, so well done. Just goes to show that with some determination you can trim fat and build muscle. Junk food is probably your biggest problem at the moment and you just have to be strict with yourself. Avoid places that sell junk food and always ensure that there is some healthy food close at hand. Well done, just increase exercise as you get fitter and keep looking at ways to reduce junk and processed food.
Thanks ya thats what i thought my friend did it he lost about 7-10KG a week without excersing maybe a few walk a week .. but ya i wont get all my fats and proteins ya thats my biggest problem for sure i want to ask something i’v been wanting to do a diamond press up i still cant do it any tips ? and i’v gained my 5kg of fat in like 2-3month by eating alot on a few weeks and not eating alot :P like u might see me in 1day i eat 10k calorie of food then just sleep :P i dont know why it happens but it does