Breast Reduction: Info, Prices, Photos, Reviews, Q&A

Gynecomastia is a medical condition to describe overly large breasts in men. Affecting 40-60% of men, gynecomastia can occur in men of all ages, body types and weights and is generally caused by a hormone imbalance, hereditary predisposition or excess weight.

So even with the most diligent workout regimen and eating right, bottom line – massive chest exercises, or any other for that matter, simply won’t work to correct this condition.

For men who suffer from gynecomastia, a breast reduction is the ideal procedure to reduce the breast size as it addresses the patient’s underlying issue of excess fat, glandular tissue and skin. (David Whiteman, MD, Atlanta Plastic Surgeon)

Because gynecomastia is marked by excess breast tissue, it is not possible to reverse its effects by pure exercise.

At this point, your body has already developed the extra skin. Though exercise can make the area appear slightly more firm because of the production of muscle, surgery is the only effective option.

That being said, if you are not committed to having surgery or are still feeling apprehensive for any reason, do not rush into making a final decision. (Jonathan Hall, MD, Boston Plastic Surgeon)

True gynecomastia is a glandular tissue that exists under the areola and surrounding tissues. Exercise will not correct it. It might make it more pronounced with loss of fat. (Ron Hazani, MD, FACS, Beverly Hills General Surgeon)

True gynecomastia refers to an excess of glandular tissue which makes the breast look more feminine. Excess fatty tissue, while looking like gynecomastia, is referred to as pseudogynecomastia. True gynecomastia cannot be corrected by chest exercises.

Only surgery can correct it. True pseudogynecomastia may be corrected with diet and exercise. (Babak Dadvand, MD, Los Angeles Plastic Surgeon)

Impact of chest exercises on gynecomastia

Chest exercises will not improve gynecomastia. In some cases, if you have lost a lot of weight due to fat loss, the skin can become saggy. Development of the pectoral muscle can fill this up a little bit.

But true gynecomastia, due to excess glandular tissue, will not go away or respond to any exercise plan. Even extremely lean individuals and competitive bodybuilders and athletes with large pectoral muscles will get gynecomastia. (Terence Michael Myckatyn, MD, Saint Louis Plastic Surgeon)

Diet will not reduce the actual amount of glandular tissue, which all men and women have to a greater or lesser degree. Weight gain or loss and muscle development will change the amount of fat/muscle and will affect contour of your chest and may either camouflage or exacerbate the appearance of the breast bud in gynecomastia. (Jeffrey D. Wagner, MD, Indianapolis Plastic Surgeon)

The standard treatment for gynecomastia is a procedure to remove the tissue

Diet won’t help. Exercise won’t make a difference. Weight loss is a great thing if you are overweight but it often makes gyno appear worse. Lotions, potions and pills won’t help gynecomastia. You actually need to find a gynecomastia expert and she/he will help you. (Robert Caridi, MD, Austin Plastic Surgeon)

Exercise will make your muscles stronger

Exercise will make your muscles stronger and firm and you’ll feel better. But it will do nothing to reduce any fat or extra male breast tissue in front of the muscle. The only thing that does that is surgery.

And once those are removed, your pecs will finally be visible again. So it will pay to keep working out! (Steven Teitelbaum, MD, Los Angeles Plastic Surgeon)

Gynecomastia and exercise

In fact, if you bulk up your Pectoralis muscles [PECS] you will push your Gynecomastia out farther especially in a T shirt, it will project MORE. (Richard A. D’Amico, MD, FACS, Englewood Plastic Surgeon)

Can Gynecomastia Be Corrected with Chest Exercises?

It really depends on whether or not you have true gynecomastia with glandular tissue or pseudo gynecomastia with just fat.

If it’s the latter then it may be amenable to exercise. If it’s truly glandular and there is no medical reason for it then nothing will improve it other than surgery. (Mathew A. Plant, MD, FRCSC, Toronto Plastic Surgeon)

If your gynecomastia is caused by excess fatty tissue, then it is possible to address it with exercise and diet. However, saggy skin and excess glandular tissue may not be improved. (Michael Constantin Gartner, DO, Paramus Plastic Surgeon)

No, gynecomastia can only be corrected by surgery. Many young men get gynecomastia and in most it resolves without problems.

For those whom persist with enlarged breasts, surgical intervention is the only solution.

This involves liposuction and/or excision of the breast gland. (Kurtis Martin, MD, Cincinnati Plastic Surgeon)

Only is select circumstances. It would only be effective if the person has very small gynecomastia and transforms their chest and pecs to a great degree, so the balance is shifted significantly between the gynecomastia and the pec development.

It would also seem to work if the person became very lean during this transformation and the gynecomastia resolved by way of weight loss. (Gregory Diehl, MD, FACS, Long Island Plastic Surgeon)

Typically it is not possible to treat gynecomastia with chat exercise. The problem is a combination of skin, breast tissue and fat, which is best treated with surgery. (Gary Lawton, MD, FACS, San Antonio Plastic Surgeon)

There are no known effective exercises for reducing gynecomastia. Exercise may diminish the fatty component but unlikely the breast tissue component. (John Nguyen, MD, FACS, Houston Plastic Surgeon)

General exercise and weight loss can help with enlarged male breasts if they are due to excess fatty tissue, usually associated with obesity and a high Body Mass Index. In this case, the technical term would actually be “Pseudo-gynecomastia”, or “false” gynecomastia which today is probably the most common cause of enlarged male breasts.

However, If you actually have what some people call “True” or “Real” gynecomastia, which is associated with an abnormal overgrowth of glandular and fibrous tissue beneath the areola, then Diet and exercise are not effective in improving this condition, and targeted chest exercises would not be helpful either. (David F. Pratt, MD, Kirkland Plastic Surgeon)

Although extensive chest and pectoral exercise will not diminish the amount of true glandular breast tissue, improving the tone of the Pectoral muscles, Serratus and shoulder girdle (Deltoids, Trapezius, Latissimus, Biceps and Triceps), will improve the appearance of the chest.

This is much more important AFTER your GYNECOMASTIA is corrected, particularly if you are out of shape or somewhat over weight. I perform a great deal of gynecomastia surgery and I have routinely seen people tremendously improve their overall result by working out post surgery.

Remember that, in my opinion, Cardio workouts with chest workouts are essential to improve overall health and appearance. (Samuel N. Pearl, MD, San Jose Plastic Surgeon)

Chest Exercises Usually Do Not Help with Male Breast Tissue Growth

In the vast majority of patients with gynecomastia, exercises will not improve the condition. Many of these patients have identifiable causes of gynecomastia. These may include normal imbalances and the ingestion of specific drugs. Prescription drugs, alcohol, marijuana, and steroids have all been associated with the development of breast enlargement.

In these cases, cessation of the offending agent may reverse gynecomastia, but exercise will have no impact. In rare cases, where gynecomastia is associated with extreme weight gain, exercise and subsequent weight loss might impact breast size.

Unfortunately, this weight loss might be associated with the development of secondary problems such as breast sag. In addition, extreme exercises may actually make gynecomastia more noticeable. Enlargement of the pectoralis muscles and the lowering of body fat percentages can make gynecomastia more apparent.

In some cases, rigorous exercise may be accompanied by the use of dietary supplements and steroids, which have been shown to make gynecomastic worse. In the majority of cases of male breast enlargement, surgery will be necessary.

Exercise may result in minimal changes, which probably won’t address the patients concerns. It’s important to contact a board-certified plastic surgeon and obtain a consultation. This surgeon should be able to make an appropriate recommendation. (Richard J. Bruneteau, MD, Omaha Plastic Surgeon)

Correction of Gynecomastia with Exercises

I do not think exercise will improve gynecomastia. Only 3 ways to improve:

1. If due to medication, steroids, marijuana, alcohol: stop the offending drug
2. Undergo an endocrinology evaluation to determine if it is a hormonal problem
3. Surgical treatment. (Paul S. Gill, MD, Houston Plastic Surgeon)

Massive chest exercises will have NO impact on gynecomastia. Diet & exercise do not result in spot reduction, they result in generalised weight loss. Therefore surgery is the only option. Depending on the size, & content (ratio of fat to glandular tissue) it would be best addressed by liposuction alone or gland excision with lipo. (Sameer Karkhanis, MS, DNB, India Plastic Surgeon)

Exercise to remedy gynecomastia?

True gynecomastia will not resolve with any exercises or building up of the chest. In fact, many young men who are bothered by gynecomastia during puberty will focus on chest training, sometimes complaining that building of the chest actually seems to make the condition look worse.

In most cases, the combination of glandular tissue under the nipple-areolar complex, and the surrounding fat, which is resistant to weight loss, can only be eliminated with excision and liposuction. (Richard Silverman, MD, Newton Plastic Surgeon)

Usually gynecomastia is extra soft tissue that resides on top of the muscle. Making the muscle larger is not going to effect the breast tissue on top. (Jeffrey J. Roth, MD, FACS, Las Vegas Plastic Surgeon)

Chest exercises do not correct gynecomastia

Gynecomastia usually presents with enlarged breasts due to either extra fat and/or enalrged breast tissue. It is independent of the pectoral muscle. Exercise affetcs only the muscle which will have no bearing on the enalrged breast mound.

Furthermore if you want to show off your “pecs” you need to correct the camouflaging effect of the gynecomastia first. Afterwards you can work out and build up the pecs. (George Lefkovits, MD – Account Suspended, New York Plastic Surgeon)

Exercises for gynecomastia correction

Although chest exercises will help tone the underlying pectoral muscles, exercise alone will not rid your body of the excess fat. A patient should initiate a rigorous exercise regimen with a balanced diet to decrease the fat percentage throughout their body.

Combined with a rigorous exercise regimen, this weight loss will accentuate the underlying pectoral muscles. For any fat that remains in this area, ultrasound by the suction is an excellent technique to rid yourself of this stubborn tissue. (Pat Pazmino, MD, FACS, Miami Plastic Surgeon)

Exercise doesn’t help gynecomastia

Gynecomastia is breast tissue. Although there may be a fat component to it, if you are asking if getting your pecs bulked up will make it go away, no it won’t. Also bulking up using anabolic steroids would be the worst thing to do, as steroids often cause gynecomastia. (Douglas J. Mackenzie, MD, Santa Barbara Plastic Surgeon)

Chest exercises will make gynecomastia worse.

1. Unfortunately, chest exercises just make your pectoral muscles bigger, which makes your chest bulge out more on each side, which is exactly what you don’t want. In Manhattan, we have seen this happen over and over again.
2. Male breast reduction is really the only solution. The good news is that it is pretty easy and almost scarless. (George J. Beraka, MD (retired), Manhattan Plastic Surgeon)

Gynecomastia is enlargement of the male breast. The causes are varied but include obesity. Weight loss and exercise will help in this case. However, in most cases gynecomastia is caused by excessive breast tissue and exercise and weight loss will have little effect.

I usually do Slim lipo for gynecomastia and sometimes include a minor excision of the excess breast tissue through a small incision. (Joel B. Singer, MD, New York Plastic Surgeon)

Exercise will not usually get rid of gynecomastia. Exercise and weight loss can change how you look and reduce some of the fat, but will not typically reduce much of the breast tissue. The best way to correct gynecomastia is surgery, either by excision, liposuction, or both.

It is important before sugery to be examined and make sure you have no health conditions that are making your breast increase in size. You would also want to stop taking any drugs or medications that may be increasing your breast size.

Lastly, you should be at a stable weight as well. (Sam Speron, MD, Chicago Plastic Surgeon)

Gynecomastia can NEVER be reversed by exercise

Unfortunately, Gynecomastia (Man Boobs) can never be reversed by serious exercise. A a matter of fact a large portion of men suffering from gynecomastia are former athletes. A lot of drugs and disease can cause Gynecomastia but the commonest cause is an unknown cause.

The only effective treatment for gynecomastia is surgery: Depending of the extensiveness of the Gynecomastia, it can be liposuction along, liposuction with excision of the breast gland or a mastectomy. (Peter A. Aldea, MD, Memphis Plastic Surgeon)

Exercise will not get rid of gynecomastia. It may change the way you look and may help reduce the body fat but otherwise will not get rid of the breast tissue. If you are very heavy and have large breasts the gynecomastia may be mostly fat and a general fat reduction may help you. (John P. Stratis, MD, Harrisburg Plastic Surgeon)