I've got naturally good abs, but a [censored] chest. I used to be a tennis player, so you don't need any real chest strength. I'm trying to develop mu chest a little bit and it's definitely bigger in the month I've been hitting the gym hard.

I don't mind it though. Genetics and all that.

My father is a scientist, and when I was young he was experimenting on turning barrels into crates. I snuck into his lab one night, when he wasn't there, and a horrible transformation happened... A barrel was transfused into my chest, making my chest a mangled mixture of metal, wood and skin. There is no procedure to fix this, and so I fight crime to make use of my enhanced endurance. I am... Barrel Boy.

http://naurunappula.com/343391/sixpackes.jpg

Nope. I have good proportion all around.

Nah, I'm built like a twig. I have pretty nice abs though, which doesn't make sense because all I do is sit around.

Well, visible abs are more a function of being lean rather than being strong or particularly muscular. It's quite possible to just sit around and still be lean, depending on your calorie intake.

I'm not sure if I could describe myself as barrel chested or not. I've always had broad shoulders and been a bit stocky, but when I started lifting weightst I definitely took on a much thicker appearance. I guess my legs are also pretty big, so it's not like I have an absurdly large torso compared to the rest of my body.

i wear size 13s in 5'8 and im chubby
i look like a clown

Barrel chested means a naturally large ribcage, or a large ribcage as a result from other conditions. Doesn't have much to do with shoe size, height or fat.

i thought he asked for people who were deformed looking
my appologizes

Wait thats not me.... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pectus_excavatum?
If so yeah thats not me, I just can't run for long then
I thought you were trying to be funny with the opposite of a barrel chest or something

You can always try lifting some weights. I use to get called barrel chest when I hit double digits in age I hated it till I grew into it when I was older. Of course it probably helps that I work out a ton. I got asked a lot if I'm a boxer when I meet people, kinda nice to be mistaken for a respectable ruffian of sorts from time to time.

When it comes to proportion though I use to do a lot of sketching and such, if you compare your barefoot to your forarm - the legnth of your wrist to your elbow. If those match up in length you're probably pretty much in normal proportions everywhere else as well. Nobody is totally symetrical.

SCORE

When people say 'barrel chested', I picture something akin to the Orc in BoS's avatar, i.e. a mesomorph with a naturally broad and thick upper body. A body shape that is mainly genetic. I could never achieve a 'barrel chested' look no matter how long I lifted weights for or how much protein I ate - I simply don't have the basic body shape. I could certainly achieve a large, muscular chest in time, but it likely wouldn't be described as 'barrel chested'.

It's not fat, it's just that my ribcage is large. I have something around 10% body fat and I wrestle and play football and lift weights everyday.

I didn't call you fat. I was just saying you can grow more muscle if you're concerned about your arms or legs looking too skinny. I use to think my arms were skinny cause I didn't work my tricepts as much as bicepts I bulked up a lot when I started focusing on the right muscle groups when working out.

That doesn't really work. You end up looking rather thuggish. Apart from clothes never fitting properly, it's actually a positive: it gets women.

wear robes every wear, thats what i do, cept when i have to be at work.

I was generally considered more thuggish looking before I started weight lifting a lot. I wasn't clean cut, or buttoned down.. and all my friends were mostly thugs. Not me though I'm an angel.
Clothing depends how you want it to fit, I like having my shirt sleeves filled out.

Yup, 46" chest here...you're right about the lung capacity though. I remember back in school (I was about 9?) we were learning about lung capacity in Science...we all had to blow into this tube for as long as possible...then the teachers worked out our lung capacity from that.

I'll never forget her face when mine was LITERALLY double that of the guy in second place...

As far as looks are concerned, I just look big...on a 6 foot 5 inch frame, it just looks kinda imposing and.boss. Always funny when I turn up to a football (American Football) game at a place where we've never played before...they just kinda look at each other as if to say 'Damn, put 2 on him' In the shoulder pads and chest guard, it looks even bigger!

Embrace the barrel chest...soon, when swimming is no longer an option, we'll be the ones free-diving for pearls

EDIT:

As far as fashion/clothing is concerned, I find that with a barrel chest, it's better to where slightly tighter clothes. Wearing baggy t-shirts will create a 'sloping' effect, where the t-shirt will kinda 'slope' off your ribcage and, instead of hugging/following your stomach, it's go off at a diagonal and make you look pretty chubby, even if you aren't. Wearing the slightly 'huggier' shirts/tees will accentuate your chest, but in the right way.

Whenever wearing a shirt or jacket, I'll always wear a t-shirt underneath, then unbutton the shirt/unzip the jacket to just below my ribcage...that way, it's hugging the bottom half of the torso nicely, but it's releasing the chest so things don't feel too tight.

http://i286.photobucket.com/albums/ll100/Mightyracoon/26591_410136580445_581210445_550972.jpg - See how it hugs the body, but releases your neck and chest?

There are plenty more, but this'd just turn into the picture thread...you get the gist though, yeah? The collar frames the neck and head and further serves to make you look big, which is [u]good[/u[! Don't try to hide it, it'll just look like you're trying to hide fat or something. I find wearing a t-shirt underneath with a logo or a slogan is always good as it helps with the ladies...while you're chatting, they'll usually wanna read it and they'll pull your shirt apart to look...it's a way of flirting, and can tell you if a girl is interested

I'm no expert, but trust me, these things can help There's nothing to be embarrassed about!

My god... hang in there soldier. The internet needs you.

Yes, Racoon, we know the ladies love you.

Box chested.

Ha! That was so not the point of that picture...I promise?