Hilariously my most visited post keeps getting hits for the keywords “chest feeder workouts”, the topic of that post is not about chest specifically but feeders in general. In that one I mostly talked about improving my shoulders.
So taking the que from Google results, here you are chest feeder workouts:
Pushups Daily
Like I’ve said before I’ve done pushups near daily for almost a decade. My chest was always my most developed bodypart, but whether this was genetic, or from all those early in puberty pushups I do not know. I’d assume that it’s both. Regardless for anyone looking to bulk up their chest I can not recommend doing daily pushups highly enough. They are an essential part of a balanced day.
Start easy 10 a day, and over time ramp it up to any big # you like. 100 is not many, 250 is a decent # for this, 500 even better. Take those into consideration, and know this: I’ve done roughly 1000 in an hour before using perfect form. Depending on your structure and your leverages cutting the range short to even as little as say an inch for very high pumping reps may be the best for you. Nothing works my chest better than ultra high rep (250+ rep) sets at the very bottom of the pushup’s range of motion.
Bench Frequently
Growing has to do with both volume, and getting stronger. Pushups cover your volume, and benching is where you build the raw strength.
Bench( rotating through variations is acceptable, incline,flat, dumbells) as frequently as your shoulders will allow you to. The # of times per week can vastly be improved by doing shoulder health work such as plate external rotations, shoulder dislocates, and face pulls. It is smart to add in pull work to balance this pushing work.
You will want to treat your reps the way a Russian powerlifter would and keep it low rep, and only moderately weighted. Focus on power here, using your 5-8rm for multiple sets of 3 daily is the ticket. Add weight when it gets far too easy, but keep those protocols. This has been one of the ways I can bench all the time without issue, I keep the volume low.
If High Frequency Benching is Not An Option
If no matter what you try your shoulders act up to an unacceptable level, despite low volume speed reps,rehab work, and balancing out with pulling work it’s acceptable to not bench that frequently.
You’ll be fine with the pushups. In fact the volume can be just about infinite here. Do to the nature of closed vs open chain exercise, I’ve found balancing with back work isn’t that necessary with pushups. For bench it is.
So if benching is out of the question simply do lots of pushups, in any range of motion, daily. Simple. It may not be easy though.
Flexing/Squeezing
Simply flexing/squeezing your chest can be highly beneficial. Most positions are fairly hard to describe, I’d have to video them, so I’ll leave it up to you to find what method/position of contraction works.
Quick hints though :
- Push your shoulders downward
- Push your hands together
- Slowly push your hands outward
You can also focus on the contraction during the pushups you should be doing.
Dips
This really depends on your leverages, and what places/bar you’re using. If this works for you great, if not pushup.
Others
You could do flys, pec deck work, anything that hits your chest really, but this isn’t where I’ve put much if any of my time. Play around here, my other category may be exactly what works for you. An idea, light ultra high rep db flys laying on the floor( from Apocalypse Barbell Blogspot, site no longer available)
Recap
- Pushups Daily- build up the volume, use any range of motion
- Bench -For low volume, as frequently as you can allow, if your joints can’t take this it’s acceptable to drop
- Flex/Squeeze/Contract- Squeeze the shit out of your chest
- Dips- Like bench are an option
- Others- Whatever you come up with that works for you
Volume, and getting stronger. That’s how you build size.
Really if all you take away from this to apply to your chest feeder workouts is do lots of pushups every day I’ve made my mark.
Get It, And Do Pushups Daily. Build that Arnold Chest!
-J