How to build chest muscles at home with push-ups

Author: Timko Ilya - master of the whole project and fitness trainer.
2014-12-14

This article will be of interest primarily to those who train at home and have absolutely no workout equipment. Of course, workouts without dumbbells, barbells, and pull-up bars are less effective. But there are people who cannot afford to buy enough equipment for full-fledged workouts. I've already written about how to strengthen your legs without equipment. Now I will tell you about the chest muscles.

Naturally, we will work on the chest using push-ups. I will present to you 5 types of push-ups and then explain how to best combine them throughout the week. So, let's get started.

Effective Push-ups for the Chest

These are classic push-ups from the floor. However, a wide grip does not mean the wider the better. A sufficient width is 2 shoulder widths. Ultimately, how effectively the chest works depends not on the width of the hand placement but on how much you spread your elbows to the sides.

This type of push-up evenly trains the entire chest muscle. It is very important to ensure that your legs and back are aligned in a straight line. In other words, do not lift or lower your pelvis.

2. Push-ups from Stands

There are two options. The simpler one is when you only place your hands on the stands. The more complex one is when you place both your hands and feet on the stands.

For the second option, stands of 10-20 cm will be enough. For the first option, the higher the stands, the easier it gets. Why is this done?

I think you've already guessed. Stands allow you to lower yourself more, thus stretching the chest more. In other words, the efficiency of this exercise will be higher. After all, the greater the difference between stretching and contracting the muscle, the harder this muscle works.

3. Push-ups with Raised Legs/Pelvis

If you only raise your pelvis, it's easier. If you raise your legs, it's harder. But the stand for your legs should be quite high (at least 50 cm), and you must not lower your pelvis (your legs and back should be aligned in a straight line).

What is the essence of this exercise? The point is that in this position, the upper part of your chest will work more. It’s all about the angle between your back and arms. And the angle of inclination of your back depends on the height of the raised pelvis. The higher your pelvis is, the more the upper part of your chest will work.

Do not place your hands too close together. It's enough to be slightly narrower than shoulder width. Keep your elbows close to your sides. In such push-ups, the triceps and chest are engaged.

Naturally, if your goal is chest development, it is better to do these push-ups either after basic push-ups or separately. If you do them at the beginning, your triceps will fatigue, and you won’t be able to train your chest effectively because the triceps will fail before the chest does.

In this case, the triceps work more than the chest. However, the upper part of the chest also engages well. Therefore, it’s best to do this exercise after basic chest push-ups or separately from all others.

For a fairly developed man, doing push-ups in this way is not difficult. Therefore, you can place something heavy on your thighs. What you use is up to you. The stand for your feet should be either the same height as for your hands or even a bit higher.

How to Combine These Push-ups

So, I've presented you with 5 types of push-ups. Of course, you don't have to do all 5 push-ups every day. For good growth of your chest muscles, it is necessary to follow a specific system. Now I will give you such a system:

Monday:

Wednesday:

• Push-ups from Stands (3-4 sets of 10-20 reps)
• Push-ups with Raised Legs/Pelvis (3-4 sets of 10-20 reps)

Friday:

You can do these on other days of the week as well. However, it is preferable to have a rest day between workouts.

As you can see, the recommended number of push-ups is between 10 and 20. Why this range? This range of push-ups is optimal for muscle mass growth. Less than 10 repetitions will not give the muscles enough time to fatigue. More than 20 repetitions will focus more on endurance rather than mass.

Each week, you need to change the number of repetitions within these limits. But, of course, you should change not only the number of repetitions but also the weight of the resistance. A backpack filled with, for example, water bottles can serve well as such resistance.

Yes, you will need such resistance. If you do push-ups without weight, the number of repetitions will increase, but the mass of the chest muscles will not grow (except perhaps at first). I believe that creating such a resistance at home is not a problem.

Thus, it is quite possible to build large chest muscles with just push-ups. After all, push-ups are basic exercises for the chest muscles. However, to create a proportional body, some equipment is already needed. For the upper body, this would be pull-up bars and dip bars. For the lower body, you will need a barbell or dumbbells. Good luck!