Exercises can be of two types- weight training and body weight exercises. Weight training is what you do at the gym, with your heavy weight machines and equipments. A gym also comes with a personal trainer, who can show you how to go about your exercises, and which ones to do so that you train the right muscles. However, circumstances may not always allow you to go to the gym. Thankfully, there are a number of body weight chest exercises that you can do at home to tone those chest muscles and killer pecs without dishing out a bunch of money for your gym membership.
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Body weigh exercises are essentially exercises which you can do on your own without any equipment like dumbbells or bench presses. All you need is your own body weight. This is in fact, considered better than weight training exercises, because it takes into consideration your body and how much it can be pushed. Therefore, exercises can be customized accordingly, and you can control how it affects your body by doing a certain amount of reps and sets for each exercises.
Suggested read: A Step-By-Step Guide On The Most Effective Full Body Bodyweight Workout
Today, we are going to be telling you about the best body weight chest exercises, which you can literally do anywhere. Even though you might be dubious initially (since none of these exercises make use of heavy equipment), you are going to change your mind once you see the positive changes occurring in your body, especially your pectoral muscles and chest area.
1. Standard pushups
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There is nothing better than pushups for your chest. These are exercises that trainers make you do at the gym as well, because they are excellent for your chest muscles. It not only affects your chest, but also builds muscle mass in your entire upper body. It builds muscle in your torso, biceps, triceps and shoulders. It also makes your arms lean and strong.
Even though pushups are some of the most common exercises, few people know how to do pushups the right way. In order to ensure that your pushups have the maximum effect on you, make sure you are holding the right posture, and doing the exercise right.
Place your hands, palms facing down, on the ground. Your elbows should be placed away from your body at an angle, but your arms shouldn’t be too far apart. They should parallel to your elbows. Your toes should be touching the ground, and your face should be facing forward. Lift your torso with the weight of your hands and your chest muscles till your hands are completely straight. Do not let your spine or your knees bend. Go back down to your starting position, and you will have completed one rep. 30 pushups are a standard place to start, and you can slowly increase the numbers from there.
2. Alternating staggered pushup
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The next exercise is a pushup that is great for building the upper portion of your chest, and replacing the fat with lean muscles in areas like your shoulders, your collar-bone area and your upper arms. This will also give you the nice curvature on your pecs, which is an indication that you are fit and strong.
Alternating pushups are just like pushups, with a slight tweak in the method. Your starting position should be the raised position of a standard pushup- with your arms outstretched and your body straight. Instead of placing your arms side by side for this one, put one arm a little ahead of your shoulder and one a little below (say parallel to your chest) and go down till your elbows are bent at a 90 degree angle.
When you come back up, alternate your hands, and put the one at the back forward, while bringing the front hand backward, and go back down again. Do this at least 10 times to begin with, and then you can increase the number of reps that you are able to do during the course of one workout.
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3. One-hand pushups
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Once you are used to doing the standard pushup, you won’t have trouble trying out different variations of the pushup, such as the staggered pushup and the one-hand pushup. Even though the one hand pushup is not easy to do if you are a novice and a beginner, a little practice can go a long way in helping you master this exercise.
Your starting position should be that of a standard pushup, with your outstretched arms placed palms-down on the floor in front of you, parallel to your shoulders. Then, put one arm on the back of your spine, and bring your body down. Lift yourself back up using one hand, and that will complete one set. Do 5 on each hand, and that will complete one set.
4. Star plank
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A star pushup is a variation of the traditional plank that is suitable for both experts and novices. It not only builds your chest muscles, but also tones your arms and your pecs and your abdomen, as it is directly effective on your core strength. The starting position of this is also like a standard plank, with a few minor changes.
Instead of keeping your arms parallel to your shoulders and tucked into your body, you keep your arms as far apart as you can, as you would do in the upward position of a pushup, only you’re your arms spread wider. Similarly, instead of keeping your feet close together, spread them too, so that you body makes a star shape. You don’t have to bring your body up and down in this exercise. You simply have to hold this position for 30 seconds to a minute, with the time gradually increasing as your body becomes stronger and more used to the exercise.
5. Dips
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People don’t often associate dips with chest exercise, since it is conventionally practiced to train your arms, your biceps and triceps. However, if you have done dips before, then you know that it also puts quite a lot of pressure on your chest muscles as well, and this activity burns calories and helps give you chest muscles that are strong, and look sexy.
You need two very sturdy bars or surfaces for this exercise, which are not likely to collapse at all when you let go off your entire body weight on these surfaces. You can either use two tables that have been nailed to the ground, or any two bars or rods with enough space for you in the middle. Place your hands on the bars or the surfaces and lift your feet up so that your arms are supporting your entire body weight. You will also feel the effect of this lift on your pectoral muscles, which is what makes it a great workout foe your chest muscles as well. Do not let your feet touch the ground. Lift your body up and down as many times as possible, and then gently place your feet on the ground.
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6. Elevated feet pushup
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Like I said, pushups are the best possible exercise for your chest. Nothing works better on your chest muscles than the various different kind of pushups, and if you are just starting out with body weight exercises and you aren’t an expert yet, then it is best to start with the pushups that I have mentioned in this list. To that, you can add the elevated feet pushup, for which you need a low bench, or any slightly elevated surface like a sturdy stool, although a bench seat works the best.
Your starting position should be that of a standard, traditional pushup, where your arms are placed flat on ground in front of you. However, instead of placing your feet on the ground behind you, place your feet close together on the elevated surface. Your body should form a straight line, parallel to the ground, with only your arms supporting your torso. Once you are ready, do normal pushups, for as many as 30 times to complete a set. Even though a traditional pushup is great for your chest muscles, it distributes the effort throughout your body. The elevated feet pushup is more effective to train the muscles in your upper body.
When you are training the muscles in your chest, you have to keep certain things in mind.
First of all, you have to remember that there are four parts to your chest, all of which can be trained with different exercises. Get your body checked and assessed by a professional, and you can condition your workout routine accordingly.
Secondly, body weight chest exercises are solely dependent on your body type, and the amount of muscle mass that you already start out. You should only work your body to a tolerable limit, because excessive exercise or overstrain could have the opposite effect.
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