If you’re putting in a lot of time and effort at the gym to develop and define your chest muscles but are not seeing enough results, what do you do?
The right bodyweight chest exercises will yield results, so if you’re not experiencing success, the reason might be the type of chest exercises you’re doing or the specific techniques you’re using to perform them.
To help our readers we’ve created a fool-proof guide to demonstrate what exercises work and the proper way to execute them.
The following list of bodyweight exercises will include specific instructions on sit-ups, push-ups, diamond push-ups, triceps dips, and weighted push-ups.
Read on to learn about a transformative bodyweight chest workout that will give you a strong, muscular, and more defined chest that you can be proud of.
Top 5 Bodyweight Chest Exercises
Here are some of the best chest workouts out there you can do:
1. Sit-Ups (Surprise!)
Sit-ups can help you strengthen your core which is important for 2 reasons.
- This can improve your flexibility by making your back and hips more flexible as well as improve your posture by keeping your shoulders, hips, and spine in proper alignment.
- By improving your core strength alone you’ll be able to lift more weights as you will be able to use both upper and lower body muscles better due to increased core strength.
Here are some instructions to help you to do sit-ups as part of your chest bodyweight exercises.
- Lie down on your back — whether directly on the floor or on a mat — with your knees bent and your feet stationary on the ground.
- Interlace your fingers and place your hands at the bottom of your skull – just above your neck
- Lift your body until you’re in a near-seated position.
- Lower your body back to its starting position, and repeat these steps as desired.
2. Push-Ups
Looking for a simple exercise that will help to strengthen the muscles in your chest?
It doesnt get much simpler than push-ups.
It’s the sort of bodyweight chest workout that you can do from just about anywhere whenever you have some free time.
They are also extremely versatile. Quick and easy adjustments of your hand position similar to a wide grip or narrow grip can help to isolate various muscle groups.
As for specific benefits, push-ups will engage various muscles groups simultaneously such as your chest, pecs, arms, legs, deltoids, hips, and core.
Why should you care about increasing overall muscle strength? Here are several important benefits you may not have known:
- Strengthens bones;
- Helps maintain healthy body weight, and
- Helps with everyday mobility.
One of the interesting things about push-ups is that many people go about them the wrong way. And if your technique is off, you won’t get the results you want.
Here are some recommendations as per the American Council on Exercise:
- For the proper push up position put your hands on the floor about shoulder width apart, fingers facing ahead of you. With your stomach facing the floor, extend your body into the plank position. You’ll know you’re in the right position when your head is aligned with your spine.
- Lower your body toward the floor while keeping your torso rigid and your head and spine aligned. Continue to lower yourself until your chest makes contact with the floor — and allow your elbows to shift outwards during this process.
- While maintaining the same rigid torso, head and spine alignment, lift upwards until your arms are fully extended. You can repeat steps b and c as many times as you want. Aim for 3 sets of 10 or until failure. Having a goal can help you to push yourself!
**Pro Tip– Imagine pushing the floor down rather than pushing your body up, similar to a bench press. This can help to isolate the appropriate muscles and maintain form.
3. Diamond Push-Ups
Do you enjoy doing regular push-ups but want to take things up a notch to enhance your chest bodyweight routine?
The answer is diamond push-ups.
This exercise is sure to supplement your routine with a fresh and challenging method that provides awesome results.
The steps are similar to the steps for the traditional push-ups exercise – but there’s a significant difference in hand placement.
Place your hands close together and flat on the floor to form the shape of a diamond or pyramid.
You’ll do this by touching the thumbs and forefingers of each hand and positioning the diamond beneath yourself at the center of the chest.
After you’ve gotten positioned in this way, follow the aforementioned steps for push-ups for a challenging chest bodyweight exercise.
4. Triceps Dips
Triceps dips are a bodyweight exercise you can use to not only build shoulder and arm strength, but also to build chest strength. You can think of it as the sort of exercise to use to improve overall upper body strength.
Benefits of this sort of exercise include improving your ability to take on daily tasks that require pushing, maintaining proper balance, and more.
Doing this exercise requires a piece of equipment. The good news is that a chair with fixed legs – not one with wheels – will work just fine.
Here are some tips to do triceps dips in a way that will give you the benefits you’re looking for.
- Sit towards the front of your chair and get a good grip on the edge with both hands adjacent to your hips. Ensure that your fingers are pointed towards your feet, extend your legs, ensure that your feet are spread approximately hip-width apart, keep your heels on the floor, and look forward with your chin up.
- Use your palms to elevate your body and push forwards slightly until your rear end clears the chair’s edge.
- Lower your body until you bend your elbows at an angle of at least 45 degrees and up to 90 degrees.
- Push yourself to the starting position, and complete however many repetitions can want.
5. Weighted Push-Up
For weighted push-ups, you can use either of the variations of push-ups listed above. But you’ll also want to add some weights on your back.
You should start light and then work your way up to more weight over time.
If you’ve been wanting to get better results from your chest workouts, our list of the best bodyweight exercises will set you on the right path.
Give them a try, and see how they help you to strengthen and develop your chest.
Bodyweight tactics for the experienced.
The bodyweight 2.0 is the sequel to the reader favorite Bodyweight 1.0. It adds a bit of difficulty, though it can be done by beginners by adjusting loads and reps.
- Skill level: Intermediate
- 4-week program, 4 workouts each week
- Workouts vary in length, up to 45 minutes
- No equipment required, but a yoga or exercise mat, towel, and water bottle are helpful.
- Free Bonus: Intro to Nutrition and Healthy Eating
- Links to videos, detailing each exercise
- Printable PDF workout calendar