By kneeling, you decrease the amount of loading placed upon the chest and triceps, making it easier for more repetitions to be completed (which can be helpful for maximizing muscle damage and metabolic fatigue). And repeat. Armed with these workouts, you’ll no longer suffer from what-will-happen-to-my-pecs anxiety when you’re without a gym. Place your feet on a bench or a chair, then place your hands on the floor. Not to mention it is something that can be repeated and measured over and over again. The workout includes tempo work and supersets to increase time under tension and maximize muscle fatigue and metabolic build-up. Handstand push ups will activate the upper chest when they’re performed facing the wall. Join the BarBend Newsletter for everything you need to get stronger. The standard push-up is the most universal bodyweight exercise for chest training. Push exercises alone are enough – you just need to adjust your positioning to target the upper chest. Workout A. By including this exercise within a push-up program, you can target stubborn muscle fibers that may not be fully utilized due to slower contractile speeds often seen in non-ballistic repetitions. Join the BarBend Newsletter for workouts, diets, breaking news and more. If you use a low surface, you’ll emphasize on the lower chest muscles. The movement of your arm follows your upper chest fibers and helps you achieve the maximum contraction. [Related: Is the One-Armed Push-Up Worth It?]. They can build a symmetrical chest by simply doing regular chest exercises. Upper Chest Workout Without Weights. There are times however, when a lifter may not have access to a barbell, dumbbells, and chest training machines, yet still is looking to continue to progress their chest development without weights. The height of the surface you’ll place your feet on will determine the muscles you’ll activate. Pike push ups usually target the shoulders but you can modify them to focus on the upper chest. How to Shed Body Weight before the Holiday Season? If you’ve already have a developed lower chest, skip the regular chest exercises and focus on the ones listed above. Adding weight will also open the door to a wide range of other effective chest workouts such as the chest press and chest flies. Upper Chest Workout Without Weights. 55 Best Core Exercises You Can Do at Home, 12 Reasons You Should Lose Weight with Matcha Tea, 50 Clean Healthy Snacks That Are Not Processed, 12 Easy Ways to Lose Belly Fat from Stress. For example, let’s say you open up with a set of 20 push-ups, therefore you should rest 80 seconds before starting again (100 total reps – 20 reps). Even though upper chest exercises will help build muscles, your genes will determine how your chest will be shaped. Folks who are genetically gifted don’t even have to target the upper chest. Decline Push Ups – 3 Sets, maximum reps. Pike Push Ups – 3 Sets, maximum reps. Here are 2 upper chest workouts you can add to your routine. When the shoulders are in line with the palms, keep sliding forward as you straighten the arms. Make sure you feel muscle activation in each rep. For this to be achieved, you have to execute the exercise slowly and do a full range of motion. This non-weighted chest workout can be done to increase chest hypertrophy and muscular endurance, with the added benefit of hitting the triceps as well. Now slide backwards to starting position and repeat. This exercise is quite challenging, if you can’t perform it now, build strength with decline and pike push ups. Dive Bomber Push Ups – 3 sets, maximum reps. Feet-elevated pike push ups – 3 sets, maximum reps As you can see, rest periods get cut shorter and shorter as you approach 100 total reps, often leaving you to perform singles, doubles, and/or triples under high amounts of fatigue with less than 5-10 seconds of rest, or less. 30 seconds chest dips 30 seconds rest. Scapular Push-up – 3 sets of 20 repetitions, Tempo (2020) Push-ups – 4 sets of 10-15 repetitions, Close Grip Push-ups – 4 sets of 10-15 repetitions (or to failure), Tempo (2020) Dips – 4 sets of 10-15 repetitions, Plyometric Push-ups 4 sets of 10-15 repetitions (or to failure). Put force behind your punch but don’t overextend your shoulder muscles. Your chest will end up looking better than it does now. Read the notes in each exercise because some videos don’t have all the tips. Slide forward by bending your elbows backwards, slide until the shoulders are in line with the arms, then slide backwards to starting position and repeat. 30 seconds chest fly 30 seconds rest. The views expressed on this site may come from individual contributors and do not necessarily reflect the view of BarBend or any other organization. Below are five (5) of the best chest exercises you can do without weights. Bench presses and push-ups are the most popular chest exercises seen in most strength and fitness programs. Perform the first three chest exercises 2 or 3 days a week in the order shown, with at least 1 day's rest between workouts. Handstand push ups are great for strengthening the arms and shoulders. Secondly, most chest exercises activate the lower chest more than the upper chest. The plyometric push-up is an advanced push-up variation that requires muscle explosiveness and eccentric strength. Well, you can mimic that move using the declpush-ups ups. The kneeling push-up is a regressed version of the standard push-up, making it suitable for beginners, individuals who lack upper body strength and muscle mass, and/or individuals who are exhibiting high amounts of muscle fatigue. Workout B. Most people usually brush off this tip but it’s very important, especially when training to build muscles. Bend your sideways and slide forward as you lower the body. Keep the feet straight and arms positioned in past the head. [Related: Our 6 favorite bodyweight workouts you can do at home]. Perform a total of 100 strict push-ups, for time. Dive Bomber Push ups – 3 sets, maximum reps. Try an at-home workout without weights to help you strengthen your abs, chest and biceps. Place your feet on the wall and walk backwards with your arms. This was one of Arnold’s training secret, he said – “The weights (body weight in our case) are just a means to an end; how well you contract the muscles is what training is all about.”. Instead of lowering the head directly downwards stick the chest out and slide (dive) forward until the shoulders are in line with the arms. Workout A. Not everybody can have a perfectly square chest. This one is pretty straight-forward, and escalates very quickly. At the top position the back should be arched and hips slightly touching the floor. Below are three (3) chest workouts that can be done without weights and equipment. Before I show you the exercises, here are a few training tips and facts to make your upper chest workout more rewarding. These 21 exercises can be done with dumbbells, without equipment, or with resistance bands. It activates the lower and upper chest, triceps, shoulders, traps and the core.