You probably believe you need a barbell or at the very least some heavy dumbbells to make your pecs pop. This, though, is not the case. Bodyweight chest workout plans are a great way to work out your chest at home. You will get a decent pump that promotes muscle development if you do a high number of reps. It all comes down to the muscle fibers being burned out.
If you’ve been Googling “at-home chest exercises,” you’ve come to the right place. All of the steps below can be done in your dining room or home gym.
To increase the difficulty, use only your bodyweight or add a TRX or resistance band. These movements will help warm up the deltoids, triceps, abs, and upper torso, as well as attack your chest.
In other words, the moves below will help you carve the rest of your body. Mix and match the movements to build an infinite number of at-home chest exercises. Alternatively, incorporate a couple into your total-body workout.
Bodyweight Chest Workout Bodybuilding
One arm–dumbbell press
This may be the most underappreciated chest dumbbells workout ever devised. But this is a chest cutting workout. The majority of people are used to picking up a pair of dumbbells.
There is no weight counterbalance if you just have one dumbbell. This makes the “free” side of the bodywork extra hard to keep your torso from sliding off the bench.
The hand with the bell needs to labor even harder, putting a lot of strain on the chest muscles. More muscle development occurs as the muscle is subjected to more stress and spends more time under strain. When training unilaterally, studies suggest that you produce about 20% more force for your working hand.
How to do it?
This is performed in the same way as a conventional dumbbell bench press. Rather than grabbing two dumbbells, just take one.
To balance yourself, don’t use your “clean” hand to hold onto the bench. Instead, use a weight that allows you to do 6-12 reps without falling off.
Tuck your feet in, pinch your glutes, and engage your opposite side brain. Start with slower, more regulated reps to eliminate momentum.
And this will improve your equilibrium while still increasing your overall time under strain. You realize great results from this chest body workout.
Bodyweight Chest And Triceps Workout
Overhead triceps extension
This standing version of the classic manoeuvre optimizes core muscle mobilization. Interestingly, this happens while exercising each arm independently, assisting in the correction of muscle imbalances while increasing weight.
How to do it?
Place yourself on a bench or take a staggered posture. You can place a pair of dumbbells directly overhead palms facing each other, weights touching.
Lower the weights behind your head, keeping the dumbbells close together. Make sure you don’t bend your upper bodies until the elbows are bent 90 degrees.
To return to the starting spot, reverse the action by pushing the weights up until the arms are completely stretched but not locked out.
Rope push down
When the arms are completely locked out, this machine-based motion puts the triceps to work, highlighting the muscle’s long head. This is also a good chest and shoulders workout.
How to do it?
Connect a cable machine to a two-handled rope and adjust the pulley to around shoulder height.
To generate friction on the cable, step back a foot or two (feet together) while holding the handles down a neutral (palms in) grip, and then hinge forward with your torso about 30 degrees.
Extend your limbs completely into the floor without moving your upper arms.
Bodyweight Chest Exercises For Beginners
Physio ball Push-ups
This movement strengthens the spine, shoulders, and triceps in the same way as a regular Push-up does. But the instability of the ball requires you to work your heart and shoulder flexibility.
How to do it?
On a physio ball (also known as a Swiss ball), assume a Push-up stance with the fingertips pointing down the edges. Your shoulder blades should be apart from one another.
Reduce your weight until your chest just meets the ball. Keep possession of the ball when pushing as far away from it as possible.
Maintain a straight line from ear to ankle.
Chest Workout At Home Without Weights
Push-ups
Push-ups are an excellent bodyweight workout for strengthening the chest and sides. The strength of the push-up is that you can do it anywhere and at any moment using just your body weight.
Decline Push-Up
The decline push-up is more complex than the standard push-up. Placing your foot on a higher level than your hands increase the difficulty. The more difficult and intense the action becomes when you raise the bench/chair/box, the better the performance will be.
Diamond push-up
Diamond push-ups are a more difficult version of push-ups. You do this by bringing your hands together until your thumbs and index fingers meet, creating a diamond shape.
When you do push-ups with your hands in this position, the muscles involved in the exercise are somewhat altered, with the triceps and inner chest muscles becoming more affected.
Push–up hold
The push-up hold is an isometric (held) movement that strengthens and defines your chest while simultaneously working your core, shoulders, and arms. This workout has another advantage: in addition to making, you physically stronger, it can make you psychologically “tougher.”
Bodyweight Back Workout
Scapular Push–up
The scapular push-up strengthens the muscles that surround the scapula. But the serratus anterior is the only muscle that is strengthened during this exercise.
It connects the ribs under the scapula and keeps the shoulder blades pressed to the spine. You will increase shoulder stability by strengthening your serratus anterior.
How to Do it?
Start on your hands and knees on a yoga mat, with your hands below your shoulders.
Place your hands on your knees and extend your legs behind you. With your shoulder blades down and up, your body should be in a balanced place.
Inhale deeply. Slowly drop your chest to the ground while holding your arms upright and squeezing your shoulder blades together.
Exhale and drive your arms into the floor as hard as possible and lift your chest away from the mat while holding your arms straight. Your shoulder blades should be pulled apart when you do this.
Four-point arm & leg extension
This is a great muscular endurance exercise for strengthening and supporting the lower back, particularly if you have some stiffness. It allows you to activate your heart when stabilizing your lower back. But it effectively hires muscles from all over your body.
How to Do it?
Begin on all fours on a yoga mat with your knees underneath your hips and your hands underneath your shoulders.
Draw your shoulder blades down and up, keeping your neck in a balanced spot.
raise your right arm and left leg so they are parallel to (in line with) your spine, keeping your shoulders and hips parallel to (in line with) the surface.
Inhale – return to the starting point by lowering the right arm and left knee.
Exhale – Release and raise your left arm and right leg so they are parallel to (in line with) your spine, keeping your shoulders and hips parallel to (in line with) the surface.
Inhale- return to the starting point by lowering the left arm and right knee.
Chest Workout At Home (No Equipment)
Dips
Dips are an excellent way to strengthen the inner chest muscles, which are frequently neglected when doing a push-up.
You can do dips with your palms on the bench, knees spread out in front of you, and the backs of the feet meeting the floor for beginners.
When you’re first starting with dips, be cautious about how far you go. Gradually expand your range of motion so you can drop your body to a 90-degree elbow bend. If you curve your elbow more than 90 degrees, you risk injuring your back.
How to do it?
Sit on the potential edge of the chair or on something else to provide comfort.
Place your palm’s heel on either side of your seat, with your fingertips bent around the hip. Lower yourself to a 90-degree angle with your knees, then lift yourself to a straight position with your arms.
Bodyweight Chest And Arms Workout
Inchworms
Another body-weight movement that works the chest and arms is inchworms. Inchworms are a high-intensity, total-body workout that targets the abs, elbows, and back muscles.
How to do it?
Start inchworms by bending over and placing your fingertips just in front of your toes on the surface.
After that, walk your hands forward and lower yourself into a push-up stance.
Return to the starting point by doing one push-up and then walking your foot forward to your knees.
Chin-up
Chin-up doesn’t necessitate the use of weights, but they do necessitate the use of a pullup handle. If you don’t want to buy one, you might find one at a gym or, most likely, a playground. Chin-up works the biceps and back muscles.
How to do it?
Hang from a bar with your knees bent and palms facing you, your hands in line with your shoulders to start.
Pull yourself up to the bar by bending your knees. To lift your chin to the counter, you can feel your biceps working.
Final Thoughts
Bodyweight chest workouts are some of the interesting exercises that do not require a lot of equipment. These exercises come with a lot of benefits such as developing muscles and strengthening the body.
Interestingly there are chest bodyweight exercises that you can do to build your chest muscles. You just have to know how to execute those exercises. Doing exercises in the wrong form exposes you to injuries.
