Stuckat home or in a hotel room with no equipment, and it’s chest day? Dammit. There’s only one body-weight exercise you can think of for hitting pecs—pushups—and those get old after a while.
But hang on a minute. There are actually a multitude of pushup variations that hit the chest (as well as the triceps and delts) in subtly different ways. Perform them correctly, and they will keep your body-weight-pushing workouts from getting stale, which will in turn help you pack on more muscle and develop more strength. Six such variants are detailed on the following pages, courtesy of body-weight training expert Andy McDermott, owner of McDermott Family Fitness (mcdermottfamilyfitness.com). Read up on them, then give them a try in our pushups-only workout.
The All-Pushups Workout for a Bigger Chest
Yes, you can get a kick-ass upper-body “push” (plus core) workout with only pushups. Here’s how:
Exercise 1: Clapping Pushup or One-Arm Pushup—2 sets of 5
Exercise 2: Feet-Elevated Pushup—3 sets of 12-15
Exercise 3: Crucifix Pushup—2 sets of 15-20
Exercise 4: Forearm Pushup—2 sets pf 10-12
Exercise 5: Pushup + Arm and Leg Reach—2 sets of 5 per side
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Feet-Elevated Pushup
MCDERMOTT SAYS: “This is a simple way to introduce variety and increase load on the upper-body pushers, because more of your body weight is lifted.”
EXECUTION: Place your feet up on a bench or box behind you in a pushup position, with your hands directly below your shoulders. Bend your elbows to lower yourself to the floor, keeping your core tight throughout so that your hips don’t sag. Don’t let your elbows point out to the sides; keep your forearms at 45 degrees or less to your torso. Go down until your face or forehead nearly touches the floor, then press back up.
WHEN TO DO IT: Anytime you want to put more focus on your upper pecs. If this area is a weakness for you, do feet-elevated pushups before standard ones.
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Forearm Pushup
MCDERMOTT SAYS: “This movement forces your elbows to remain tight to your ribs, which places more emphasis on your triceps.”
EXECUTION: Assume a pushup position in which your hands are placed a few inches forward than normal—directly below your face, instead of below your shoulders. With your elbows pointed behind you and tucked into your sides, lower your forearms all the way down to the floor. When your elbows touch down, press up until your arms are extended.
WHEN TO DO IT: Late in an upper-body workout, since it focuses more on the triceps. Think of this as more of an isolation arm movement than a chest builder.
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One-Arm Pushup
MCDERMOTT SAYS: “The one-arm pushup is an advanced movement that’s great for both revealing and improving asymmetries in upper-body strength and core stabilization.”
EXECUTION: From a standard pushup position, spread your feet wide behind you for stability and li one hand up off the floor. (Keep it behind your back during the move.) Slowly lower yourself toward the floor. You may not be able to lower your chest all the way to the floor and get back up. (You can also place one arm on stacked plates and the other on the floor, as shown on the opening spread, to build up to this move.) Just go down as far as you can, then press back up to full arm extension. Repeat all reps on that arm, then switch arms.
WHEN TO DO IT: Early in your chest workout. Make this your first big strength move; your rep counts will likely be low.
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Clapping Pushup
MCDERMOTT SAYS: “A plyometric movement for upper-body-pushing muscle groups, these are great for developing power and explosiveness.”
EXECUTION: Assume a standard pushup position, making sure your hands aren’t too wide on the floor—no wider than shoulder width. Slowly lower yourself toward the floor. When your chest touches down, press back up as explosively as possible so that your hands leave the floor at the top of the rep. Clap your hands quickly in midair before catching yourself with soft (slightly bent) elbows and your hands back on the floor. Settle yourself, then repeat for reps.
WHEN TO DO IT: Early in your workout. Explosive exercises should always be done first, even before heavy strength moves.
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Crucifix Pusuhp
MCDERMOTT SAYS: “A crucifix is an advanced pushup variation that targets the pecs and delts while forcing your core activation to be locked in.”
EXECUTION: From a standard pushup position, spread your hands wide on the floor with your fingers pointed out to the sides. In the start position, your chest will already be fairly close to the floor, even with your arms extended. Bend your elbows to lower all the way down until your chest touches the floor, then press back up to full arm extension. The range of motion on this move is much shorter than with regular pushups.
WHEN TO DO IT: Late in your workout; think of crucifixes as an isolation flye-type movement.
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Pushup + Arm and Leg Reach
MCDERMOTT SAYS: “These are a great way to build strength and dynamically activate your total core—not just the abdominals but the stabilizers in your obliques and lower back, too.”
EXECUTION: Start in a pushup position with your core tight. Perform 1 pushup rep, then, at the top, slowly lift one hand and opposite foot off the floor until your arm and leg are in a straight line with your torso. Hold for a count, then bring your hand and foot back down. Repeat with the opposite hand and foot. That’s 1 rep.
WHEN TO DO IT: Late in a chest or upper-body workout or in a separate, core-focused routine.
