Explosive Chest Workout at Home Without Equipment

Summary 

Building a well-defined chest at home without equipment is entirely possible with calisthenics-inspired exercises.  Advanced exercises like backpack push-ups and side-to-side push-ups are also included for those ready to push beyond their limits. With consistency, proper form, and gradual progression, you can achieve impressive chest gains from the comfort of your home.

Is it possible to get gym-like gains at home doing a chest workout with no equipment? The easiest answer is that you would have to put in a tremendous effort to get similar gains.

According to a research, the six most effective exercises for your chest all require dumbbells or a barbell. However, using just body weights to put on mass is very common.

Calisthenics is all about using your body weight to build mass and there are some very heavy lifters with shredded bodies who have built godly chests with similar chest workouts at home.

Even if you’re starting working out today, this chest workout at home with no equipment is designed to help you start packing on weight. We took exercises from calisthenics and from other heavy lifters on the internet to help you start building a heavenly chest at home. You will need appropriate gym t-shirts though.

So, How Can You Do A Chest Workout At Home Without Weights?

Your go-to exercises are dips and push-ups. We will be using different variations of these common exercises to focus on different parts of the chest. Push-ups work on your chest muscles but also your triceps and front deltoids.

Just by changing the placement of your hands, the focus during the push-up will be on a different part of the chest. For example, the wider your place your hands, the more pressure it exerts on your chest.

If you get in an inclined position for a push-up, the focus will be on your lower chest. And if you get in a declined position for a push-up, the focus will be on your upper chest.

Push-ups + different stances = A complete chest workout at home without any equipment

Our Chest Workout At Home Without Equipment

This circuit works with 5 different variations of push-ups. Each variation focuses on a different part of your chest ensuring that you workout all of your chest. If you’re just starting to workout after a long gap, then sticking to 1 round of this circuit should be good enough to get your blood flowing again.

However, if you’re looking for your explosive chest workout like at the gym, then go for at least 2 to 3 rounds of this circuit for an exhausting workout. Take around 30 to 45 seconds of rest between each set.

1. Wide Push-up

This is a slightly modified version of the normal push-up. Place your hands wider apart than you naturally would. Remember, the farther apart your hands are, the more difficult it becomes to do it. This exercise focuses more on your pectoral muscles.

• Sets: 3
• Repetitions: 10 to 15 (depending on how far apart your hands are)
• Rest: 45 seconds between each set

2. Diamond Push-up

Join your thumbs together and your index fingers making a diamond shape between them. This push-up stance focuses more on your triceps and inner chest muscles. This is another testing position that really gets you panting and sore afterwards.

• Sets: 3
• Repetitions: 5 to 7 (start with fewer reps to get into form and because this exercise isn’t easy)
• Rest: 45 seconds to 1 minute between each set

Diamond push-ups workout your triceps too! Check out this powerful triceps workout for bigger arms.

3. Push-up Hold

This exercise has three variations: high, middle and low push-up holds. The highest variation is the easiest and gets more difficult as you go lower. Not only are you working your chest, but also working your core and shoulders with push-up holds.

The key is to keep your body in a straight line. While coming up from the push-up, you need to hold like a plank. The lower you hold yourself, the more energy and strength it requires.

• Sets: 3
• Repetitions: 5
• Rest: 30 to 45 seconds between each set

4. Decline Push-ups

For this next one, you’ll need an elevated structure. A step, a small box, or a chair would suffice. The higher your feet are placed, the more difficult the push-ups become.

This exercise focuses on your arms, chest, core and shoulders. Your feet can be as high as a few inches to 1 foot off the ground. It’s easy to compromise your form during this exercise, so start with a height that you can easily manage.

• Sets: 3
• Repetitions: 5
• Rest: 45 seconds to 1 minute between each set

5. Incline Push-ups

The last killer exercise in your home chest workout without equipment. This is just a reverse form of the previous exercise. The last one had your hands lower than your feet, now it is the opposite.

Incline push-ups target the middle and lower regions of your chest. The higher the incline, the easier the push-up. Place your hands on the box or step you used in the last exercise and get started.

• Sets: 3
• Repetitions: 7
• Rest: 30 to 45 seconds between each set

Take Your At Home Chest Workout To The Next Level

Calisthenics prove that building a herculean body doesn’t require you to invest hundreds of hours in the gym. Some athletes have bulging shoulders, chiseled chests and gaudy biceps without lifting weights. This chest at home workout without weights is supposed to help you get into shape.

If you want to take it up a notch, we’ve added two more exercises for your chest workout at home to make sure you wake up sore.

Backpack Push-ups

Don’t have weights? No issues. Grab your backpack and fill it with textbooks, laptops, whatever heavy object you can find and fits in your backpack. This exercise helps you pack on some serious strength since you aren’t just using your body weight.

This exercise isn’t for beginners because it requires stamina, strength and endurance. If the first 5 exercises have you feeling sore already, don’t push yourself rather build yourself slowly throughout a couple of weeks and then try this exercise.

You can either break it up into 3 sets and set the repetitions according to the amount of weight you have in your backpack or challenge yourself and do as many push-ups until collapsing.

Side to Side Push-ups

This is a variation of a single-arm push-up. This is another exercise not meant for beginners because the form is difficult to carry out on. You transition your body weight to one side when you are in the bottom position of your push-up.

When moving down, keep yourself low and make sure your form doesn’t break under pressure by your elbows moving too out and then transition your body weight to one side and then to the other side. Come back in the middle position and then push yourself up. Start with just 3 sets of 3 repetitions as you need to get a hang of the movement first.

The gains never stop with our power-packed workouts, these 7 Inner chest exercises are bound to beef up your pecs.

Key Takeaways

If you just want to start working out at home, then you don’t need heavy weights and equipment to build a sexy chest.

This workout exercises your entire chest and even helps work out your shoulders and triceps. Do make sure that you're dressed up in proper gym clothes before starting your workout session.

With little alterations in your form, you can make it harder for yourself. The number one rule for building sublime pecs is consistency. Once you start, make sure you challenge yourself more than the previous day and you’ll start to see positive gains in no time.

FAQs