The bench press isn’t the only way to grow pecs. Many people think that the standard bench press routine using the inclined and flat bench is the only way to get big pecs. And, for the most part, they are right. These are very important mass building exercises and you should never forget them.
However, the humble pushup should not be discounted. It is one of the best chest exercises because it has amazing potential to boost your strength and build up your upper body. Pushups have been used by martial artists, athletes, and in more recent times bodybuilders. They have all been cranking out reps of pushups for hundreds, thousands of years. Undoubtedly, the pushup has stood the test of time and remains as one of the core exercises for many strength training programs.
Before I get on to giving you some ways to liven up the pushup I have to make sure you know how to target your chest. It is quite simple really, the wider your hands are apart the more you will target your pectoral muscles. The closer you bring your hands together the more you will target your triceps. It is the same as on the bench press: close grip for triceps, wide grip for chest.
The question then is, how wide should the be apart? And the answer is, there is no answer. It is different for each person. You should experiment with different widths as well as different positions for your torso. Should your hands be in line with your nipples, shoulders or ribs? These are questions you need to ask yourself.
But is the regular pushup all there is? Heck no! Here are some excellent ways for jazzing up the old pushup which will give you some excellent strength and size progress.
1. Add weight to your pushups
When you are lifting weights doing the bench press you add weight each session (or should be!) At some point you will grow strong enough that the weight of your body isn’t challenging enough when doing a regular pushup, so why don’t you add some weight to your pushups? There are plenty of ways to do it. My favorite way is to perform resisted pushups. Start the exercise by placing your hand through the band and strap the band behind your back and do your regular pushsup. Hand position is important, as it dictates what muscle groups you will be working. If you want to target the chest more, put your hands wider apart. When your hands are closer to your body, you work out the chest in addition to the front of the shoulders and the triceps. In this video, you can see how to do the resistance band pushup with proper form:
2. Super set
After doing a set of bench press stick the weight in the rack and drop to the floor and pump out a fast set of resisted pushups. This is an excellent way to fatigue your muscles and make pushups more challenging! Do your bench press nice and slow and then the resisted pushups nice and fast and your chest training will take on a new dimension.
Conclusion
Many of the old exercises like pushups, pull ups, etc. have been given a bad rap despite being some of the most powerful and effective muscle and strength building tools we have. Don’t let all the fancy machines and workouts at the gym seduce you when what you really need is a simple workout and a bit of creativity.
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