Smart Method to Train Chest at Home

Want to learn how to grow your chest from home? Today I’ll show you the best science-based at home chest workout that does just that.

When it comes to chest development… Most people are under the impression that they can’t pack on much chest size with just bodyweight chest exercises at home. Or, with an at-home chest workout. And that heavy pressing movements in the gym are instead essential to doing so. You know, like the bench press. Admittedly, these pressing movements in the gym are extremely effective and convenient to use to build your chest.

But you still most definitely can build an impressive-looking chest with just bodyweight training. I mean gymnasts are a perfect example of this.

It’s just that it takes a little more creativity. Because now, we don’t have the convenience of being able to simply add more plates to the bar as we get stronger. Or, adjust the incline of our bench to target different areas of our chest. And this is where most chest workouts at home fail. This is also why most people fail to see results with them.

They either:

• Don’t progress the movements in a way that enables you to continue maximizing your chest growth over time as you get stronger

OR

• Fail to incorporate exercises that target the various regions of your chest.

Both of which lead to suboptimal chest development. In this at home chest workout though, I’ll show you how to achieve both of those. And this will help you build your chest most effectively even if you don’t have access to the gym.

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Exercise 1: Close Grip Push-Ups

The first exercise we’ll be using will target the whole chest. And it’s none other than the close-grip push-up. Now, you can perform this by just using a narrow grip or a diamond set up like so, depending on what’s most comfortable for you.

We’ll be using this orientation. Since, contrary to popular belief, a wider push-up grip has been shown in multiple EMG analyses to elicit significantly:

• Less upper AND lower chest activation and instead,
• More front delt activation

Accordingly, it wouldn’t be the best option for chest development.

 To progress these, I’d suggest starting these out on your knees. Research has shown that doing so reduces the amount of your bodyweight you’re actually lifting to only about 53%. Then, progress to the standard version where the load increases to about 66% of your body weight. And then, you can even progress this further by shifting your hands backward very slightly. Doing so increases the load you’re lifting to now be about 73% of your body weight.

Exercise 2: Decline Close-Grip Push-Ups

Next, we’re going to incorporate more shoulder flexion into the previous push-up. This now shifts more emphasis to the upper chest. You can do this by simply elevating your feet onto a platform. And can, again, progress this by adding more external resistance with a bag or with a band. If you find these too difficult though, you can perform it on your knees instead of with just a slight elevation by using cushions, for example.

An alternative to this is the wide reverse grip push-up. Where you instead use a wide underhand grip to hold onto an elevated platform and then perform your push-up against that. This is a viable option as well.

Research has shown that at least for the bench press, using a wide reverse grip boosts upper chest activation by about 30% when compared to a standard grip. Which likely carries over into push-ups. Why? Well, that’s because you’re now incorporating more shoulder flexion into the movement and better aligning the tension with the upper chest fibers. And you’ll feel this difference right away when you perform it.

To progress these, you can again use a bag and/or gradually decrease the height of the platform you’re holding onto.

Exercise 3: Dip Push-Ups

Next, we’re going to move onto dip push-ups. This exercise now targets the lower chest. We want to include some form of dip movement into this routine since they’ve been shown in EMG analyses to best activate the lower chest.

And to do so at home, we’ll be simulating a straight-bar dip. You can do so by:

1. Getting into a push-up position on the floor, but elevating your hands upon a stack of books. Or, whatever you have handy.
2. Then, push your arms downward to raise your upper body into an upward position.
3. Do so until your arms straighten, while just letting your lower body slide along for the ride.

The internal rotation and shoulder extension involved in dip push-ups best helps target that lower chest region.

To start, I’d recommend doing them with no elevation if needed. And then, progress to elevating your hands, and then continuing to elevate your hands even more over time by using two chairs, for example. This will increase the load you’ll be lifting and will simulate the straight bar dip even better.

Exercise 5: Sliding Chest Flies

And lastly, we’re going to work the whole chest here. We’ll use this last exercise as a sort of burnout. Think of it as cable flies in the gym, for example.

What you want to do is:

1. Find a smooth surface. Get on your knees and place your hands on two cloths or paper towels that can easily slide.
2. Lower your upper body by spreading your arms out to the side.
3. At the bottom position, perform a fly motion by squeezing your chest and bringing your arms inwards to raise your body up.
4. Cross the arms over at the end position for an even greater chest contraction. You want to keep your arms just slightly bent as you do so. Focus on bringing your biceps together as you raise your body up in order to best activate the chest.

Now, this is admittedly quite a difficult movement. But there are ways to regress it.

You can start by just performing the eccentric portion of the movement. You can do so by controlling your upper body downwards until you reach the floor. And then simply pushing your self up back to the start position and repeating this.

Then, once you master that, you can move onto a push-up fly. Here, you perform the fly with just one of your arms. The other one bends and extends with you to help push your body back-up.

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At Home Chest Workout: Action Plan

So to sum the video up, here’s what your home chest workout could look like:

Close Grip Push-Ups: 3-4 sets

Decline Close-Grip Push-Ups OR Wide Reverse Grip Push-Ups: 3-4 sets

Dip Push-Ups: 3-4 sets

Inner Chest Push-Ups: 2-3 sets

Sliding Chest Flies OR Bed Sheet Flies: 2-3 sets

Programming Your At Home Chest Workout 

Now this workout can be performed all in one as a chest workout. But I’d recommend instead splitting the exercises up into at least 2 days throughout the week using an upper/lower split, for example. This just allows you to better manage the training volume and frequency.

As for the ideal rep range, the ideal rep range will vary for everyone based on your strength level. This is exactly as I’ve emphasized in my past full body home workout article. So instead, simply focus on pushing every single set either to failure or within a rep or two short of failure. This is crucial in order to maximize growth if you don’t have access to heavyweights

If you can perform more than roughly 30 reps per set, it’s an indication that it’s now become too easy. And you need to progress to a harder variation that I presented. Doing so allows you to continue maximizing growth overtime.

Chest Workout At Home: Takeaway

But all in all, by using this routine and gradually progressing each exercise as you get stronger, you’ll be able to effectively build your chest in the comfort of your own home without the need for heavy weights and equipment.

Just keep in mind though guys that for the best results, you need to pair your workout routine with the right nutrition plan. As THAT really is the key and is FAR more important than your training when it comes to drastically transform your body and packing on size. And to be honest now is a better time than ever to start prioritizing your nutrition and learning how and what you need to be fueling your body with to maximize growth.