Master The 7 Push-Up Variations For A Bigger Chest
This effective chest builder can be done anywhere, any time – and it
works your shoulders, triceps and abs too. And there are a number of great
variations that mean you’ll never run out of simple moves that sculpt
impressive pecs.
The push-up is often overlooked and considered unworthy of inclusion in
many men’s training programmes. That’s a big mistake. Because when it
comes to building a bigger and stronger chest, few moves are better than
the classic bodyweight exercise that’s still used to separate the army men
from the army boys.
Here, we quickly run through the benefits of seven variations so you can
build a bigger and stronger upper body.
Push-Up:
The classic push-up is a great exercise for improving muscular endurance
in your pecs, front shoulders and triceps, as well as a fantastic way to
work these muscles to full failure to encourage muscle size growth. This
will work all those muscle fibres in your chest that don’t get worked by
your heavy bench presses so you’ll build more muscle size, strength and
endurance.
How to:
● Start with your hands underneath your shoulders and toes on the
floor.
● Brace your core and raise your hips so your body forms a straight
line from head to heels.
● Keeping your weight on your arms, bend your elbows to lower your
chest towards the floor.
● Don’t let your hips sag or rise during the set: if they sag, it
puts pressure on your back; if they rise, it takes the tension off your
chest.
● Pause briefly at the bottom, with your chest as close to the floor
as possible without touching it.
● Press back up powerfully to return to the start.
Diamond Push-Up:
Want bigger arms? The diamond push-up is the move for you because this
variation places far greater emphasis on your triceps than your chest to
pack on the size on your upper arms.
How to:
● Start in the push-up position but with your hands together so that
your thumbs and index fingers form a diamond.
● Brace your core and raise your hips so your body forms a straight
line from head to heels.
● Keeping your weight on your arms, bend your elbows to lower your
chest towards the floor. Make sure your elbows point back, rather than out
to the sides, during the lowering phase of a rep to avoid over-stressing
the joint.
● Pause briefly at the bottom.
● Press back up powerfully to return to the start.
Wide-Arm Push-Up:
Placing your hands wider apart increases the focus on your chest and
lessens the involvement of the triceps and shoulders. It’s important to
perform the move safely by lowering your torso to the ground slowly and
under full control – doing so will both reduce the risk of injury and
increase the effectiveness of the move.
How to:
● Start in the push-up position but with your hands about double
shoulder-width apart.
● Brace your core and raise your hips so your body forms a straight
line from head to heels.
● Keeping your weight on your arms, bend your elbows to lower your
chest towards the floor.
● Pause briefly at the bottom, with your chest as close to the floor
as possible without touching it.
● Press back up powerfully to return to the start.
Side To Side Push-Up:
This variation is a great way of increasing the difficulty of the basic
move to make the muscles of your chest, shoulders and triceps work hard to
support, manage and move your body weight up and down and from left to
right, while your core muscles need to be fully engaged to keep your torso
level for the duration of each rep.
How to:
● Start with your hands underneath your shoulders and toes on the
floor.
● Brace your core and raise your hips so your body forms a straight
line from head to heels.
● Keeping your weight on your arms, bend your elbows to lower your
chest towards the floor.
● As you lower, move your torso left so your head is in front of
your left hand.
● Keeping your chest as close to the floor as possible, move your
torso across so your head is in front of your right hand.
● Press back up powerfully to return to the start, moving your torso
back to the middle as you do.
Spider-Man Push-Up:
This heroic variation is a move that’s not just about the chest,
shoulders and triceps. Your upper and lower abs need to be fully engaged
to draw one knee up to your elbow then back down again, and you’ll
activate the deep stabilising muscles of your core to keep your whole body
stable throughout each rep.
How to:
● Start with your hands underneath your shoulders and toes on the
floor.
● Brace your core and raise your hips so your body forms a straight
line from head to heels.
● Keeping your weight on your arms, bend your elbows to lower your
chest towards the floor.
● As you lower, draw one knee up towards your elbow.
● Pause briefly at the bottom, with your chest as close to the floor
as possible without touching it.
● Press back up powerfully to return to the start, straightening
your leg as you do, then ● repeat with your other knee and alternate with each rep.
Dive-Bomb Push-Up:
The very nature of this move means that for the duration of each rep
there are a lot of different muscles fully engaged and under tension,
which can only be a good thing when you want bigger, stronger and more
defined muscles. The down-and-forwards then up-and-backwards movement also
makes your chest, shoulders, triceps and core all work.
How to:
● Start with your hands and feet flat on the floor so that your body
forms an inverted V-shape.
● Brace your core then lower your head and chest towards your hands,
moving your torso and head forwards in a smooth arc as your head
approaches the ground.
● Keep moving your upper body forwards in a smooth arc until your
eyes are looking forwards and your chest is up.
● From there, raise your hips to return to the start position.
● Despite the aggressive-sounding name, the key to this exercise is
maintaining a smooth movement path – the whole rep should be fluid and
performed at an even tempo.
Fingertip Push-Up:
This variation is more about your finger and wrist strength than
upper-body strength, so it’s best suited to people who want or need
stronger fingers and wrists. If that’s not you but you’re still up for a
really big challenge, then give it a go – but don’t get disheartened when
you fail! As with anything worthwhile, it takes time and effort.
How to:
● Start with your hands underneath your shoulders but with just your
fingertips in contact with the ground.
● Brace your core and raise your hips so your body forms a straight
line from head to heels.
● Keeping your weight on your arms, bend your elbows to lower your
chest towards the floor.
● Pause briefly at the bottom, with your chest as close to the floor
as possible without touching it.
● Press back up powerfully to return to the start.
