If you want to create an intimidating looking silhouette, then building massive pecs is one of the very best ways to accomplish this. The pectorals are the muscles of superheroes, and they’re completely necessary if you want to put your hands on your hips and pull off an iconic and superheroic pose.
Unfortunately pecs are also quite difficult to train without a barbell and a bench. If you’re fortunate enough to own such equipment at home then training your chest will be no challenge even when you’re away from the gym. On the other hand though, if you are trying to get a great workout for your pecs without using weights or with a few light dumbbells then you’re going to need a little inspiration. That’s where this article comes in…
Read on to discover some of the best and most effective pec exercises you can use at home to build a powerful and unstoppable chest.
Bodyweight Pec Exercises
Press Ups With an Extended Range of Motion: Press ups are a fantastic exercise but they don’t work the pecs through a particularly large range of motion in the way that say flies do. To change your pec workout into something that brings the benefits of the bench press and the benefits of flies then, you need to increase that range of motion by somehow lifting your body higher up off the ground so that you can dip lower than your own hands.
One way to accomplish this is by using press-up stands (or dumbbells on the floor). Better yet though is to find two chairs or stools and stand them opposite each other, put a hand on each one, and then put your feet on a sofa or stool behind you. Now you can do press-ups with about 30% extra range of motion.
Dips: Or why not take your legs out of the equation all together? Place a hand on two surfaces opposite each other, bend your legs, and then perform dips with your legs dangling underneath. This is very good for your pecs but also very good for your triceps and shoulders.
If you don’t happen to have two stools the right shape and height, then you can usually find two parallel countertops in the kitchen to use!
Rocking Press Ups: Rocking press ups are press ups that involve rocking onto one side and then the other. This is essentially the same as doing one-handed press ups but with a unilateral movement and with your other hand still on the floor to support you.
Cadence: The ‘cadence’ of any exercise describes how quickly you perform each repetition and how long you pause in between. Performing ‘easy press-ups’ very slowly can be a great way to increase your time under tension, create more microtears and get much more of a burn in your pecs. This is also good for a hormone response. Likewise though, speeding the movements up to the point where you’re clapping will be incredibly tiring and will train your fast twitch muscle fibres. Combine both and you’re left with a highly powerful workout.
