EstimatedEst. Read Time: 8 minutes
Home Chest Exercises UPPER, MID, LOWER CHEST!!

HOW TO WORK YOUR CHEST AT HOME

Building your upper, mid and lower chest from home with NO equipment may seem impossible.

But, I’m here to show you it’s definitely not!

Once you’ve got an understanding of the biomechanics of the chest muscles, you can adapt gym chest exercises to the home environment, and I’ll show you exactly how to do it.

Want to target your upper pecs but don’t have access to an incline bench?

Need to work on a saggy lower chest but can’t get to a gym to do your dips?

Don’t worry. I’ve got you covered!

Now…

You might think bodyweight chest exercises aren’t as effective as their gym chest workout counterparts.

But after you try the chest workout routine I’m showing you here, you’ll be absolutely convinced that you can hit every angle of your chest from home!

chest pectoral muscle anatomy including clavicular fibers, sternal fibers and abdominal head fibers

CHEST MUSCLE BIOMECHANICS

There are two important factors you need to understand to be able to translate chest exercises with weights to bodyweight versions.

First, let’s look at the direction of the fibers from the different areas of the pectoral muscles.

UPPER CHEST CLAVICULAR FIBERS

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upper chest clavicular muscle fibers

MIDDLE CHEST STERNAL FIBERS

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middle chest sternal muscle fibers

LOWER CHEST ABDOMINAL HEAD FIBERS

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Chest Exercises at Home

The second important thing to understand is what’s happening with the upper arm in relation to the rest of your torso in your chest exercises.  We need to be able to translate the angle of the arm position in each gym chest exercise into our home exercise choices so we can hit the upper, middle and lower chest without weights.

We need to be able to translate the angle of the arm position in each gym chest exercise into our home exercise choices so we can hit the upper, middle and lower chest without weights.

You’ll see that even though the body weight exercise option may look completely different from its gym counterpart, the position of the arms in both is the same.

Let’s take a look at the most common gym exercise with weights for each area of the chest, and how we can convert it to an effective home chest option by replicating the arm position.

 
 

BEST BODYWEIGHT HOME UPPER CHEST EXERCISE

If you look at the classic incline bench press, you will see that your upper arms are aligned not directly in front of your torso but at a 120 degree angle upwards from that position. 

This gives focus to the clavicular fibers of the upper pecs.

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incline bench press arms at 120 angle to chest
The incline bench press positions the arms at a 120 degree angle over the chest to favor the upper chest clavicular fibers.

If we want to translate that 120 degree angle to a bodyweight movement, we can do that with a Decline Pushup.

DECLINE PUSHUP

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Chest Exercises at Home

When I position myself upside down with my feet on the wall you can see that even though my body is facing down (as opposed to face up in an incline bench press), the arm positions of both exercises are the same.

Decline Push-ups are the ideal way to target the upper chest if you don’t have access to equipment.

BEST BODYWEIGHT MIDDLE CHEST EXERCISE

The flat bench press is an exercise that targets the sternal fibers of your middle chest by placing your arms at a 90 degree angle to the chest.

You can see what I mean here.

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Chest Exercises at Home
You can see that in the flat bench press, the arms are at a 90 degree angle in relation to the chest.

This one is easy to convert to a bodyweight option!

The Classic Pushup is going to put the arms in that same 90 degree position to the chest as a flat bench press would.

CLASSIC PUSHUP

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classic pushup bodyweight exercise for middle chest

There is no better bodyweight exercise to target the middle area of your chest than good old fashioned classic push-ups!

BEST BODYWEIGHT LOWER CHEST EXERCISE

The decline bench press hits the lower pecs by placing the arms below the chest at about a 45 degree angle.

You can see that angle below.

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decline bench press arms at 45 degree angle to chest
In the decline bench press the arms are at a 45 degree angle to the chest.

How do we translate this to bodyweight?

We’ve got to flip it over one more time!

The Incline Pushup angles your body upward, but angles your arms downward into that 45 degree angle to allow you to target your lower chest fibers.

INCLINE PUSHUP

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Chest Exercises at Home

The line of push is down and across in the decline bench press, and the same thing happens in the incline push-up.  This is because the body placement is a little bit ahead of our arms, which positions our arms down and across the torso as we lower.

 
 

HOW CAN YOU WORK YOUR CHEST WITH NO EQUIPMENT?

When we put these 3 effective chest exercises together we can create the ultimate bodyweight chest workout that hits all three areas of the upper, middle and lower chest.

To do this, set up a bench or other piece of furniture about 5 – 6 feet from a wall depending on your height.

Starting position is with your feet on the wall, hands shoulder width apart on the floor to perform the Decline Pushup for three reps. Make sure to keep your core tight throughout the movement.

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decline pushup against wall home upper chest exercise
Perform the Decline Pushup for three reps and then walk your hands out and your feet down to assume the Classic Pushup position.

Then you walk your hands forward and your feet down the wall until they are are flat on the ground in a plank position.   Do three reps of the Classic Pushup with proper form keeping the core tight.

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classic pushup home middle chest exercise
Do 3 reps of the Classic Pushup and then walk yourself over into Incline Pushup position with your hands on the bench.

Then immediately walk yourself over into an Incline Pushup. Starting position is with your hands on the bench and feet on the floor.  Do 3 reps here and then go back to the standard push-up.

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incline pushup home lower chest exercise
Perform 3 reps of the Incline Pushup and then return immediately to the Classic Pushup.

Keep going back and forth from Decline Pushup to Classic Pushup to Incline Pushup, back to Classic Pushup and back to Decline Pushup, following this sequence with correct form until you fatigue.

Building chest strength and muscle growth is going to require that you push yourself to the point of failure on this bodyweight chest routine.

If you’re training at home and you have a weight vest that you can use, you’ll be able to create that overload even faster.

Creating muscle growth is going to require that you push yourself to the point of failure on this bodyweight chest sequence.

Regardless of which area of your chest you’re working on or which chest exercises you decide to do, you have to be sure that you load them heavy enough to create change and growth.

That doesn’t have to come in the form of heavy weight!

You can increase the load you feel in your chest muscles by simply slowing down the exercise, making sure to keep the contraction of the chest going with every rep, and working until you hit failure.

As you can see, it’s totally possible to work the upper, middle and lower chest from home using no equipment and body weight exercises.  It’s just important that you understand the orientation of the chest muscle fibers and how arm placement influences which portion of the pecs you’re working.  Once you’ve got those concepts down, it’s easy to translate your classic barbell or dumbbell chest exercises into their bodyweight alternatives!

If you’re looking for a complete workout program that helps you build muscle from home with minimal to no equipment, we’ve got you covered! Check out our ATHLEAN-X programs to see which is the best fit for your goals and fitness level.

 
 
athleanx
THE HIGHLIGHT REEL:
HOME CHEST EXERCISES

  1. Some people think that bodyweight chest exercises aren’t as effective as barbell and dumbbell chest exercises, but that doesn’t have to be the case.
  2. To be able to translate chest exercises with weights over to bodyweight variations it’s important to understand the orientation of chest fibers in the upper, middle and lower chest, as well as how arm position relative to the chest helps us hit them.
  3. We can best hit the upper chest with exercises that put the arms at a 120 degree angle to the chest. The Decline Pushup performed upside down with feet against the wall is the best bodyweight exercise to accomplish this.
  4. For the middle chest, you want the arms to be oriented at a 90 degree angle to the chest, and the Classic Pushup is the perfect bodyweight exercise for this.
  5. For the lower chest, the arms should be at about a 45 degree angle to the chest, and the Incline Pushup places them in this position.
  6. To overload the chest muscles using these bodyweight exercises it’s important to slow down the movements in your chest training, emphasize the contraction of the chest and do the exercise sequence until failure.

EstimatedEst. Read Time: 10 minutes
plyometric workout

THE IMPORTANCE OF PLYOMETRIC TRAINING

If you’re a serious lifter, you’ve already figured out that bodyweight training deserves to play a role in your overall training program.

However, serious lifters and even performance athletes often don’t appreciate the importance of explosive, plyometric training to their workout routines.

We typically train at a slow, controlled pace. That’s good for certain applications, but we also need power training to be explosive so that we’re not just strong, but also functional and athletic.

Serious lifters and even performance athletes often don’t appreciate the importance of explosive, plyometric training to their workout routines.

Here are seven of the best explosive bodyweight exercises you can do anywhere (using just your bodyweight and a pullup bar) that you should start incorporating into your workout routine now.

I’ve included less-challenging “step-down” variations you can use to work up to the more difficult version. There’s no use hurting yourself or only squeezing out one or two reps, because you need more reps to get the benefit.

Choose the exercise variation that works best for you and your current fitness level.

7 best explosive exercises

BEST PLYOMETRIC EXERCISES

Let’s take a look at these seven explosive exercises one by one and their beginner variations.

We’ll start with a bodyweight powerhouse that hits your entire upper body including your core.

1) POWER PLANK UP

This bodyweight exercise is the perfect way to hit your triceps, chest, shoulders, and core at once. It’s great for training at home since it requires very little space and can be done either on your toes or from your knees.

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power plank up

Get in a plank position on your toes and elbows then explode up in one motion, driving up hard with your elbows, landing on your hands. You need stability in the shoulders, triceps, and chest, and adequate core strength to perform the move.

POWER PLANK UP STEP-DOWN VERSION

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7 Best Plyometric Exercises

If you can’t do this as-described right now, use the elbow-knee starting position and build up from there. As you get stronger you’ll be able to get up on your toes to keep the progression going.

 
 

2) PLYO CHIN UP

All you need is a bar and an underhand grip to build “pull-through strength” with this awesome bodyweight exercise.

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7 Best Plyometric Exercises

To do the Plyo Chin Up, you grip underhanded and release the bar at the top. You have to pull high enough to allow you to let go for a second. That develops “pull-through” strength.

This exercise could easily be confused with a Clapping Pull-Up. The big difference is the underhand grip of the Plyo Chin Up.

The underhand position for this chin up recruits your biceps and gives you that extra eccentric contraction when you re-grip the bar and slow down your descent before the next explosive concentric contraction.

PLYO CHINUP STEP DOWN VERSION

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one arm plyo chinup

If you can’t do this extreme version with the full release, you can try the step-down version where one arm stays on the bar.

Use one hand to continuously grip the bar, maintaining control so you can let go with the other arm. Release one hand’s grip when you reach the top.

Work each side individually until you build up the strength to be able to release the bar entirely with both hands. You could do several reps in a row with the same side, or alternate hands.

3) GLUTE/HAM SINGLE LEG PLYO BRIDGE

Explosively train your glutes and hamstrings with this single leg plyometric exercise for the lower body and reduce the risk of hamstring pulls in the process.

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glute ham single leg plyo bridge

This exercise is a plyometric variation of the bridge we often do. A traditional bridge would take you to a line parallel to the rest of your torso but would not add the explosive component.

For the plyometric variation, thrust through your hips enough to get ground clearance, and eccentrically control your glutes and hamstrings when you hit the ground, which activates those Type II fast-twitch muscle fibers.

GLUTE/HAM SINGLE LEG PLYO BRIDGE STEP DOWN VARIATION

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Straighten your lower leg out a bit and just go for a little bit of clearance, even if it’s just 1″ off the ground.

This version is going to target a little more of your hamstring and a little less glute.

Work to get the glutes to take over to avoid hamstring injuries. If you allow the glutes to be dominant, it will work those glute/hamstring tie-ins.

4) PENDULUM PLANK

Build a solid, explosive core with this incredible bodyweight exercise.

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pendulum plank

From a plank position on your elbows, swing both your legs in a wide pendulum motion, side to side. Swing both feet far out to the left, push off with your toes and swing back to the right side. Swing back and forth, left-right-left.

Try to get as much clearance as you can without piking at the hips. Make sure you’re keeping your torso as steady as you can for core stability.

PENDULUM PLANK STEP DOWN VARIATION (SWIPERS)

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7 Best Plyometric Exercises

The step-down version is called the “Swiper”. From that elbow plank position, use one leg at a time, returning to the midline on each rep instead of swinging all the way to the other side. Sweep left landing on the left foot, come back to the midline, then sweep right.

The Swiper creates a three-point plank position, so your forearms get the support of one leg. It alleviates a little bit of the stress on the core, but still makes a great exercise for explosive core strength.

 
 

5) THE HANNIBAL PUSH UP

Get back on your feet like a pro athlete with this next exercise that builds upper body explosiveness.

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7 Best Plyometric Exercises

I train a lot of performance athletes: major league baseball players and MMA fighters who have to get off the ground fast. They can’t make a living laying on the ground.

The Hannibal Push Up is a little like the Superman push up but a little less showy and more functional. To do the Hannibal, press up hard so that your hands leave the ground, then try to touch your toes.

This upper body builder is one of the best ways to build bigger, explosive chest and triceps muscles at home.

Even the average guy needs to maintain that ability to get off the ground as fast as possible for the rest of their life or they’re going to be using a Life Alert.

HANNIBAL PUSHUP STEP DOWN VARIATION 

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7 Best Plyometric Exercises

If you’re unable to do the full Hannibal right now, leave your hands on the ground and swing your feet forward keeping your legs straight, similar to a pike. Touch the ground with your toes and then drop down for another.

You’re still going to get a lot of upper body work. Just the act of pulling your feet off the ground builds explosiveness.

6) ROLLING SQUAT BURPEE

This two-part exercise is a great way to train how to explosively get off the ground while building upper and lower body strength.

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7 Best Plyometric Exercises

Get on your back with legs curled, knees to chest, then thrust your legs forward so that you roll up on your feet and then straight down into a burpee, then roll back down.

This is a progression from your back to your stomach to back to stomach using your bodyweight explosively.

ROLLING SQUAT BURPEE STEP DOWN VARIATION

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rolling squat burpee step down

If you can’t do the entire squat-burpee combo, just break it in half and do just the squat burpee part without the roll-up on your back.

Get down on the ground in a push up position, push off explosively like a burpee, and jump up to the squat. Alternate the burpee and squat position as quickly and explosively as you can.

Learn to get quick with your feet to get them back underneath you for the next rep.

7) 180° DEPTH TUCK JUMPS

Let’s hit our lower body one more time with our depth tuck jumps with a 180° twist.

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depth jumps

The 180° Depth Tuck Jump demands that you have a little more control of your body in space, which is called proprioception. It also requires you to have enough explosiveness to execute the squat jump.

You can use a bench or a plyo box for this. Any sturdy elevated surface will work. You just need something that provides the right amount of height. Nothing crazy.

To do the move, step off the box so that you hit the ground naturally and cause an equally natural recoil. This stretches the quads and generates elastic energy. Then you do the 180° turn, change directions, and jump back up as fast as possible.

The space of time between the end of the lowering phase and the beginning of explosive ascent is called the Amortization Phase.

The amortization phase is the transition between centric lowering and explosive ascent. It’s not limited to jumping. Competition lifters train for rapid amortization phases in the chest and shoulder movements as well. We try to shorten the amortization phase in athletes to improve  overall quickness.

DEPTH JUMP STEP DOWN VARIATION

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7 Best Plyometric Exercises

If you can’t quite do the 180 turns you can work on depth tuck jump only. Step off with one foot, land, and quickly descend into that Amortization Phase and pop up.

Start with one leg for five to ten repetitions, and then switch to the other leg. You might notice a difference in the explosiveness of one leg over the other. It’s not uncommon to have a dominant side. Put in the work to equalize explosive strength between right and left sides.

Don’t think bodyweight means just doing as many push-ups or sit ups as you can. Use your own bodyweight in a challenging way and you can start building muscle without any equipment, in any environment.

These exercises aren’t easy to perform, but nobody ever got anything worthwhile by making it easy. Use the step-down versions as needed, master them, then move up to the more difficult versions.

If you’re looking to build a stronger more athletic and functional physique, we’ve got you covered. Check out our ATHLEAN-X programs to see which one is the best fit for your goals.

 
 
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THE HIGHLIGHT REEL:
7 Best Plyometric Exercises

  1. The need to train with bodyweight is widely accepted and practiced, but not everyone appreciates the importance of power training with explosive, plyometric exercises in their workout routines.
  2. Plyometric training, like other bodyweight training, can be done from home, or pretty much anywhere.
  3. Professional athletes train explosively for performance, but plyometric exercises are useful to anyone for general health, physical fitness, and activities of daily life.
  4. These exercises are challenging. Step-down versions are provided as a way to work into the difficult versions while getting the benefits in the process.
  5. Rapid eccentric and concentric contraction of the muscle builds quickness and fast-twitch muscle fibers. The interval between eccentric and concentric contraction is called the Amortization Phase.
  6. These seven exercises work the upper body, lower body, and core. Some are more specific than others. For example, the Hannibal Push Up focuses on chest and triceps primarily, while the Rolling Squat Burpee hits upper and lower body.

EstimatedEst. Read Time: 11 minutes
bodyweight exercises 8 best

BODYWEIGHT EXERCISES THAT BUILD MUSCLE

With these 8 bodyweight moves we’re going to cover your entire body, including your lungs!

Yes, this full body workout will take your breath away…. literally!

It is also a workout that will build muscle mass and strength, and you’ll see what I mean when you try the exercises!

The only piece of equipment you’re going to need for just a few of these body weight exercises is a $15 pullup bar.  If you don’t have one yet, I highly recommend you get one.

I promise it will have a great return on investment in terms of your ability to effectively train at home.

1.) PULLUP OR COMMANDO PULLUP

Whether you have access to a gym or not, the Classic Pullup is one of the best back exercises you can do for your upper body.

Start position is with arms straight overhead grabbing the bar with hands wider than shoulderwidth apart, palms facing away from you.

With core engaged begin to hang from the bar with knees bent and feet a couple inches off the floor. Pull yourself up until your chin clears the bar and then slowly lower your body back down to starting position.

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The 8 Best Bodyweight Exercises
No list of best bodyweight exercises should omit the Classic Pullup, which is one of the best back and upper body exercises you can do.

If you feel you’re not getting enough out of the Classic Pullup, or you’re looking for a more advanced option, we can involve more muscles in the exercise by simply switching our grip.

The Commando Pullup is a great pullup progression for an even more intense back exercise with the added benefit of working your forearms and biceps as well.

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commando pullup bodyweight exercise
The Commando Pullup is an advanced modification that in addition to working the back, will also recruit forearms, biceps and abs.

You can see that the over under grip also forces you to involve your core to help you stay stable as you pull up toward each side of the bar.

This grip also gives us a bit of extra forearm and biceps involvement, which adds intensity and challenge to the exercise.

2.) CHINUP KNEE UP

This exercise hits the biceps and abs equally as hard, as it breaks down the chinup into two parts.

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chin up knee up bodyweight exercise
The Chinup Knee Up allows us to challenge the biceps and abs in a single exercise.

You’ll start standing below the bar and take an underhand grip with palms facing you, hands shoulder width apart. Begin to bend your arms to pull yourself into a chinup while you bring your legs forward and up into a knees up position, as you engage your core.

The first part of this exercise is a normal chinup in which the underhand grip will give you an arm workout because of the biceps curls that are incorporated into the chinup movement.

We incorporate one of the best ab exercises by finishing it out with the knee up portion in the second part.

This is a great example to show that when we’re trying to get more out of a bodyweight exercise, we have to put more in to allow us to hit multiple muscles in one move.

3.) SLICK FLOOR BRIDGE CURL

This posterior chain exercise hammers your glutes and hamstrings, and is one of the most intense bodyweight leg exercises you can do for this area.

In fact, the Slick Floor Bridge Curl is as challenging as most weighted glute/ham exercises you’d have at your disposal if you were training in a gym!

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slick floor bridge curl bodyweight exercise
The Slick Floor Bridge Curl forces the hamstrings and glutes to work together and is one of the most challenging exercises for the lower body.

No equipment at all with this one except a pair of socks!

You can do this on any slick surface such as a tile floor or a wood floor.

Start position is lying face up on the floor, feet hipwidth apart, thighs are parallel in a straight line extending in front of you, with shoulder blades and hands on the floor and feet flat on the floor.

With core tight, begin by bending your knees and sliding your feet toward your body into the press up position of glute bridges. Slide your feet back out to return to the start with legs straight.

The great thing about the Slick Floor Bridge Curl is that you’re training your muscles to work the way they’re supposed to work.

The hamstrings SHOULD work with the help of the glutes, not in isolation.  And your glutes will definitely be working hard as you try to hold the bridge up while you initiate the hamstring curl portion of this movement.

4.) LEVITATION SQUAT

We’ll be hitting the quads with this next bodyweight exercise.

The Levitation Squat is a great regression from the Pistol Squat, because it’s easier to perform this single leg movement with your leg behind your body, similar to a Bulgarian split squat, instead of in front where balance may be a limiting factor.

It’s not necessarily that you don’t have the single leg strength to execute the Pistol Squat, but you might not have the single leg strength combined with enough balance to be able to execute it. In this case the split squats stance with leg behind the body will be a bit easier.

Begin standing with your feet shoulderwidth apart, and raise the left foot off the ground behind you with left knee bent and perform a bodyweight squat on the right leg. Be sure to take a deep squat to bring your knee to touch the ground.  Perform all the reps on this side before you switch legs and repeat the same on the left leg.

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levitation squat bodyweight exercise
The Levitation Squat is a great way to work the quads with bodyweight only, without the added complication of balance.

Now, can you progress yourself from the Levitation Squat to a Pistol Squat?

By all means, yes!

And you can actually self-spot in the Pistol Squat by hanging on to a bar while you perform it, until you build the adequate strength and balance to do it without support.

However, I still love the Levitation Squat because it’s a bit more gentle on my knees which allows me to push a little bit more out of every single rep.

5.) DIVEBOMBER PUSHUP

You knew that no list of best bodyweight exercises could ever be complete without some variation of a pushup!

This Divebomber Pushup hits your chest, shoulders and triceps equally hard at different points in the range of motion.

You can add the one and a half rep style for an even more advanced challenge for either the triceps or the shoulders.

Start out in a pushup or low plank position with feet shoulderwidth apart on the floor and chest parallel to the floor. Push the chest forward into cobra position not allowing your body to touch the floor, and bend your elbows to return to pushup position and repeat.

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divebomber pushup bodyweight exercise
The Divebomber Pushup is a great pushup variation that allows us to work the chest, shoulders and triceps.

When you first start your descent, you’re working your shoulders more.  At the bottom of the rep, you’re maximizing your chest, and as you come back up and out, you’re contracting the triceps the most as you get a little bit of extension back behind your body.

You can get more out of this exercise for triceps or shoulders by performing it in a one and a half rep style.

If you want to work your triceps more, you can perform an extra half rep at the bottom.

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1 and a half rep divebomber pushup for triceps
To get a little more triceps work out of this exercise you can perform an extra half rep at the bottom of the movement.

If you want to work your shoulders a bit more, perform an extra half rep at the top of the range of motion.

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1 and a half rep divebomber pushup for shoulders
To work the shoulders a little more, you can do an extra half rep at the top of the range of motion.

6.) MULE KICK

This is an awesome bodyweight conditioning exercise to get your heart pumping and also overload your shoulders.

The Mule Kick is incredibly demanding, because your shoulders have to support your entire bodyweight while you push your legs up toward the ceiling.

Start on all four with hands and feet shoulder width apart. Next, raise your hips and jump your feet upwards by pushing through the glutes and thighs.

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The 8 Best Bodyweight Exercises
The Mule Kick is a challenging shoulder exercise with conditioning benefits.

Every rep is basically a version of an explosive shoulder press with your shoulders still in contact with the ground.  Instead of trying to push the dumbbells up and away from you, you’re trying to push your body up and away from the ground.

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mule kicks engage the shoulders
You can see how hard the shoulders have to work during the Mule Kick to support your bodyweight.

Do this for a minute straight and I’ll tell you, your heart will be pumping and you’ll likely be breaking a serious sweat!

7.) KICKTHROUGH BURPEE

There may be no more athletic version of the burpee than this one, and that is why I love it!

The Kickthrough Burpee will challenge your upper body, lower body and core while pelting away at your ability to breathe.

Start with arms and legs in high plank position, then kick the left leg toward the right side of your body as you lift your right arm, leg extending as far out to the side as possible.

Repeat on the other side, kicking the right leg toward the left side of the body as you lift your left arm. Perform a pushup, then stand up and jump before returning to plank position.  This is one rep.

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kickthrough burpees bodyweight exercise
The Kickthrough Burpee adds an additional rotational challenge to the most classic conditioning exercise.

In this exercise we’re challenging ourselves not just in the sagittal plane but we are also involving some rotation.  This move requires some coordination, but once you practice it a few times you’ll get the hang of it.

This exercise is a bitch, but I love it because it will get your lungs burning in no time!

8.) FRONT LEVER

For my final bodyweight exercise choice, I’m including a challenging but rewarding move for the upper body, the Front Lever.

This exercise demands that two muscle groups work together that aren’t accustomed to doing so, the upper back and the core.

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front lever bodyweight exercise
The Front Lever is a challenging bodyweight exercise for both the upper back and the core.

The core will have to provide the stability to fight the force of gravity that’s trying to bend you in half every single time you lift yourself up.

And the only way you’re going to be able to lift yourself up is by having adequate strength in your upper back to perform what is basically a straight arm pushdown without weights to get your body up against that force of gravity.

This exercise is very difficult to do, and if you’re not ready for it you can modify by using a band to anchor your feet until you’ve built up the strength to be able to do the exercise without the band.

These 8 exercises prove that bodyweight training does not have to be inferior training.  As you can see, with bodyweight workouts you often have the ability to change or modify the exercises to elicit all new responses from the movements. Looking for a complete bodyweight program that helps you build muscle from head to toe? Check out our ATHLEAN-X Programs to see which is the best fit for your goals.

athleanx
THE HIGHLIGHT REEL:
8 BEST BODYWEIGHT EXERCISES

  1. The typical beginner bodyweight workout is only conditioning-based and do little to build muscle. But this doesn’t have to be the case.
  2. If you choose the right exercises and ensure they’re working multiple muscles in one move, the benefits of bodyweight exercises include building strength and muscle.
  3. I’ve shown you what in my opinion are the 8 best bodyweight exercises to help you build muscle and provide a conditioning challenge.
  4. Many of these exercises contain progressions or regressions to allow you to perform them regardless of your fitness level.
  5. Some of the exercises like the Divebomber Pushup also provide us with opportunities to adapt them to preferentially hit specific muscle groups.

EstimatedEst. Read Time: 6 minutes
home back workout

HOW TO WORK YOUR BACK AT HOME

Effective bodyweight back workouts are not very common, at least not those that don’t require a pullup bar. 

People say it can’t be done…

That it’s impossible to get a good back workout without equipment.

That you need to use heavy weight to build muscle in your back.

NOT SO.

I’m about to show you how to hit your upper, middle and lower back with three bodyweight back exercises that together make up one ultimate bodyweight back workout!

No bars, no bench, no nothing!

You’ll see that it’s totally possible to get a great back workout routine, without machines, without without pull ups and without an inverted row.

Before we get started, let me tell you why incorporating bodyweight exercises into your training plan can actually ACCELERATE your back gains.

When we switch to bodyweight back exercises, we can control them better and ensure a proper contraction, which translates into improved gains.

Like any muscle group, you want to be sure that you maximize the contraction of the key muscles you are trying to work to get them to grow.  In the case of the back muscles, many people tend to heave the weights up using momentum and don’t fully use their muscles to move the weight.

When we switch to upper body exercises with no equipment, we can control them better and ensure a proper contraction, which translates into improved gains.

Let me show you the best bodyweight back exercises of all time using no equipment at all!

BEST BODYWEIGHT UPPER BACK EXERCISE

First we’ll target the upper back muscles including the traps, rhomboids and posterior delts, using what I call the Back Widow. 

To do this simple exercise, starting position is face up on the floor and bending your elbows on the ground with fists up in the air. Push hard through the upper back to engage the rhomboids, traps, and posterior delts to get your upper body and spine up and off the ground, and pull your shoulder blades in, keeping your knees bent with feet on the floor. Pause at the top, and then return to starting position lowering your body toward floor, and then push yourself up again.

If you need an easier variation, you can do a self spot by incorporating a bit more push from the feet on the floor.  If you don’t need the help, maintain the push through the elbows and contract the back muscles to power off the floor.

 
 

BACK WIDOW

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Best Bodyweight Back Workout

The pro tip here is to hold the contraction on each repetition, and make sure you get yourself up by using your back muscles and not momentum!

BEST BODYWEIGHT MID BACK EXERCISE

Next we’ll target the middle back and primarily the lat muscle by performing the Sliding Lat Pulldown.

The lats are challenging to hit with no equipment.

But if you look at your surroundings and use some creativity you can get the job done!

For this, all you’ll need is a pair of pants and a slick floor.  I’m doing it on concrete which isn’t all that slick, so it gives me even more friction.

Starting position is with your body outstretched lying facedown on the floor with your feet back behind you, and a neutral spine, extending your arms straight out in front of you, hands shoulder width apart on the floor.  Engage your core muscles and initiate a complete total body prone pull down. You’ll pull your chest off the floor by pushing your arms up into plank position and then lower yourself back down, belly toward floor, to slowly return to the starting position.

SLIDING LAT PULLDOWN

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sliding lat pulldown bodyweight mid back exercise

You can see that this effective exercise very much mimics a pullover or a straight arm pull down, one of my favorite exercises for lats.

To make this more difficult, try to stay on your toes as you extend out to the start position and remain on your toes as you pull down.

If you need a slightly easier variation, you can unweight some of your body by allowing your knees and shins to drag on the ground for the first one third of the move and lift them when you have the strength to lift.

BEST BODYWEIGHT LOWER BACK EXERCISE

Finally we’ll hit the lower back with the Reverse Superman exercise, which will also incorporate a number of other muscle groups.

When working the lower back, it’s important to train it with the muscles it prefers to work with.

When working the lower back, it’s important to train it with the muscles it prefers to work with.

It likes to get some help from the glutes and lower body, and from the lats that tie into your lower back.

This Reverse Superman exercise will incorporate all of these muscle groups, and because it’s done with the arms behind the body, you’ll pull your shoulder blades, rotating them back with each repetition.  That means the rotator cuff is getting involved, too.

 
 

REVERSE SUPERMAN

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reverse superman

Start position is lying face down with hands facing up towards the ceiling, elbows tucked into your sides with arms and legs in a straight line. Squeezing your glutes, lift arms and legs simultaneously. Using a rotating motion, pull the shoulder blade in, and as you do so, hands will turn toward the ground.

Aim for a solid two to three second contraction on each rep to really work the strength and stamina of the lower back muscles. Then return to the starting position and repeat.

As you can see, using no equipment doesn’t mean you have no options when it comes to performing back exercises at home.  You don’t even have to compromise on the difficulty of the upperbody exercises.  In fact, a few of these exercises may even require you to dial them back! Being without access to the gym definitely doesn’t mean you have to give up on stronger healthier shoulders.

If you’re looking for a complete bodyweight workout program that actually helps you to BUILD MUSCLE, look no further! Check our our ATHLEAN-X programs to see which is the best fit for your goals and fitness level.

 
 
athleanx
THE HIGHLIGHT REEL:
BODYWEIGHT BACK WORKOUT

  1. Many people think it’s impossible to build muscle in the back with only bodyweight exercises. I’ve shown you that not only is this false, you can actually see better gains by incorporating no equipment options into your back exercise routine, because it is harder to use momentum when you’re doing bodyweight exercises.
  2. For the upper back, the Back Widow exercise will allow you to hit traps, rhomboids and posterior deltoids.
  3. The Sliding Lat Pulldown will hit your middle back, and especially the lats.
  4. The Reverse Superman hits not only low back but also the glutes, lats and even the rotator cuffs, which are weak underactive muscles for many people.

EstimatedEst. Read Time: 5 minutes
300 abs workout to get six pack abs

WAGING WAR ON YOUR ABDOMINALS

You’ve likely heard about the “300” workout. It was the famous workout used by the cast of the movie “300” during training for their roles.

But that workout wasn’t so tough on the abs.

So I fixed it!

I didn’t want anyone to miss out on this one, so I created both a beginner and advanced version.

I’d like to challenge you to see if you can complete the 300 Abs Workout with the best form and minimal to no rest between moves.

The structure of the ab workout is similar but scaled depending on your ability level.  In the beginner version of this abs workout you will use nothing but your own bodyweight and the floor.

For the advanced version, we’re breaking out the barbell! If the 300 reps don’t get you in the beginner version, perhaps the weighted ab workout in the advanced version will! I’d like to challenge you to see if you can complete the 300 Abs Workout with the best form and minimal to no rest between moves.

This routine is going to WAGE WAR on your obliques, upper abs and lower abs.  Ready to get started?ab muscle anatomy including rectus abdominis upper and lower and obliques

THE 300 ABS CHALLENGE

The goal with every ab exercise in this workout is to try to get through all of the reps without resting.

That said, I realize that this may be very difficult for many who will attempt this routine. In that case, do as many as you can and keep your rest to a minimum in an attempt to get through all the reps without sacrificing form.

When you are ready to step up the challenge, remember to move onto the advanced version.  This one incorporates a barbell and weighted ab training, making it perfect for the gym.

You’ll never under train your abs again with this new weapon in your ab workout arsenal!

THE “300” ABS WORKOUT: BEGINNER VERSION

1.) Sit Up Reach Ups for 50 reps

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sit up reach ups ab exercise


2.)
Side Crunches To Left for 25 reps

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side crunches to left ab exercise


3.)
Side Crunches To Right for 25 reps

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side crunches to right ab exercise


4.)
Seated Russian Twists for 50 reps

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seated russian twists abs exercise


5.)
Hi / Low Scissor Crosses for 50 reps hi & low

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hi low scissor crosses ab exercise


6.)
Leaning Knee Drives To Right for 25 reps

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leaning knee drives toward the left


7.)
Leaning Knee Drives To Left for 25 reps

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leaning knee drives toward the right


8.)
Wiper Planks for 50 reps each side

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wiper planks abs exercise

THE “300” ABS WORKOUT: ADVANCED VERSION


1.)
Overhead Jammers for 50 reps

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overhead jammers advanced abs exercise


2.)
Left Side Thrust Ups for 25 reps

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left side thrust ups ab exercises


3.)
Right Side Thrust Ups for 25 reps

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right side thrust ups ab exercises


4.)
Weighted Russian Twists for 50 reps

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weighted Russian twists abs exercises


5.)
Hi / Low Toe Taps for 50 reps hi & low

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hi low toe taps advanced ab exercise


6.)
Oblique Rollouts To Left for 25 reps

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left oblique rollouts advanced abs exercise


7.)
Oblique Rollouts To Right for 25 reps

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right oblique rollouts advanced abs


8.)
Rock The Boat for 50 reps each side

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rock the boat exercise for six pack abs

A KILLER ABS WORKOUT NO MATTER YOUR LEVEL

So there you have it, 300 killer reps in one intense ab workout, beginner and advanced versions.

It doesn’t matter what ability level you’re starting at.  The key is to keep working to get better.  If you’re a beginner now, one day you’ll be training your abs at the advanced level.  And if you’re already advanced, there’s nothing stopping you from throwing more weight on that bar.

No matter what, keep challenging yourself.

At ATHLEAN-X we’re here to help you keep challenging yourself and just as importantly, we put the science back in strength in every single workout.  The abs and core are part of everything we do – that’s just how our body works.  So if you’re looking for a complete program that is based around this concept, check out our ATHLEAN-X Training Systems.

athleanx
THE HIGHLIGHT REEL:
The “300” Workout for Abs: BEGINNER VERSION

  1. Sit Up Reach Ups for 50 reps
  2. Side Crunches To Left for 25 reps
  3. Side Crunches To Right for 25 reps
  4. Seated Russian Twists for 50 reps
  5. Hi / Low Scissor Crosses for 50 reps hi & low
  6. Leaning Knee Drives To Right for 25 reps
  7. Leaning Knee Drives To Left for 25 reps
  8. Wiper Planks for 50 reps each side

athleanx
THE HIGHLIGHT REEL:
The “300” Workout for Abs: ADVANCED VERSION

  1. Overhead Jammers for 50 reps
  2. Left Side Thrust Ups for 25 reps
  3. Right Side Thrust Ups for 25 reps
  4. Weighted Russian Twists for 50 reps
  5. Hi / Low Toe Taps for 50 reps hi & low
  6. Oblique Rollouts To Left for 25 reps
  7. Oblique Rollouts To Right for 25 reps
  8. Rock The Boat for 50 reps each side

See if you can complete the 300 abs workout with the best form and minimal rest between moves:

Complete these 300 reps with the best form possible and minimal rest between moves:

The 300 ab workout is a challenging and effective abs routine that covers all of the areas of the abs. Use this workout several times per week. If you are a beginner, work toward progressing to the advanced version.