Upper Chest Bodyweight Workout At Home

Many of us struggle to build a well-defined upper chest, especially when we’re limited to working out at home without access to gym equipment. The upper chest is often neglected in bodyweight routines.

Many people think bodyweight upper chest workouts aren’t as effective as their gym chest workout counterparts.

However, when you try the upper chest bodyweight workout routine that I will share with you, you will be completely convinced of its effectiveness.

This routine builds a bigger chest, improves posture, and increases pushing strength without requiring expensive gym equipment or membership.

After reading this blog post, you will have a plan to build your upper chest using only your body weight.

Let’s begin!

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At Home Upper chest bodyweight workout

Here is the list of the 7 best upper chest bodyweight workouts that you can do at home to help you build a well-developed chest.

1. Decline Push-Up

If you’re looking for straightforward upper chest bodyweight exercises to add to your home workout routine, the decline push-up is a great staple exercise to get you started.

It is similar to normal push-ups, but with your legs on a bench. Although this is called the Decline push-up, it focuses more on the upper pecs.

Furthermore, your lower body is raised from the floor, and your body’s resistance is increased compared to doing the push-up on the floor. This makes the decline push-up harder than the standard push-up.

How to do

1. Placed your hands firmly on the floor and spaced slightly wider than shoulder-width apart.
2. Put legs on the bench or any elevated surface.
3. Keep your elbows close to your body and raise until your elbows are almost near to locked.
4. Pause for a moment at the top of the movement.
5. Slowly and steadily lower your body until your chest is close to the ground.
6. Vary the position of the bench to hit different angles of the upper chest.

Know More: Bodyweight Chest Exercises: Beginner To Advance

2. stability ball Decline Push-up

If you’re looking for a way to get more creative with your upper chest bodyweight workout, why not try push-ups with feet on a Swiss ball?

It is a progression of the decline push-up that targets the chest, shoulders, and triceps while engaging the core.

This elevated position increases the difficulty and shifts the focus to the upper chest and shoulders, while the stability ball adds an element of balance and core activation.

How to do

1. Lie face-down on the ball with your arms supporting you in a push-up position.
2. Roll forward until your pelvis and thighs are off the ball, and position your feet on top.
3. Your hands should be directly beneath your shoulders, and your body should form a straight line from head to heel.
4. Breathe in as you lower yourself by bending your arms until your elbows form a 90-degree angle. Use your core muscles to stabilize yourself.
5. You should pause at the bottom for one to two seconds before breathing out and using your arms to push you up to the starting position.

3. Archer Push-Up

In an Archer push-up, the arms are kept wider than in the normal push-up position as you lower your body.

You transfer the majority of your weight to one of your hands and incline towards that hand, while the other hand is kept straight. Simultaneously, move your body to both sides.

You must maintain a tight, steady, and controlled body to perform archer push-ups. 

How to do

1. Start in a standard push-up position with your hands slightly wider than shoulder-width apart and elbows completely locked out.
2. Maintain a strong core position and shift your upper body toward your right side.
3. Pull your right chest toward your right hand as you bend your right elbow.
4. As you lower toward the right side, allow your left arm to straighten.
5. Your left arm should be fully extended, forming a straight line from your shoulder to your hand.
6. Repeat for your desired number of repetitions, switch sides.

4. Pike Push Up

Pike Push-ups are a variation of the push-up that increases strength and stability in the shoulders, upper chest and triceps.

This exercise is another great option for targeting the upper chest and growing your upper pecs at home with bodyweight.

The pike push-up looks like a mash-up of Downward-Facing Dog and Dolphin Pose, and this move can build major strength.

How to do

1. Start in a standard push-up position with your hands slightly wider than shoulder-width apart and elbows completely locked out.
2. Lift the hips up and back until your body forms an inverted V shape. Keep arms and legs as straight as possible.
3. Slowly lower the top of your head towards the ground.
4. Once your head is about to contact the ground, pause for a second.
5. Then slowly push back until your arms are straight, and you’re in the inverted V position.

5. Reverse Grip push-up

Instead of having your hands and fingers pointing forward, as with a standard pushup, your hands are flat, with your fingers pointing back toward your feet.

When you rotate your arm to do a reverse grip push-up, you internally rotate your shoulders, emphasizing your upper chest muscles and the front deltoids more than standard push-ups.

• Beginners can start with wall and knee reverse grip push-ups
• As you get stronger, you can increase the difficulty by elevating your feet or adding a pause at the bottom of the movement.

How to do

1. Start in a standard push-up position on the floor.
2. Rotate your hands so your fingers point towards your feet and your thumbs outward.
3. Your hands should be slightly wider than shoulder-width apart.
4. Lower your body by bending your elbows, keeping them close to your body.
5. Push back up to the starting position.

6. Handstand Push Up

A handstand push-up requires a lot of upper-body strength, balance, and coordination. It heavily engages your shoulder muscles, particularly the deltoids.

It is a more advanced variation of the traditional push-up, and it is a great way to build muscle and strength in your shoulders, triceps and upper chest.

Here are some tips for doing handstand push-ups:

• Start with wall-supported handstand push-ups. This is a great way to learn the basic movement pattern of a handstand push-up without worrying about balance.
• Progress to freestanding handstand push-ups gradually. Once you can do 10-15 wall-supported handstand push-ups, you can start working on freestanding handstand push-ups.

How To Do

1. Start in a handstand position against a wall to support the body. If you are new to handstand push-ups, use a spotter.
2. Keep your core engaged, your body straight, and your shoulders over your wrists.
3. Focus on keeping your body straight from your head to your heels.
4. Bend elbows and lower body towards the floor in controlled motion
5. Slowly lower your body until your head touches the ground.
6. Push through your palms to lift yourself back up to the starting position.
7. Start with low reps and high sets. Be patient and gradually progress as your abilities improve.

7. Wide Grip Push Up

A wide-grip push-up is a type of push-up exercise in which the hands are placed wider than shoulder-width apart on the floor.

This wider grip targets the muscles in the chest, arms, and shoulders more than traditional push-ups.

Adding wide push-ups to your upper chest workout routine will keep your workouts interesting by giving you a new and challenging way to do push-ups.

How To Do

1. Start in a plank position with your hands wider than shoulder-width apart on the floor.
2. Your feet should be hip-width apart, and your body should form a straight line from your head to your heels.
3. Lower your body towards the floor.
4. As you lower your body, keep your core tight and your body straight.
5. When your chest is above the floor, push through your hands and return to the starting position.

How Can I Workout My Upper Chest At Home?

Bodyweight training is a great way to build strength, especially if you’re traveling or don’t have access to equipment. One of the benefits is that it can be done anywhere.

It is important to note that you will need to modify the exercises when you do them at home. However, your furniture may be sufficient for a quality workout.

You could also use a sofa or chair for decline push-ups. 

To improve hypertrophy and strength in your upper chest, you should try increasing the intensity of your workout. Different bodyweight exercises can easily increase the intensity of your workout.

Once you learn how to make basic changes, you can be more creative.

Benefits Of Upper Chest Bodyweight Workout.

When it comes to training, the upper pecs, and bodyweight push-up exercises are a perfect choice because:

• An upper chest bodyweight workout will improve muscular endurance in the upper body and strengthen both muscles and bones.
• It will boost your explosiveness. Don’t believe me? Wait until you’ve worked your plyo push-ups to the flying progressions, and you’ll see what I mean!
• Push-ups require more balance, which can lead to greater muscle fiber recruitment.
• The movements you’ll learn are highly functional. You’ll not only gain strength and size; you’ll become more powerful all around, your joints will be stronger, and your core will tighten.
• A bodyweight workout for the upper chest that does not use weights requires more balance, which can lead to more muscle fiber being used.
• A bodyweight chest workout can be a good full-body workout and help you burn more calories.
• A bodyweight workout will improve your metabolism and help you burn more fat, especially if you move your entire body around. This will help you achieve a lean and mean look.

FAQs

What bodyweight exercise works the upper chest?

Several excellent bodyweight exercises target the upper chest. The decline push-ups and Pike Push-Ups are some of the best upper chest bodyweight workouts.

How do you work your upper chest without weights?

The decline and pike push-ups are two of the best exercises for working the upper chest without weights.

Can you build your chest with bodyweight exercises?

You can build chest muscles with bodyweight exercises, you don’t need an expensive barbell or bench to develop a strong chest. You can make a stronger chest at home without weights by doing push-ups.

Do push-ups build the upper chest?

Decline Push-ups are an excellent bodyweight exercise for strengthening the upper chest, but decline push-ups on a stability ball take this routine to the next level.

Manish Kumar

Manish is a NASM-certified fitness and nutrition coach with over 10 years of experience in weight lifting and fat loss fitness coaching. He specializes in gym-based training and has a lot of knowledge about exercise, lifting technique, biomechanics, and more.

Through “Fit Life Regime,” he generously shares the insights he’s gained over a decade in the field. His goal is to equip others with the knowledge to start their own fitness journey.