12 Best Chest Exercises at Home for Big and Strong Chest

There are many circumstances and situations in which we cannot go to a gym and perform those bench presses and other chest exercises we usually do in the gym. But what if you don’t need a gym. Yes, we can do chest exercises at home and can train each part of our pecs- the upper, middle, lower, outer, and inner chest very easily. And you can do it even if you don’t have any equipment with you.

Here in this article, you will find those best terrific chest exercises which you can do at home, park, or any other place very easily. You just need to give some time on reading it completely and understanding all these exercises which I have specifically selected for you.

Hold on, there is one at home chest workout also at the end which you must try out. So without wasting your time, let me begin with the exercise.

Chest Exercises at Home

1. Push Ups

Push ups are one of the most popular upper body exercises which not only train your chest but also increase the strength of your arms, shoulder, and back. You must do push ups if you want a perfect upper body structure.

Muscles Targeted- Pectoralis major (middle Chest), anterior deltoids, triceps

How to do

1. Get down on the ground and place your hands slightly wider than your shoulders. Your toes should be in contact with the floor or ground.
2. Straighten your arms and legs. Your hands should be in line with your shoulders.
3. Lower your body down until your chest is close to the floor. Don’t bend or round your lower back. Make sure to squeeze your abs and tight your back.
4. Pause, and then push yourself up back to the starting position.

Beginners can place their knees on the floor and perform the same movement. Always remember to start the movement with shoulders rolled back. Your elbow should be in rather than pointing out.

2. Wide Grip Push Ups

Muscles targeted- Pectoralis major (middle and outer chest), anterior deltoids

How to do

1. Get down and place your hands wider than your shoulders. Don’t go too wide so that it hurts your shoulder.
2. Straight your hands and legs. Your hands should be in line with your shoulders from the side.
3. By keeping your shoulders back, go down and feel your chest muscles working.
4. Pause at the bottom and then come back up straight.

Keep in mind that your elbow will point out more as you go wide with the push up. Always try to open your chest as you go down. Concentrate on moving straight down and pay attention to your chest muscles.

3. Underhand Push Ups

This variation will help you to be in the right position for push ups. As some of you may round your shoulders forward during a pushup, which is not good for your shoulders in the long run. So do this exercise instead!

Muscles targeted- Pectoralis major ( lower chest), triceps

How to do

1. Place your hands with an underhand grip on the edge of a bench or a chair. Hands should be shoulder-width apart.
2. Take your body down towards the bench. Your body should be straight and abs should be flexed.
3. Pause at the bottom and then push back up. Your elbows should be in all the time.

You can use two chairs if you don’t have a bench at home. Keep it close to the wall so that it doesn’t move as you do the exercise.

You can also do this exercise on the floor but it’s not appropriate for beginners. Your wrist should be mobile enough to do it without pain.

4. Decline Push Ups

This is a great exercise for your upper chest. Many of us already have a good lower and mid chest but underdeveloped upper chest. So I highly recommend you train your upper chest.

Muscles targeted- Pectoralis major and minor ( upper chest ), anterior deltoids

How to do

1. Place your toes on a table, chair, or bench. The height of the table should not be too much. Your hands should be placed on the floor at slightly wider than the Shoulder width.
2. By keeping your legs and arms straight, take your body down. Your elbows should be at a 45° angle and your core should be tight.
3. Pause at the bottom and return to the starting position. You don’t have to look up during the movement.

Always breathe in as you go down and breathe out on the way up during every push-up exercise you do. You don’t have to hold your breath ( valsalva maneuver )

5. Side to Side Push Ups

This exercise is a good variation of a standard push up. It’s a little advance and challenging than the normal push up.

Targeted muscles- Pectoralis major and minor ( middle chest ), triceps, anterior deltoids

how to do

1. Place your hands on the ground, slightly wider than your shoulders. Your toes should be on the ground.
2. Straighten your arms and legs. Your hands should be in line with your shoulders.
3. Lower your body down until your chest is close to the floor. Pause, and then push back to the starting position.
4. Now take one hand and place it close to the other hand. Now move the other hand to the side and do another push up from that position.
5. Return to the previous position and do the same push up on the other side.

You should check out the above video if you are having trouble understanding the exercise.

6. Archer Push Ups

It’s a little advance pushup exercise. Here, you can create constant tension on your own muscles and individually focus on each side of the chest.

How to do-

1. Set up just like a normal push up position. Your grip should be wider than the normal push up grip.
2. Lower your body towards one side with the help of one hand. The other hand will be placed on the other side of the ground for balance. You can rotate the wrist of the other hand for safety.
3. Come back up by pushing with your arms and then repeat the same movement with the other hand.

Try to keep your elbows in during the movement. This exercise will give you the strength to perform single arm push ups.

7. Incline Push Ups

This will give you that nice sharp lower chest. Try to do more reps on this exercise

Muscles targeted- Pectoralis major and minor ( lower and outer chest )

How to do

1. Place your hands on the edge of a table or a bench with your legs straight. Your core should be tight and the lower back should not be bend.
2. Lower your body toward the table until your lower chest is touching the edge of a table.
3. Pause at the bottom and push back up.

Your shoulder should be back and chest should be front at all the time during the pushing exercise.

8. Home Chest Flys

You just need a water bottle to do this exercise. You can use large bottles to increase the intensity.

Targeted muscles- Pectoralis major and minor ( outer and mid chest)

How to do

1. Lay down on a flat surface. Hold two water bottles and raise it up. Your wrist should be in line with your middle chest.
2. Now start moving your hands down with a slight bend in the elbow. Your shoulder should be down and back. Make sure that your hands are moving straight down to the side.
3. Pause at the bottom when your elbow touches the floor. Then come back up slowly.

As you go down, the angle of your elbow should always be more than 90° otherwise this will become a pressing movement. The movement should be such that you are giving a hug to someone.

Advanced lifters can do it with their hands completely straight. If you are just a beginner, then you can try this exercise but it’s better to focus on other push up exercises.

9. Incline Close Grip Push Up

This will work your inner chest and will give you a fuller look to your chest.

Targeted muscles– Pectoralis major and minor ( inner chest )

How to do

1. Place your hands at the edge of the table or a bench. Your hands should be placed together.
2. With your hands straight and shoulders back, start going down. Your elbows should be tucked in to create more tension on the chest fibers.
3. Pause at the bottom, then push back up tawords the starting position.

You should not bend your lower back during this exercise. It’s always recommended to tighten your core during any push up exercises. So always tight your abs and lower back together to keep your core engaged.

10. Incline Chest Press with Bands

This exercise you can do at home very easily if you have resistance bands with you. It’s not so expensive so many of you can afford it. It’s always better to have some dumbbells or resistance bands to work out easily at home.

Muscles targeted- Pectoralis major and minor (upper chest)

How to do

1. Attach a door anchor at the lower part of the door. You can watch the above video to understand it better.
2. Hold the resistance band and get to the pushing position. Make sure that your elbow is pointing at the door anchor where the band is attached.
3. Retract your shoulders and start pushing forward. Pause at the top and come back down slowly.

Your shoulders should be back (retracted) and your chest should be up before performing any pushing movement. That will keep your scapula in a much stable and safe position. This will reduce the risk of injury and puts more tension on the chest.

11. Cross Over Chest Flys

Another exercise with a resistance band. Make sure that the band has a handle. This is a great exercise because here, you can take your hands beyond the midline of the body which will put maximum tension on your chest.

Muscles targeted- Pectoralis major and minor (mid and inner chest)

How to do

1. Attach a door anchor at hip height. Fix the resistance band with the anchor. Now hold the handles and come forward.
2. Move your hands forward like you are hugging someone. Your hands should go beyond the midline of the body.
3. Come back slowly and repeat the movement.

If your hands pass the midline of the chest, it activates your chest more. That’s why it is an effective exercise for chest.

12. Single-Leg Push Up

This is little difficult than the normal push up. If regular push ups are easy for you, then try this one out.

How to do

1. Set up in a push-up position with your hands on the floor at shoulders width apart and legs straight. Your shoulders should be pinged back. The core should be tight.
2. Now raise your one leg up to about 6 inches from the floor. This will be your starting position.
3. Start going down with your back straight and abs tight. Pause at the bottom where your chest is about to touch the floor.
4. Push your body up by squeezing your chest. Your back should be straight during the movement.

Chest Workout at Home

Now we will look at the workout program which includes the exercises we discussed above. This chest work out at home is quite easy to perform and you don’t need any equipment for this. This chest workout can be done by both men and women.

Here we will focus on each and every part of your chest namely upper, lower, outer, and inner. It’s a very good work out for people who can’t go to a gym or are very busy in their lives to travel to the gym. So let’s begin!

Warm-Up

Do regular push-ups, 2 sets of 12 reps. Do it on your knees if 12 reps are difficult for you. Here you don’t have to go hard and fatigue the muscles. If you have resistance bands, then you can do incline presses with bands instead of push ups

I always talk about warm-ups because your muscles must be warm before starting any exercise. It also increases the blood flow to those working muscles which may prevent injuries.

Main Sets

1. Wide Grip Push-Ups– Do 3 sets of 10 reps. Don’t rush, do it slowly with proper form. Your shoulders should be back all the time.

2. Decline Push-Ups- Do 3 sets of 8-10 reps. Keep the tension on your upper chest. Remember not to bend your lower back too much. Keep your core tight during the movement.

3. Home Chest flys- Do 3 sets of 12 slow reps. Use water bottles or dumbbells if you have. Go for one hand at a time to train each part separately.

4. Incline Close-grip Push ups– Do 2 sets of 10 reps. This will work your inner chest more. Your elbows should be in all the time during this exercise.

5. Underhand Push Ups– Do 3 sets of 8-10 reps. You can do cross over chest flys instead of this if you have a resistance band.

Notes-

• Do each exercise with proper form and technique. always breathe in on the way up and breathe in as you go down.
• It is always recommended to consult your physician and fitness professionals before starting any exercise.

Also read-

• 12 Best Back Exercises At Home with a proper back workout
• 12 Best Back Exercises with Dumbbells for a strong back