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Best Bodyweight Chest Exercises For A Strong & Defined Chest

Updated on April 17, 2025 - Writen by: Kaelyn Buzzo, PT - Reviewed by Tara Mitchell, DPT Fact checked

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Want to build a stronger chest without needing any equipment? These bodyweight chest exercises let you train anywhere—whether you’re at home, traveling, or short on time.

Each movement targets the pectoralis major and minor while also engaging supporting muscles like the shoulders and triceps. With consistent effort, they’re a powerful tool for building upper body strength and achieving a well-defined, muscular chest.

Best Bodyweight Chest Exercises

Chest Dip

Chest

Push-Up

Chest

Diamond Push-Up

Arm

All Bodyweight Chest Exercises

Below, you’ll find a mix of beginner-friendly and advanced bodyweight chest exercises designed to hit different angles of your pecs. Each one offers unique benefits—whether you’re training for size, strength, or definition—so you can pick the right movement for your goal.

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Chair Chest Dip

Equipment:

Bodyweight

Chair

Muscle Worked:

Chest

View Exercise

Place a set of chairs shoulder-width apart. They should be facing away from each other with their backs inwards. Ensure that you find a suitable grippy surface.
Stand in front of the chairs with your feet hip-width apart and arms by your sides. Both chairs should be facing side-on... Read more

Pseudo Planche Push-Up

Equipment:

Bodyweight

Muscle Worked:

Chest

View Exercise

Enter a tabletop position with your hands and knees on a mat or towel.
Position your hands out to the side and near your stomach. Your fingers should point away from your body. Ensure both arms are fully extended with your elbows next to your ribs... Read more

Push-Up Burpees

Equipment:

Bodyweight

Muscle Worked:

Chest

Leg

View Exercise

Start in a standing position.
Hinge from the hips and squat down... Read more

Incline Push-Up

Equipment:

Bodyweight

Chair

Muscle Worked:

Chest

View Exercise

Get a bench, table, or any stable elevated surface. Ensure it's set up in a suitable space.
Place your hands shoulder-width apart on the edge of the surface with your arms extended. .. Read more

Mike Tyson Push-Up

Equipment:

Bodyweight

Muscle Worked:

Chest

View Exercise

Set up next to a suitable wall with enough space to come out into a straight position. Turn around so your back is against the wall and assume a tabletop position.
Bring both feet against the wall, ensuring they’re hip-width apart... Read more

Decline Push-Up

Equipment:

Bodyweight

Chair

Muscle Worked:

Chest

View Exercise

Be sure you have a sturdy bench or elevated surface that can support your body weight. Starting from an all-fours position, bring your feet up to the bench and place them slightly apart.
Place your hands on the ground, slightly wider than shoulder-width apart... Read more

Plyo Push-Up

Equipment:

Bodyweight

Muscle Worked:

Chest

View Exercise

Place your hands shoulder-width apart on the floor. Keep your body straight from head to heels.
Slowly lower your chest towards the floor by bending your elbows. Keep your core engaged and back straight... Read more

Fingertip Push-Up

Equipment:

Bodyweight

Muscle Worked:

Chest

View Exercise

Find a suitable padded area or a gym mat if available. This helps to improve exercise comfort.
Assume a tabletop position. Your hands and knees should be the only contact points. Your body should be facing the ground... Read more

Deficit Push-Up

Equipment:

Bodyweight

Muscle Worked:

Chest

View Exercise

Get a non-slippery mat and place two sturdy weight plates, yoga blocks, or dumbbells on it shoulder-width apart.
Get into a push-up position with your body in a straight line head to heels... Read more

Walking Push-Up

Equipment:

Bodyweight

Muscle Worked:

Chest

View Exercise

Begin in a high plank position with your hands shoulder-width apart. Your body should be straight and your core muscles fully engaged.
As you inhale, lower your chest to the ground by bending your elbows. Then, on the exhale, push back up to the starting position... Read more

Grasshopper Push-Up

Equipment:

Bodyweight

Muscle Worked:

Chest

View Exercise

Place your hands shoulder-width apart on the floor. Keep your body in a straight line from head to heels.
Bend your elbows, lowering your chest towards the floor as if doing a regular push-up... Read more

Reverse Push-Up

Equipment:

Bodyweight

Muscle Worked:

Chest

View Exercise

First, position your hands facing backward at approximately a 45-degree angle. Your fingers should be pointed in the general direction of your feet.
The underside of your forearm will be facing forward... Read more

Hindu Push-Up

Equipment:

Bodyweight

Muscle Worked:

Chest

View Exercise

Set up next to a suitable mat or padded area. Assume a kneeling position and place your hands on the floor with your arms shoulder-width apart.
Your hands should be slightly facing outward... Read more

Knee Push-Up

Equipment:

Bodyweight

Muscle Worked:

Chest

View Exercise

Start in a kneeling plank position with your arms fully extended. Your hands should be beneath your shoulders, palms flat on the ground.
Inhale to engage your core... Read more

Push-Up to Shoulder Tap

Equipment:

Bodyweight

Muscle Worked:

Chest

View Exercise

Start in a tabletop position with your hands and knees touching the floor. This should be on a padded surface or mat if possible. Use a shoulder-width arm position with your hands pointing slightly outward.
Bring your legs straight back and come onto the balls of your feet. Assume a high plank position with your hands directly under your shoulders. There should be a straight line from your head to your heels... Read more

Dynamic Arm Swing

Equipment:

Bodyweight

Muscle Worked:

Shoulder

Chest

View Exercise

Stand with flat feet hip-width apart on the floor with your knees slightly bent.
Raise your arms out to your sides at shoulder height... Read more

Wall Push-Up

Equipment:

Bodyweight

Muscle Worked:

Chest

View Exercise

Place your feet 1–2 feet away from the wall.
Lean forward and place your hands on the wall. Position them shoulder-width apart, at the same height as your chest... Read more

Negative Push-Up

Equipment:

Bodyweight

Muscle Worked:

Chest

View Exercise

Begin in the classic push-up position, with a straight line from your ankles through to the top of your head. Your feet should be hip-width apart and your hands shoulder-width apart.
Slowly and deliberately lower your body until it almost hits the ground. Keep a nice straight line from your ankles through to the top of your head... Read more

Ring Push-Up

Equipment:

Bodyweight

Ring

Muscle Worked:

Chest

View Exercise

Start in a high plank. Your toes should be on the ground. Each hand should grip the inner part of a ring with your elbows straight.
Slowly lower your body by bending your elbows. Lower until your chest is about midway between the rings. Keep your elbows tucked in at 45 degrees... Read more

Doorway Chest Stretch

Equipment:

Bodyweight

Muscle Worked:

Chest

View Exercise

Stand in a doorway with your elbows bent at shoulder height and your forearms resting on the doorframe.
Keeping your forearms and palms flat on the doorframe, gently lean through the doorway. Avoid excessively arching the lower back when doing this... Read more

Archer Push-Up

Equipment:

Bodyweight

Muscle Worked:

Chest

View Exercise

Find a flat space where you can perform the archer push-up.
Place your knees on the floor... Read more

Aztec Push-Up

Equipment:

Bodyweight

Muscle Worked:

Chest

View Exercise

Start in a push-up position with your hands wider than shoulder-width.
Inhale and lower your chest towards the ground by bending your elbows... Read more

Standing One-Arm Chest Stretch

Equipment:

Bodyweight

Muscle Worked:

Chest

View Exercise

Stand sideways next to a wall or flat vertical surface.
Extend the arm closest to the wall backwards, so that your palm is flat against the wall. Your arm should be parallel to the ground... Read more

Hand-Release Push-Up

Equipment:

Bodyweight

Muscle Worked:

Chest

View Exercise

Begin in a plank position with your arms fully extended. Your hands should be placed under your shoulders.
Your legs should be extended behind you, forming a straight line with your body from your head to your feet... Read more

Superman Push-Up

Equipment:

Bodyweight

Muscle Worked:

Chest

View Exercise

Lie face down on the floor with arms outstretched overhead and palms flat.
Place your toes on the floor so the weight is resting on the ball of the feet... Read more

Side Push-Up

Equipment:

Bodyweight

Muscle Worked:

Chest

View Exercise

Lie on your right side with a 90-degree bend in your knees, keeping them stacked on one another.
Wrap your right arm around your body, while keeping the upper right arm flat on the ground... Read more

Planche Push-Up

Equipment:

Bodyweight

Muscle Worked:

Chest

View Exercise

Begin with your knees and hands on the floor and feet lifted off the floor.
Position your hands slightly wider than shoulder-width apart and rotate your hands back... Read more

Wide Push-Up

Equipment:

Bodyweight

Muscle Worked:

Chest

View Exercise

Begin in a plank position with your feet and hands flat on the floor.
Get comfortable in a standard push-up position with your hands under your shoulders, and elbows 45 degrees from your torso... Read more

Spider Push-Up

Equipment:

Bodyweight

Muscle Worked:

Chest

View Exercise

Begin in a plank position with your hands underneath your shoulders. Your arms need to be fully extended with your legs stretched behind you on the balls of your feet. Your body should form a straight line from head to heels.
Inhale and stabilize yourself by engaging your core... Read more

T Push-Up

Equipment:

Bodyweight

Muscle Worked:

Chest

Abs

View Exercise

Start in a normal push-up position, with a straight line from your ankles through to the top of your head. Your feet should be hip-width apart and your hands shoulder-width apart.
Lower your body until it almost hits the ground, maintaining an erect posture... Read more

Clap Push-Up

Equipment:

Bodyweight

Muscle Worked:

Chest

View Exercise

Kneel on the floor, lean forward, and place your hands on the floor.
Position your hands at chest height, just wider than chest width apart... Read more

One-Arm Push-Up

Equipment:

Bodyweight

Muscle Worked:

Chest

View Exercise

Place your feet slightly wider than shoulder-width apart for better balance.
Slowly shift your body weight toward the arm that will remain on the ground... Read more

Weighted Push-Up

Equipment:

Bodyweight

Muscle Worked:

Chest

View Exercise

Begin by putting on a weighted vest. It should be heavy enough for adequate tension but still allow you to maintain proper form.
Start in a plank position with your arms fully extended. Your hands should be slightly wider than shoulder-width, palms flat on the ground... Read more

Medicine Ball Push-Up

Equipment:

Bodyweight

Medicine Ball

Muscle Worked:

Chest

View Exercise

Start in a high plank position with both hands on top of the medicine ball.
Position your hands close together, keeping your body in a straight line from head to heels... Read more

Best Bodyweight Chest Workout Plan

This bodyweight chest workout plan is designed to target your pecs from multiple angles using compound bodyweight movements. Each exercise promotes hypertrophy by challenging your chest muscles through various movement patterns—perfect whether you’re training at home or outdoors with no equipment.

What makes bodyweight chest exercises so effective is their adaptability. You can rotate in different push-up variations to hit your upper, middle, and lower chest, while also engaging your triceps, shoulders, and core. The exercises listed in this plan—like Grasshopper Push-Ups and Spider Push-Ups—offer both tension and variety, key ingredients for progression in calisthenics training.

Start with four or five movements listed above Perform 3 to 4 sets of 8 to 12 reps per exercise. If you can’t hit all reps in one set, take a short rest—30 to 90 seconds—then continue. Focus on quality form, not just speed or volume. This split works best when done every other day to allow recovery and muscle growth.

Make sure to begin each session with a proper warmup—such as Dynamic Arm Swings or arm circles—to prep your joints and improve mobility. Over the course of a few weeks, aim to increase your reps or tighten your rest intervals to progress toward a more defined chest using just your body weight.

Exercise	Sets x Reps	Rest
Dynamic Arm Swing	3–4 x 8–12	30–90 seconds
Grasshopper Push-Up	3–4 x 8–12	30–90 seconds
Spider Push-Up	3–4 x 8–12	30–90 seconds
T Push-Up	3–4 x 8–12	30–90 seconds
Burpees & Quick Feet	3–4 x 8–12	30–90 seconds

Bodyweight Chest Workout Routine

Anatomy Of The Chest

Clavicular Head of Pectoralis Major

Muscles located at the top of your chest, running from your armpit to collar bone. Smaller portion of your chest muscle.

Sternal Head of Pectoralis Major

Large muscles located underneath your clavicle head. Makes up most of your chest area

Abdominal Head of Pectoralis Major

Muscles located at the bottom of your pectoral region, just above your abdominal muscles.

The chest consists of the pectoralis major, pectoralis minor, serratus anterior, and subclavius muscles. The pectoralis major has three heads: clavicular, abdominal, and sternocostal.

The clavicular head sits near the collarbone. It plays a role in upper-body movements that involve raising the arm.

The sternocostal head is the largest and sits at the center of the chest. It’s responsible for arm extension and adduction—pulling the arm back and toward the torso.

The abdominal head forms the lower portion of the chest, located just above the abs. It’s involved in moving the arm inward and downward toward the body’s centerline.

Beneath the pectoralis major is the pectoralis minor, which helps stabilize the scapula. The serratus anterior, often referred to as the big swing muscle, supports this stabilization. The subclavius assists with clavicle control during arm movement.

Why Bodyweight Chest Exercises Are More Than Just Upper-Body Work

Bodyweight chest exercises offer more than just muscle gains. They can be done almost anywhere, require no equipment, and contribute to improved athleticism, posture, and injury prevention when programmed correctly.

Boosts Core Stability

Most bodyweight chest exercises do more than target your upper body—they also recruit your core. Movements like push-ups and Spiderman push-ups demand abdominal control to maintain balance and alignment, especially when performed with strict form or on unstable surfaces.

This added demand helps develop core stability, which supports posture and protects against injury. Over time, consistent core engagement may improve trunk control, balance, and even athletic performance, making these exercises a smart and efficient addition to your routine.

Easy Access

Man performing bodyweight chest exercises outdoors using push-up bars. — A simple, go-anywhere workout—bodyweight chest training fits into any schedule. Photo: Freepik

One reason bodyweight chest exercises continue to grow in popularity is how accessible they are. You don’t need a gym, equipment, or much space—just your body and a small area. That makes them ideal for home workouts, travel, or anyone with a busy schedule.

For those who can’t get to a fitness facility or prefer training outside of one, these movements offer a simple way to stay consistent with upper-body training. They also scale easily, so you can modify intensity without relying on machines or weights.

If you’re looking for ideas, check out our home push-ups for chest guide. It features variations you can do in small spaces to stimulate your pecs, delts, and triceps and help maintain strength or build muscle anywhere.

Builds Upper-Body Strength

Bodyweight chest exercises play a key role in developing upper-body strength. They require you to lift and control your own weight, placing consistent tension on the pecs, shoulders, and triceps.

Movements like the clap push-up or chair chest dip each activate upper-body muscles such as the pectorals and deltoids. By applying progressive overload and training these muscles regularly, you’re effectively building strength without needing weights. Over time, this helps boost overall athletic performance and upper-body function.

Expert Training Tips To Keep In Mind

Use these strategies to get more out of your bodyweight chest workouts and stay on track with your goals:

Focus on breathing technique to help fuel your movements and reduce the risk of injury. Exhale during the pushing phase to generate core tension and inhale as you return to the starting position to oxygenate the muscles.
Start each set with a quick form check. Maintain a neutral spine, engage your core, and align your body properly. This can reduce injury potential caused by poor mechanics and support long-term training consistency.
Strengthen your mind-to-muscle connection to improve muscle engagement. Focusing on the working muscle helps enhance the quality of each rep and boosts overall results.

Conclusion

You don’t need a full gym setup to build a stronger chest. These bodyweight chest exercises target essential muscles like the pectoralis major, triceps, deltoids, and abdominals—using nothing more than your body weight.

Incorporating these movements into your upper- or lower chest workouts can lead to noticeable improvements in strength and definition. Whether you’re training in a hotel room, park, or your living room, these no-equipment exercises offer the flexibility to train anytime, anywhere.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can you build a chest with body weight?

Progressive overload is needed to promote continuous results concerning attributes like muscle growth and strength. Increasing intensity through repetitions or time under tension can be beneficial for stimulating continuous progress with bodyweight exercises.

Are 5 exercises for chest good?

Five exercises to target the chest are considered to be adequate. It is generally recommended to train a muscle group at least 2–3 times a week to stimulate enough progress.

Is chest 3 times a week too much?

Depending on your experience level and goals, training the chest should be done anywhere from 1–3 times a week. It is critical that rest days be placed in between training the chest to avoid overtraining or injury.

Is it OK to do chest every day?

Training the chest every day is not advised. The muscles need time to rest and, if not given enough time, can tear or strain. This is often referred to as overtraining, where the muscles are overworked, and injury is likely.

Resources

Endomondo.com refrains from utilizing tertiary references. We uphold stringent sourcing criteria and depend on peer-reviewed studies and academic research conducted by medical associations and institutions. For more detailed insights, you can explore further by reading our editorial process.

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