The Best Calisthenics Chest Workout Routine

“You may’t construct muscle mass with calisthenics!” said nobody who has ever used calisthenics to construct their chest muscles.

So long as you understand the best way to load your movements appropriately, all you wish are calisthenics. The most important problem is not a lot that folks do not know what to do, however it’s that they do not know the best way to alter movements like push-ups and dips to proceed growing and constructing more muscle.

In case your chest workouts have been lackluster otherwise you’re struggling to proceed making progress using body weight only, you’ll be wanting to do this calisthenics chest workout routine.

Table of Contents:

• What Is Calisthenics?
• Calisthenics Chest Workout Routine
• Programming Suggestions
• 12 Best Calisthenics Chest Exercises

What Is Calisthenics?

Calisthenics is a type of resistance training that primarily uses natural movements with only your body weight for a load. Lots of the top calisthenics exercises are well-known, including:

• Push Ups
• Dips
• Squats
• Pull Ups

Depending on how much of a purist someone is, they could allow minimal equipment to help with the movements or add a load to the body. Resistance options include bands or one other external loading apparatus resembling dumbbells.

The Best Calisthenics Chest Workout Routine

I’ll jump right into it. I first want to present you your chest workout so you’ll be able to see the way it looks. I’ll then undergo the person exercises and explain the programming.

Your chest workout shall be composed of three barely different workouts.

Two of those will give attention to improving muscular strength and muscle hypertrophy training. The third session will give attention to ballistics (power production) and shall be shoulders and triceps focused. You’ll then simply alternate these sessions, ideally doing each strength/hypertrophy chest workout 2x per week and one ballistics session per week.

Before you start, it will also help to be certain that you will have access to any equipment you would possibly need, resembling a weighted vest or parallettes. Take a have a look at our recommendations for the 8 Best Calisthenic Equipment For Your Home Gym to find out what your own home gym needs!

Session 1

On this table, the “drop set” notation indicates that for the Weighted Chest Dips, you’ll start with a heavy weight after which decrease the load for subsequent sets if needed.

Session 2

Session 3

How To Run This Program

Calisthenics is a bit different from free weights because it relies on relative strength and uses your body as a load. Subsequently, progressions aren’t as specific.

1) Progressive Overload:

You must run a calisthenics workout in the identical manner as you’ll every other workout. Progressive overload remains to be your primary concern, but your muscles won’t react to the stimulus in the identical way as they might with weight lifting. Simply adding reps is not going to elicit much muscle growth or strength. All it is going to do is increase muscular endurance.

Subsequently, you  steadily use the more complicated variations and progressively work towards a 1-arm workout, especially to your primary push-up and dip. After these exercises, you should utilize a combination of upper reps and RPE. For instance, do a neater push-up variation for an RPE of 8-9, which can allow 15 reps. A very powerful thing is to bring the movement near failure.

The very best amount of reps you ever wish to do an exercise is 15-20, and that is pushing it. At this point, it is best to have moved on to a tougher progression.

2) Progression On Push Ups:

You ideally wish to transition your body weight to 1 arm to progress on the push-ups. Move toward steadily placing a bigger percentage of your body weight on that one hand, which can increase the load. The next guidelines can apply to plain, incline, and decline push ups.

• Normal hand position
• Bring your body right down to one hand. Do that until you’ll be able to bring the center of your chest right down to each hand.
• Slowly start to increase one hand out to the side
• Once the arm is completely prolonged out, place it on an elevated surface.
• Once you’ll be able to knock out 8+ of those, you ought to be strong enough to knock out some solid reps of one-hand push-ups.

You may also use weights if needed, especially to your dips, or follow the identical idea and favor one arm. Mess around and see in case you prefer it. Take a look at out article on the 33 Best Push Up Variations for more inspiration on the best way to make this move harder!

3) Special Rep Schemes:

Although we love calisthenics, sometimes we’re in a rush. Or possibly we just want to present our body an additional stimulus. Listed here are some surefire ways to explode your chest muscles.

Drop Sets:

Typically with drop sets, you’ll drop the load so that you just’re in a position to perform more reps. For instance, you could do bench press with 215lbs, then drop to 185, then 165, 135… and proceed until you are done. We may also do that using calisthenics, but using different exercises from most difficult to easiest. Your exercise order shall be:

• Dips
• Decline Push Ups
• Push Ups
• Incline Push Ups

One other option to run that is to do some dips between each set of push-ups. Nonetheless, you are just doing just a few, so you should not develop into too near failure

• Dips
• Decline Push Ups
• Dips
• Push Ups
• Dips
• Incline Push Ups

EMOMs:

Every. Minute. On. The. Minute. We. Love. EMOMs.

These are great for the beginner or advanced who want an incredible option to improve their strength and anaerobic endurance. To perform these, you select a particular variety of reps and do that quantity every minute. For instance, in case you do a 5min EMOM w/ 5 reps, your set looks like this:

• 0:00-:059 – 5 Reps
• 1:00-1:59 – 5 Reps
• 2:00-2:59 – 5 Reps

To be clear, you need not do them in a row. They simply have to be accomplished inside the minute. The most effective option to start is to take your max reps, take 50%, and do this for five minutes. This gives you an idea of what they’re and where you stand. A fundamental rep pattern looks like this:

• 5 Minutes: 70-75%
• 10 Minutes: 50-55%

The entire amount you do makes a big difference. If you happen to can do 30 push-ups, doing 15 can take some time. Nonetheless, in case you can only do two push-ups, performing one rep shall be much easier as you will have more rest.

You may also use these toward the tip of your session. If you happen to’re exhausted, just do an EMOM using just a few reps.

12 Best Calisthenics Chest Exercises

Listed here are one of the best calisthenic exercises you’ll be able to start doing today to construct the chest physique you have all the time wanted.

1) Push-Ups:

Regular push-ups are the bread and butter of a calisthenics chest workout. Everyone has done them and knows what they’re, but it’s essential use proper form to get probably the most out of the usual push up. With tiny tweaks, you’ll be able to progress and regress to optimize your training fully.

The starting position for normal push ups is important to lock in your form and make any needed adjustments. Get in your push-up position, which is largely the plank position yet in your hands. Push-ups are an awesome core exercise, as they’re essentially just planks that go up and down! 

Place your hands barely wider than shoulder-width apart and rotate your hands out barely. Your hands must be directly below your shoulders in order that your arm is straight and in a straight line.

You’ll want to keep your body straight and tight. Probably the most crucial part is your hips! Keep them locked and straight. Many individuals are likely to let their hips sag on account of poor core and glutes. 

Then again, be certain that not to lift your hips, which might occur in case your core or upper body is weak. Letting your hips rise puts your body at an angle, taking some force off your upper body muscles.

As an alternative, let your body drop down in a straight line. As this happens, push your elbows back at a 45-degree angle. Going too far inward is significantly higher than going too far outward. When your elbows exit, we call it “flared,” which could cause shoulder impingement. It won’t do anything if it happens once, but after repeating it again and again, you’ll be able to cause significant damage to the connective tissue.

2) Close-Grip Push Ups:

Close-grip push-ups are one in every of our favourite push-up variations as they will be much like the close-grip bench press.

Move your hands closer together, but keep them just a few inches apart, at about shoulder width or barely narrower. This grip causes our elbows to come back down even closer to the body, putting more weight on the triceps and the inner chest.

3) Diamond Shape Push Ups:

These push-ups put your hands close enough to the touch while making a diamond shape. They’re an extreme version of the close-grip push-ups that basically isolate the triceps (and possibly the inner chest).

4) Wide-Grip Push Ups:

Wide push-ups are going to have you employ an exaggerated wide grip. There is not any specific distance, however it’s often about 1.25-1.5 times as wide as regular push-ups. This starting position will extend the arms out and reduce elbow flexion.

Further, because the arms are fixed to the bottom and may’t move in front of the body, the motion will begin to look an increasing number of like horizontal abduction. If we take this to the acute, you are almost doing chest flies. 

The predominant difference between these and chest flies, nonetheless, is that you just often use lightweight and high reps with flies. It’s far more difficult to knock out a lot of reps with wide-grip push ups because you will have to lift your entire body weight at a biomechanical drawback.

5) Decline Push Ups:

These could be the equivalent of the incline bench press. Subsequently, declined push-ups are a wonderful workout to hit the upper chest. As well as, they may even goal the anterior delts to a greater degree.

When you consider it, a decline push-up or incline bench press is halfway to the shoulder press!

6) Incline Push Ups:

Contrary to say no push-ups, the incline push-up is such as the decline bench press. These will then goal the lower chest and possibly hit the triceps to a greater degree.

Aim to hit your lower chest once you bring your body right down to the ledge. To do that, it could feel such as you’re up too far within the starting position. Nonetheless, as you come down, your body will rotate backward some.

7) Triceps Push Ups:

As we just went over close grip push-ups, you could wonder what tricep push ups are. Also known as sphinx push ups, you start by assuming a high plank position, together with your body straight and supported in your hands and toes.

Lower your body down by transitioning out of your hands to your forearms, maintaining a solid core and straight alignment. To return to the starting position of a high plank, rotate your shoulder blades outward and press the palms of your hands into the bottom.

As you push yourself upward, engage your triceps and straighten your elbows, specializing in squeezing and activating the back of your arms.

8) Straight Dips:

Straight dips are what you usually consider once you consider dips. These are great for the triceps but in addition hit the pectoral muscles on account of the positioning of the muscle fibers, making it a calisthenics chest exercise as well.

To effectively perform this exercise, start by fully extending your arms at the highest position. Then, initiate the downward movement by flexing your arms while ensuring that your forearms remain straight.

Concurrently, allow your torso to lean forward barely, enabling flexion on the elbow joint. Remember to maintain your forearm straight and the elbow stationary throughout the movement, specializing in the region above the elbow.

9) Chest Dips:

Chest dips are slight variations of the dip that can activate the pectoral muscles to the next degree.

Somewhat than maintaining an upright position initially of the movement, you’ll barely flex your hips and convey your chin toward your chest. Through the descent, you’ll rotate your upper back forward, causing your chest to face more toward the bottom.

Moreover, as you lower yourself, allow your elbows to maneuver outward.

10) Ballistic Push Ups/Clap Push Ups:

Ballistic push ups are power exercises requiring you to throw your body into the air.

Sometimes people will call them clap push ups as they’ll clap while within the air, however the clap does nothing except show that you possibly can throw yourself high enough to accomplish that.

Bonus Moves:

These last two exercises are simply isometric holds. We prefer to use these as workout finishers at the tip of our sessions. The goal is to carry and squeeze for so long as possible for 1-3 rounds.

• Isometric Fly: To do these, you’re going to get right into a very wide push-up position. You desire to have your arms out so far as possible where you’ll be able to still hold yourself relatively well. When ready, brace your core and pretend you are doing a fly by pushing down into the bottom. You mustn’t move that much even in case you are very fit, as any possible range of motion may be very small.
• Isometric Squeeze: The isometric squeeze is the second finisher we prefer to use. Lay in your back and extend your arms straight up in front of you. Place your hands along with palms facing one another. Now, push them together as hard as you’ll be able to. These get tough fast, but hold out for so long as possible.

The Best Calisthenics Chest Workout: Summary

I hope you now realize that using body weight exercises to coach your chest is not the best thing to do. That is why I’ve manipulated the variables to mix all the advantages of calisthenics in a single excellent program to get you the best possible chest workout.

When you get the hang of it, you will be in your option to constructing a formidable physique that may do all of the acrobatic feats you have dreamed of.