So fit, do you guys think you can build a decent chest with just pushups and variations?
Posted on by Anonymous
So fit, do you guys think you can build a decent chest with just pushups and variations? Can push ups be enough to build lean mass on me and take me out of skinny fat or are compound lifts my only hope?
Depends on the variations, but adding weight will eventually be necessary.
Keyword is eventually.
Ring pushups and dips will build solid gains before you'll need to add weight.
Depends on how much you weigh
If you're a 100 lb stick doing pushups won't force your muscles to adapt
If you're 200 lb you can at least get decent pecs from them
should I feel decent if I'm 300+ lbs and can only do ~30 pushups before exhaustion? I've worked this up from 10. I've been doing pushups and squats to exhaustion every morning as I'm a will-let and don't have the will power to stick to anything complex.
How is your ROM? Do you have a gut that gets in the way and reduces your ROM?
When you're doing pushups you're basically bench pressing 60% of your weight so at 300lb you're "benching" 180lb for 30 reps.
As for the bodyweight squats, I guess they can pump a lot of blood into your legs and keep their strength up but I'm not sure about their tree-trunk-legs-building potential
yeah I don't have perfect form/ROM and do have a huge gut that sticks out and gets in the way. I figured I could perfect form more once I'm able to do sort of hack pushups. Or should I do the opposite and do low quantity but focus on form right away?
I've got my squat form down pat and got comfortable stretching/sitting in a low squat before doing a bunch of bodyweight squats. I feel like I can start putting weight on them soon.
1 year ago
Anonymous
Form + controlled tempo are always more important than quantity
If you want to increase your ROM then you can try deficit pushups, get yourself 2 chairs, place them across your bed with a shoulder-length gap between them, a hand on each chair and your feet on the edge of your bed and you got yourself an increased ROM.
Or you can go to startbodyweight.com and check out the pushup progression, one you can do 3 sets of 8 with a certain pushup, you move to the next
1 year ago
Anonymous
Thank you, fren! I will remember this post and implement it. I've got a good spot by some stairs where I can do the chairs+bed thing.
I've done bodyweight workouts exclusively for years.
Sure, I have a better chest than 99% of people, but anyone who lifts properly has a bigger chest than me and my 500+ weekly push ups and 150+ dips.
If I had the most minimum amount of cash to spare the first thing I'd buy is a bench and some weights, but all I've got instead is debt.
In any case it's better than not doing anything. I've got plenty of compliments on my chest from girls, despite it being rather small, it's evident that I work it out.
I´ve got free gym membership because for Uni but I just keep injuring my shoulder on the dumbell and bench presses. Im sick of injuring myself but i never injure myself with bodyweight stuff. im just sick of being skinnyfat so having a chest better than 99 percent of people sounds fine to me
Yeah it's practically impossible to injure yourself on body weight with proper form. Following proper progressions for chest, back and arms will get you way far from normie territory, and you don't have to pay a penny too.
The only downside is that you'll get mogged by people who lift.
Yes. Look at inmates.
They pretty much only do calisthenics. Maybe arm workouts with a waterbag once in a while. And they can put on some serious mass. You'll see a scrawny kid put on some decent weight FAST.
If you're doing the same thing but eating food that isn't processed garbage - I imagine you can do even better.
I started doing push ups around this time last year and got to the point of doing 200-400 a night with sit ups. I finally started the gym 4 months ago and have made pretty good gains and I already looked somewhat fit when I started at the gym. It’s possible but you have to do it almost every day and be committed. Part of it was I got sober and that’s what drove me.
Pushups everyday? What about muh heckin rest and recovery
I mean for push ups it’s not overly necessary except when I was starting out. I also would do dips at work with the rounded chairs. That helped too. It’s very possible though. I would get off every night and get home and just do push ups and sit ups. Around late June I finally got a gym membership cus I kinda hit a plateau with the push ups. It made getting started at the gym easier. I think I was able to do 135 on bench the first day and now I’m about to hit 225. It’s about commitment to a routine.
Depends on the variations, but adding weight will eventually be necessary.
Keyword is eventually.
Ring pushups and dips will build solid gains before you'll need to add weight.
I´ve got rings but i feel like I should get to a high number of pushups before I start abusing them.
I know the size gains wont be as big as using dumbell press but how big do you reckon I could get with these methods?
bump
can i build a chest like greek gods with pushups or am i doomed to be skinnyfat
Depends on how much you weigh
If you're a 100 lb stick doing pushups won't force your muscles to adapt
If you're 200 lb you can at least get decent pecs from them
What if you're 300 pounds?
It would be quite an achievement to be able to do pushups weighing that much
should I feel decent if I'm 300+ lbs and can only do ~30 pushups before exhaustion? I've worked this up from 10. I've been doing pushups and squats to exhaustion every morning as I'm a will-let and don't have the will power to stick to anything complex.
How is your ROM? Do you have a gut that gets in the way and reduces your ROM?
When you're doing pushups you're basically bench pressing 60% of your weight so at 300lb you're "benching" 180lb for 30 reps.
As for the bodyweight squats, I guess they can pump a lot of blood into your legs and keep their strength up but I'm not sure about their tree-trunk-legs-building potential
yeah I don't have perfect form/ROM and do have a huge gut that sticks out and gets in the way. I figured I could perfect form more once I'm able to do sort of hack pushups. Or should I do the opposite and do low quantity but focus on form right away?
I've got my squat form down pat and got comfortable stretching/sitting in a low squat before doing a bunch of bodyweight squats. I feel like I can start putting weight on them soon.
Form + controlled tempo are always more important than quantity
If you want to increase your ROM then you can try deficit pushups, get yourself 2 chairs, place them across your bed with a shoulder-length gap between them, a hand on each chair and your feet on the edge of your bed and you got yourself an increased ROM.
Or you can go to startbodyweight.com and check out the pushup progression, one you can do 3 sets of 8 with a certain pushup, you move to the next
Thank you, fren! I will remember this post and implement it. I've got a good spot by some stairs where I can do the chairs+bed thing.
i weigh like 143lb, would pushups not do me any good to get out of skinny-fatness?
They will if you eat more
I've done bodyweight workouts exclusively for years.
Sure, I have a better chest than 99% of people, but anyone who lifts properly has a bigger chest than me and my 500+ weekly push ups and 150+ dips.
If I had the most minimum amount of cash to spare the first thing I'd buy is a bench and some weights, but all I've got instead is debt.
In any case it's better than not doing anything. I've got plenty of compliments on my chest from girls, despite it being rather small, it's evident that I work it out.
I´ve got free gym membership because for Uni but I just keep injuring my shoulder on the dumbell and bench presses. Im sick of injuring myself but i never injure myself with bodyweight stuff. im just sick of being skinnyfat so having a chest better than 99 percent of people sounds fine to me
Yeah it's practically impossible to injure yourself on body weight with proper form. Following proper progressions for chest, back and arms will get you way far from normie territory, and you don't have to pay a penny too.
The only downside is that you'll get mogged by people who lift.
Surely you're not too poor for a backpack and some heavy shit (rocks are free)?
Yes. Look at inmates.
They pretty much only do calisthenics. Maybe arm workouts with a waterbag once in a while. And they can put on some serious mass. You'll see a scrawny kid put on some decent weight FAST.
If you're doing the same thing but eating food that isn't processed garbage - I imagine you can do even better.
I started doing push ups around this time last year and got to the point of doing 200-400 a night with sit ups. I finally started the gym 4 months ago and have made pretty good gains and I already looked somewhat fit when I started at the gym. It’s possible but you have to do it almost every day and be committed. Part of it was I got sober and that’s what drove me.
Pushups everyday? What about muh heckin rest and recovery
Pushups are easy to recover from compared to heavy weights, just eat well and sleep well and you can practically do them everyday
Bump
I mean for push ups it’s not overly necessary except when I was starting out. I also would do dips at work with the rounded chairs. That helped too. It’s very possible though. I would get off every night and get home and just do push ups and sit ups. Around late June I finally got a gym membership cus I kinda hit a plateau with the push ups. It made getting started at the gym easier. I think I was able to do 135 on bench the first day and now I’m about to hit 225. It’s about commitment to a routine.