by James - This article may contain affiliate links.
Working on your chest and shoulders is essential to building upper body strength and an aesthetic physique. But did you know that you don’t need to go to the gym to build powerful pecs and broad, muscular shoulders? This article will help you create a chest and shoulders workout that you can do at home without any equipment.
We’ve put together a workout based on fitness experts’ advice at 8fit, Men’s Health, and Greatist to help you realize what you want from your workouts, the most effective exercises, and how to bring it all together in a superset workout.
A chest workout should target the pectoralis major and the pectoralis minor (pecs). While shoulder workouts should target the three shoulder deltoids (anterior, lateral, and posterior deltoids).
Our chest and shoulder workout will help you build mass in all the right places and take you a few steps further toward your dream body.
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Key Takeaways:
- Some of the best, most simple chest exercises that you can do at home without weights include simple push-ups, incline push-ups, decline push-ups, plyometric push-ups, and time under tension push-ups.
- You can do simple and effective shoulder exercises at home without weights, including crab walks, pike push-ups, plank-ups, bridge push-ups, and side-planks with lateral raises.
- If you have access to dumbbells, chest presses, and chest flys can help you to build muscle in your pecs, arms, and shoulders.
So, we’ve put together some simple exercises that will target the necessary muscle groups to help you build a proportionate physique in the comfort of your home.
Contents
5 Simple Chest Exercises for Home Workouts 🙆♂️
Most people tend to underrate how effective the simplest of exercises can be.
Sometimes they put a lot of emphasis on exercising with equipment like dumbbells, barbells, machines, and pulley weights.
1. Simple Push-Ups
3x sets
Ten reps
Speak to any fitness expert, and they’ll tell you that good, old-fashioned push-ups can build a strong chest and the surrounding muscles.
Of course, they have their limits, but there’s no doubting that they can help build muscle mass, strength, and endurance – especially for beginners.
This classic exercise involves standing on your toes on the ground with straight legs and holding your upper body above the ground with straight arms.
Using a wide grip with your back straight, lower yourself to the ground with your palms facing downwards, bring your chin as close to the ground as possible, and push yourself back up again.
It’s a basic move that engages your pecs, biceps, triceps, and anterior deltoid.
2. Incline Push-Up
4x sets
15 reps
When simple push-ups are too much of a challenge, you can slowly build your strength up with incline push-ups that place less weight on your chest and shoulders.
While adopting the same stance as a simple push-up, you can hold yourself up with your hands, standing on your toes, against a table, bench, or even a wall, performing the same movement.
Here are our top three recommended benches to help with push-ups and various exercises.
3. Decline Push-Ups
2x sets
Eight reps
A decline push-up is the opposite of an incline push-up, and, rather than alleviating some of the additional weight, it lets you put your muscles under more tension.
Instead of standing with your feet on the ground in a regular push-up starting position, place your feet on a box, stairs, or a bench to pack more weight onto your arms and chest, taking your strength to the next level.
4. Plyometric Push-Ups
4x sets
Five reps
Plyometric push-ups add an explosive element to your push-ups.
They involve a more dynamic spin to your push-ups.
Examples include clap-push-ups that add more weight to the push-up motion.
In a simple push-up movement, push down harder to lift yourself off the ground and clap your hands together, landing back on your hands and lowering yourself back to the ground.
5. Time Under Tension Push-Ups
3x sets
Ten reps
On the other end of the scale of plyometric push-ups, you can build muscles more effectively by slowing down your regular push-up.
This movement helps due to a concept known as “time under tension.”
This process also targets all of the right muscles as you do it.
5 Simple Shoulder Exercises for Home Workouts 🏋️♀️
1. Crab Walks
3x sets
15-20 steps
This great all-around exercise targets all three of your shoulder deltoids while engaging your arm muscles, core, glutes, and lower back.
Sit on the floor, bend your knees and feet shoulder-width apart. Lift your arms behind you and palms on the floor.
Raise hips off the floor using glutes and arm muscles.
2. Pike Push-Ups
3x sets
Ten reps
In a variation of the decline push-up and the core-building yoga move, the downward dog, hold yourself up with your hips raised, straight arms, and straight legs.
With the top of your head facing the ground, lower yourself until your elbows bend at a 90º angle before straightening your arms again, lifting yourself off the ground like a regular push-up.
This exercise targets your chest, shoulders, and core, emphasizing the posterior deltoid.
3. Plank-Ups
3x sets
10x reps per side
Plank push-ups can engage your shoulder muscles and your triceps and abs by combining planking with push-ups, getting the best of both worlds.
By holding a plank position, standing on your toes with elbows and forearms on the ground or mat, bent at a 90º angle, form a straight line from your heels to your shoulders.
Then, with one forearm on the ground, push yourself up with your palms of the opposite hand. Then push-up with your other palm, assuming a high-plank position.
A good quality mat will help you do this exercise safely without injuries. See our top three recommended exercise mats below.
4. Bridge Push-Ups
3x sets
Five reps
Lying on your back, with bent knees and your feet close to your lower back, press your palms to the floor with wrists facing behind you.
Push your hips up and arch your back, extending yourself until your arms are as straight as possible and your hips as high in the air as possible.
5. Side-Plank With Lateral Raises
3x sets
Ten reps
The best way to engage your lateral or medial deltoids in your shoulders is by performing a side-plank with lateral raises.
The motion involves lying on your side, with one of your forearms on the ground, elbows bent at a 90º angle – a side plank position.
With your standing arm’s shoulders forming a straight line to your feet with your body, lift your hips and raise the other arm until your straight arm lines up with your shoulders.
Creating a Chest and Shoulder Workout at Home 🧐
The chest consists of two primary muscles, namely the pectoralis major and pectoralis minor, more commonly referred to as ‘pecs.’
The pectoralis major and pectoralis minor muscles extend across the upper chest and the smaller, thinner triangular muscle that falls below it, respectively.
The pectoralis major also attaches to the shoulder and breastplate.
Also, the shoulder muscles consist of three deltoids (lateral, anterior, and posterior).
The anterior deltoid is the shoulder muscle at the front of your shoulders.
The lateral deltoid (sometimes referred to as medial deltoid) is the muscle on the side of your shoulders, and the posterior deltoid is the muscle that falls at the back of your shoulders.
Emphasizing one muscle over another can lead to an upper-body shape that may not yield ideal results.
Conclusion 🤗
It’s truly remarkable how far the simplest of workouts can take you on your journey to building a strong chest and set of shoulders.
As you advance and become stronger, you may even want to add some light dumbbells to your various routines, placing more weight on your arms and the muscles you are engaging.
And, before you know it, you’ll have the perfectly shaped body that you envy in top fitness models.
Last update on 2022-10-13 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
