Understanding Push Ups and How They Can Give You a Bigger Chest

5 minutes read

You can’t think of bodyweight exercises without thinking about push ups. They are practical exercises that you can incorporate into your fitness routine to build strength.

Push ups will not need you to go to the hardcore gym or have specific equipment. You can do them at your home backyard gym or anywhere at whichever time.

They are perfect since they work and target various upper body muscles such as the shoulders, abs, and triceps. They are also an excellent starting point if you are looking to build your chest.

But that still raises the question- how many push ups per day for a big chest?

You are not limited to a specific number of push ups a day if you want to use them to build your chest. However, 20-40 push up exercises are ideal for an average person. The only requirement is that you do them with the proper technique.

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Why push ups are a right workout for chest growth

Push ups are right workout as they not just work on the chest effectively but upper body, core and glutes

Push ups will help you grow your chest for various reasons.

First, they are a fundamental core exercise that will help you stabilize your core and make it stronger. Building chest muscles is highly determined by how strong your core is.

A strong core helps you develop the maximal strength, function, and power needed for more significant chest muscles and the overall upper body.

You can also try planks or combine both planks or push ups to reap more benefits. The planche lean is yet another great workout that works wonders as far as hitting your chest.

Push ups can be modified differently, whether by beginners or those already fit. The intensity built from a modified push up is significant to how much chest growth you get. Pushing yourself more will help you grow your chest.

How many push ups per day for beginners

As a beginner, starting with 10-20 push ups a day will be good

Push ups require a specific amount of core strength, making them challenging initially.

If you are just starting to do push ups for fitness, it is ideal to begin with 10-20 push ups a day and divide them into two sets.

You should also take a minute rest in between the sets. This should also be the case if you're adding push-ups to essential workouts for seniors or as part home fitness exercises for a newbie, who might be lacking in core strength.

You can work to increase the number as you grow stronger.

The crucial thing to remember as you perform the push ups is to keep your spine stable, as that is the only best way to use your shoulders and arms correctly. A proper technique will help you avoid straining the joints and possible injury.

How many push ups per day to build chest?

To build chest, you can do daily 20-40 push ups

Doing sets of 20-30 push ups or more in 2-4 sets is recommended to help you build chest.

Doing more reps with each set increases resistance and stimulates your pecs even more for growth. To develop bigger chest muscles, you have to progressively put more stress on yourself.

You can also use a resistance band to this calisthenics workout or weights at your back to increase resistance. This will help you increase strength and build core, shoulders and chest muscles.

For those of you who've been working shoulders after chest day, there you have it, a way to hit both in one go. You can also hit your upper body quite effectively with shoulder press or the lateral raise.

How many push ups should I do a day to get a big chest?

50-100 push ups a day will help you grow your chest bigger

So, how many push ups per day for a big chest?

If you are specifically targeting a bigger chest, the most crucial thing is to target a specific number of push ups to do a day. Have a minimum and maximum number.

This can be anywhere between 50-100 push ups reps a day or more. The best thing to do is break down the exercise into 2-4 sets based on how fit and healthy you are. Don’t be complacent with the same range over time. As you build more stamina, increase the sets and reps for more gains.

Types of push ups for Chest

If you're doing push-ups to work your chest the best you can, here are several types to explore;

Classic push up

This is the standard push up you have to learn first. It helps you master the form and in building chest muscles.

To perform, you place your hands below your shoulders with your toes touching the floor, then make a straight line with your body (head to toe) by aligning your hips.

You lower yourself toward the ground as you bend your elbows to a 90 degrees angle while ensuring that your hips don’t drop. The elbows should also be close to your body and tucked in.

Hold the position for a moment, then push yourself back up energetically to complete a single rep. Repeat.

Inverted push up

An inverted push up targets different chest muscles with a more rounded approach.

It is done like the classic push up, but the only difference is that you should have your feet placed on an elevated point like a workout bench or chair.

The altered angle works the chest greatly while working the pectoralis major muscles differently.

Clap push up

You do the clap push up like the classic push up. However, the modification is that you clap as you bring yourself up. You should land or go down with soft elbows after each clap.

Wide-arm push up

It helps focus more on your chest by positioning your hands wider apart than a classic push up. Ideally, the width between your arms should be doubled.

FAQs

Still have questions concerning push-ups and how they can help build a bulkier chest? Here are some more answers;

Can you build a big chest with push ups?

Yes. Push ups can be very significant in helping you build a big chest. They come in different variations like one hand push ups, flying superman push ups or planche push ups, which are effective for chest muscle build-up if done with the correct technique.

When you do a push up, you work on chest muscles, mainly the pectoralis major (muscles under the breast) and pectoralis minor or the pec muscles (muscles below the pectoralis major that facilitate shoulder blade and rib movement).

Push ups also work the serratus anterior muscles (muscles that cover the top part of the ribs).

Will 30 push ups a day make me bigger?

Yes, but only temporarily.

At first, you will see an increase regarding your chest and arm (biceps & triceps) muscles' size. However, sticking to 30 push ups will not help you in the long run, and you will stop getting bigger.

The benefits you get initially are due to how your body reacts to the stress put on it and the strained parts. Maintaining the same number over time becomes a routine and only makes your body familiar with the exercise.

Once the body adapts to the 30 push ups, it stops reacting to activation.

Wrapping up…

Push ups are concrete exercises for overall fitness, building muscles, and strength. The greatest thing about push ups is that they can be varied or modified to accommodate people differently, strength-wise and ability-wise.

However, before you can even begin to modify or vary push ups, you should master the appropriate technique first, which is gained with a standard push up.