Do you think that it is impossible to get pronounced chest musculature with calisthenics? In order to dispel this myth, today we are going to show you the top 8 calisthenic exercises for a massive chest.
Push-ups with gym rings
Push-ups with gym rings are a great exercise to work the chest muscles. Due to the instability of the rings, you have to tense yourself more, and apply additional strength, in order to perform the exercise properly.
Suspend the rings about 5-10 cm above the floor. Now, grasp the rings and assume the push-up position. The legs can either be on the ground or you can place them on an object to raise them. Attention: This variation is even more difficult. Now let your upper body downwards, until your chest is at the level of your hands, then push yourself upwards again. It is extremely important to keep your core stable, and not let your body sag. When you are in the highest position of the movement, you can do a ring turn out. To do so, turn the rings outwards, so that your palms face forward. This small movement is extremely efficient for gaining stability in the shoulder girdle. It also strengthens your arm muscles holistically and minimises the risk of golfer's/tennis elbow.
Ring Flies
At the gym, this exercise is known as the butterfly. Since we are not using a machine, we need to use gym rings again. The rings are set up about 5-10 cm above the ground, as for the push-ups with rings. Once again, you begin in the starting position for the push-ups. Now, move your outstretched arms out to the side, and lower your upper body towards the floor. It is important that you keep the distance between your arms within a range where you are still in control. As soon as you have reached the lowest point, bring your arms back under your body and push yourself upwards again. It is important that you keep your arms stretched throughout the entire radius of movement, so as to work your chest effectively. If the exercise is too difficult for you, you can simply hang the rings a little higher. This makes the exercise easier.
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Dips
Dips are among the most effective calisthenic pressing exercises. They are part of every calisthenics power competition for good reason. The correct execution not only works out your triceps, but also your chest muscles. Dips can be done on a dip bar or with gym rings. At this point, I must mention that ring dips are much more demanding dips on the bars. Therefore, you should practice your dips to perfection on the bars before going over to the rings. There are different variations of dips. The neatest and most effective form is also the form used in competitions, so I will go into this variant in more detail.
Begin in the uppermost position and pull your shoulders down and a little to the front, to get them away from your ears. This ensures that your shoulder girdle is stable, and you can start the movement by maintaining the tension in your shoulder girdle, and bending your elbows, in order to lower your upper body. As soon as your shoulder is below 90° in relation to your forearm, push upwards again. It is important that your legs remain under your body and do not swing or tilt. Your elbows should remain against your body over the entire radius of movement, and they should never move outwards.
Dips with gym rings are identical, except that when you reach the highest point, you do the ring turnout once again.
Decline push-ups
Decline push-ups are done with the legs raised. The exercise is specifically aimed at the upper pectoral muscle. The higher you put your legs, the harder the exercise becomes. For this exercise, it is particularly important that you maintain body tension and do not hollow your back. Therefore, you must pull in your navel and tighten your bottom to get maximum body tension. Your elbows remain against your body during the entire exercise. Push-up bars are ideal for protecting the wrists with a neutral grip.
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Archer push-ups
Archer push-ups are a great prep for one-arm push-ups and to help you take your chest training to the next level. Once again, you start in the push-up position, but our hands are slightly apart and your fingers pointing slightly outwards. You begin the movement by moving your upper body to one side, and doing a single arm push-up. The other arm remains fully stretched for the entire movement. Now, push yourself up again, on the bent arm. The other arm remains stretched. As soon as you are back in the starting position, repeat with the other arm. If you are not yet able to perform the exercise in this way, you can also do the whole thing with your upper body supported by a raised object.
Tight push-ups
Tight push-ups are a great exercise to train your chest muscles holistically. It also involves working the triceps harder, which strengthens them. In this exercise, you place your hands under your chest, with your thumbs touching, and your other fingers pointing to the front. Now, lean slightly forward, so that the eccentric movement puts your chest onto your hands. This puts your shoulders in a neutral position, so that you can keep your elbows against your body. Now, push yourself upwards again.
Explosive push-ups
Explosive push-ups give for your chest an entirely new type of stimulation and a great pumping. Simply do normal push-ups, but push yourself up from the floor as explosively as possible. Your hands must lift off the floor. After a while, you can start to clap your hands at the highest point, or even lift both your hands and your legs off the ground.
Weighted Push-ups: push-ups against a resistance band
The last exercise we have for you will give you a real workout. Take the resistance band of your choice and put it cross your back, then grab the ends with your hands. Now, do normal push-ups. The resistance band gives you a different strength curve, because the push-ups are extremely strenuous due to the resistance of the band. This is a great exercise to get you to give everything you’ve got at the end of your workout. Guaranteed to pump your breast most efficiently.
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On that note, we wish you lots of pleasure with the exercises.
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