The 7 Most Effective Pushups to Exercise Your Chest
Pushups are one of the best exercises to exercise your chest muscles. But which variants are particularly effective if you want to specifically train your breast? Here you will find 7 variants that help you to optimally strengthen and shape your chest. The exercises are sorted according to their level of difficulty from simple to difficult, so you can increase step by step. Start directly with exercise number 1!
Push-ups variants for the breast - also as a video
In the video, Paul explains which push-ups are the best for your muscle growth.
1. Cobra pushups - chest training for beginners
This exercise is ideal for beginners. The cobra push-up may look like a warm-up exercise, but it’s a perfect introduction to breast training. Especially if classic pushups or even kneeling variants are still too difficult for you, you can start with the cobra technique.
Move upwards with a wave-shaped movement from the spine. So you shift your body weight towards your feet, and it will be easier for you to push up. On the way to the ground, you are usually stronger. Therefore, you should try to leave the spine stable and stretched.
Necessary equipment
Kobra pushups - How to make them right:
- Start in the push-up position
- Keep your knees on the floor
- Place your hands shoulder-width apart on the floor
- Bend your elbows and lower your body towards the floor
- Hold tension in the torso
- Then roll upwards one vertebra at a time and return to the starting position
2. Push-ups High Position - The Easiest Chest Exercise on Turning Rings
For this variant, for example, you need an elevated area or a pair of turnrings. The more erect your body, the easier the exercise will be. Perfect for gradually adjusting the difficulty level.
Tip: Work at an angle that allows you to do between 6 and 15 repetitions. When you reach the upper limit of repetitions, try going one step further into the horizontal position next time to increase the intensity or choose the next type of push-ups for your chest.
Necessary equipment
Proper execution of high push-ups for the chest:
- Start in stand, rings are in front of the body
- Start with extended arms in front of the body in the rings
- Flex your elbows
- Arms are tight on the body
- Pay attention to a tense core
- Extend the arms back into the starting position
- Take small steps backwards to increase intensity
- Choose an intensity that challenges you over the given repetitions
3. Kneeling push-ups for breast growth
The kneeling pushups are a classic for beginners who want to train their chest muscles specifically. You can run it on ground, on Parallettes or on Ringen.
Benefits of Rings or Parallettes: Compared to the ground, they allow for a larger radius of movement. This allows you to achieve a more intense stretching of the chest muscles, which ultimately leads to a better training stimulus.
This is how kneeling pushups go right:
- Start in the push-up position with knees on the floor
- Place hands shoulder width apart
- Make sure the torso is firm and push the lower back out upwards (PPT)
- Bend the elbows and lower the chest towards the floor
- Press upwards until arms are fully extended
Use your full potential: Train with maximum movement amplitude!
Learn why training with a large range of motion (ROM) is the key to greater strength, better agility and lower risk of injury. Rely on effective exercises that demand your muscles and joints in their full amplitude of movement – for sustainable progress and optimal results!
4. Negative push-ups for positive muscle building
Here the focus is on the eccentric movement – the controlled condescension to the ground. This technique is ideal for building targeted strength for more demanding push-ups. Make sure to execute the negative phase so slowly that you can always maintain control and stop the movement.
Necessary equipment
Focus on the technique for negative push-ups:
- Place the parallettes shoulder-width apart and start in the push-up position
- Make sure the torso is firm and push the lower back out upwards (PPT)
- Bend the elbows and lower the chest towards the floor
- Place knees on the floor and press back into push-up position
- Make sure arms are fully extended in the start position
The Underestimated Power of Eccentricity
Did you know that you are up to 40% stronger in the eccentric phase? Find out in our blog article why controlled negative reps are the key to more strength, muscle building and new skills – and how to integrate them optimally into your training.
5. The Evergreen for the Chest - Classic Pushups
The normal pushups are indispensable to strengthen the chest. Whether on the ground, on Parallettes or on unstable rings – they offer you numerous training opportunities.
Special feature of the rings: In addition to the larger movement radius, the instability of the rings also demands your deep muscles. In addition, the rings can be pushed together when pressing up, as a result of which the tension in the chest muscles is significantly increased.
Necessary equipment
Properly perform clean push-ups:
- Start in a push up hold position with extended arms
- Hands are higher then shoulders
- Pay attention to an active core
- Bend the elbows and move the chest to the ground
- Rings stay close to the body
- Extend arms completely
6. The right intensity for the chest - push-ups with weight
This variant significantly increases the intensity. A weight vest or dip belt are ideal tools to increase the load. It is especially useful if you can already perform more than 20 clean pushups. Choose a weight with which you can achieve at least 6 reps and gradually increase.
Necessary equipment
Look for the following sequence:
- Start in the push-up position
- Parallettes are slightly wider than shoulder width
- Maintain maximum tension in torso and buttocks
- Bend your arms and bring your chest towards the floor
- Elbows are spread about 45 degrees from the body
- Stretch your arms and press back to the starting position
- Work in the greatest possible range of motion
7. Bulgarian push-ups for maximum stretching and muscle building
The Bulgarian pushups are the ultimate variant for intensive breast training. The 90-degree angle between the upper arm and upper body ensures maximum stretching of the chest muscles and produces an optimal stimulus for muscle growth.
During the exercise, make sure your elbow stays spread and you go as deep as possible. If you want to increase the intensity, you can use additional weight.
Necessary equipment
On the Bulgarian push-ups technique:
- Start in the push-up hold position
- Hands are higher then shoulder
- Pay attention to an active core
- Bend the elbows and lower the chest towards the floor
- Move the rings away to the side at the level of the shoulders
- Extend arms completely
Conclusion: Which push-ups variant is the best for the breast?
All variants have different levels of difficulty and offer their own advantages, but the Bulgarian pushups provide the greatest appeal for your chest muscles. Ideally, choose the variant you can safely run, and work your way up until you get 15-20 reps. Then you switch to the next more difficult variant or use meaningful equipment such as Parallettes or Turning ringsto further optimize the exercise.
If you don’t want to worry about your training plans, test them now DIE RINGE App. The training program automatically selects the right push-up variant for you and increases you step by step to the next exercise.
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Always motivated
With us, it is easy to make your training a habit – thanks to encouraging features and structured training planning.
Personalized training plan
We combine technology and sports science and adapt your training so that you train at exactly the right level and at the right pace.
Communicate with real people
Just shake the app and give us feedback so we can make the app better or help you with your training.
Developed by Sports Scientists
By combining research-based training methods and effective exercises, we create training plans that help you successfully build strength and muscle.