# Can you build a big chest doing push ups?



## god hand (May 17, 2005)

I just cant get my chest to grow doing bench exercises. I want a bigger upper chest. Do u think push ups will help me pack on more chest muscle


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## musclepump (May 17, 2005)

Compared to the alternatives, no. Hit the dumbbells, inclines and declines. I'd stay away from the cables for awhile. What was your routine like that you were using when you "just couldn't" grow? How long have you been on it?


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## Machher (May 17, 2005)

the reason being the overload presented to the chest during the workout never changes. You are applying the same force to your tris and chest during every pushup. so no adaptation will take place (thus no hypertrophy).


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## ihateschoolmt (May 17, 2005)

I bet you're overtraining. What is your routine?


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## god hand (May 17, 2005)

Yes thats what everybody told me. I use to bench press 6 times a week! And then cut it to once a week. I tried the Max OT program for awhile ( basically 4-6 reps if u want to see growth they stay) I did that for a month and my bench went up damn near 25 pounds. 160-185. But I was still the same size thinking it only effected my triceps and shoulders. I currently dont have a rountine, I dont know what the fuck to do.


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## MillerMan (May 17, 2005)

try some DB flyes also they isolate the chest and u can get a good judgment of your chest strength because your tri's aren't doing any work for you.


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## Mudge (May 17, 2005)

Do you really think a pushup is that significantly different from a bench press? The weight will certainly be FAR less. Paul Demayo was criticized for having a weak chest, some people just have weak points, like calves which are common.


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## Doublebase (May 18, 2005)

There could be other variables controlling this.  What does your diet look like?  Are you maxing out every week?  You are probably overtraining.  Throw some DB's in there somewhere.  Weighted dips.


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## Mudge (May 18, 2005)

If he feels other things are growing though then its probably not dietary (only half way eluded to above).

If you are benching very high on the chest it hits my arms hard, I dont bench anywhere near the nipple on a flat bench. I only bench high on an incline.


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## Flex (May 18, 2005)

guarenteed you don't know how to contract your chest muscles when doing any kind of chest exericise, be it benching or pushups. You hafta literally SQUEEZE your pecs to raise yourself, not just push (that puts most of the strain on your shoulders)

first learn how to contract your pecs, then they'll grow. 
so yes, they can grow by doing pushups.


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## Arnold (May 18, 2005)

> Can you build a big chest doing push ups?



No.


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## Mags (May 18, 2005)

Bodyweight simply will not be enough to stress the chest enough to make it bigger. Like the others have mentioned, look at your diet and make sure your getting the right amount of calories/protein etc and your not burning up too many. Chop and change your routine, do power movements one week then higher rep ranges etc the next, always use different training techniques so the chest (and this applies to all muscle groups) can never fully adapt to the workload placed on it so it has no choice but to keep growing (until you reach ones genetic limit -this'll change depending on age, metabolism etc). Check out Gopros training routine thread somewhere on here, that pretty well accomodates all of the above. My chest never grew till I started swapping bench for dumbells, decline for weighted dips etc. It'll work mate, just be accurate with cals and training. Good luck


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## god hand (May 18, 2005)

I know diet isnt a problem because my other muscles or growing. The problem is I just cant get a pump in my chest only my triceps and shoulders (which is starting to take its toll) I've tried neck presses, but they hurt my shoulders even more. This weekand at the gym I'm going to try a wider grip. I am confused about were I should bring the bar down to (nipple, collarbone, or inbetween?) They say it works your upper chest more if u bring it down to your collarbone, but I still feel nothing. Do you really have to contract your pecs during bench? I've never done it before because I throught it did it by itself. I'll try that two. The only growth I've seen in my chest was from push ups which stopped after like 4 months. When I first started benching I did 95lb. Now I do 185 and My chest is 100% the same as which I started and thats y I dont think if I keep moving up itll have to grow, when my triceps and shoulders could just keep getting stronger. *I'm about to kill myself trying to find something that works!*     
*Age 18 
Height 5'10
Weight 155*


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## Doublebase (May 18, 2005)

Did you try dumbbells?  A wider grip will hit your shoulders even more.


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## lpz213 (May 18, 2005)

get the hint foo, use dumbells in your routine,  6x a week benchpressing is alot dogg.


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## Mudge (May 18, 2005)

Well, at 155 pounds I do hope you are growing. Do you keep measurements with a cloth or soft plastic tape? How light were you beforehand?


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## Tha Don (May 18, 2005)

god hand said:
			
		

> I want a bigger upper chest.


Incline press


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## Yanick (May 18, 2005)

god hand said:
			
		

> I know diet isnt a problem because my other muscles or growing. The problem is I just cant get a pump in my chest only my triceps and shoulders (which is starting to take its toll) I've tried neck presses, but they hurt my shoulders even more. This weekand at the gym I'm going to try a wider grip. I am confused about were I should bring the bar down to (nipple, collarbone, or inbetween?) They say it works your upper chest more if u bring it down to your collarbone, but I still feel nothing. Do you really have to contract your pecs during bench? I've never done it before because I throught it did it by itself. I'll try that two. The only growth I've seen in my chest was from push ups which stopped after like 4 months. When I first started benching I did 95lb. Now I do 185 and My chest is 100% the same as which I started and thats y I dont think if I keep moving up itll have to grow, when my triceps and shoulders could just keep getting stronger. *I'm about to kill myself trying to find something that works!*
> *Age 18
> Height 5'10
> Weight 155*



i have trouble believing you put 90lbs on your bench and saw no improvement in chest. have you any before/after pics? newbies usually tend to not be able to see differences in their bodies, hell i worked out for a year and almost quit before i saw a picture of me before lifting and noticed a huge difference. it takes a while to learn how to see slight changes in your body (day to day even hour to hour).

post up your whole routine, that way we can critique it and give you advice based on the whole thing not one day.


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## god hand (May 19, 2005)

I know what my body looked like before and after! Only thing thats gotten bigger is my shoulders.


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## Flex (May 19, 2005)

god hand said:
			
		

> I know what my body looked like before and after! Only thing thats gotten bigger is my shoulders.



that's because you are pushing with your SHOULDERS. learn how to flex your chest muscles, then they'll grow.

anyone who says you can't get a decent chest (notice i didn't say huge, but definitely decent) is wrong. When i was 15, before i started working out, I used to do pushups every single day, and my chest got big as hell.


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## Mudge (May 19, 2005)

Flex said:
			
		

> anyone who says you can't get a decent chest (notice i didn't say huge, but definitely decent) is wrong. When i was 15, before i started working out, I used to do pushups every single day, and my chest got big as hell.



Sorry man, but I doubt it. When I see someone who can hit 280@8% doing just pushups, I'm going to buy you some free whey protein. Ronald McDonald and Mickey Mouse, for the record, are not "big as hell."


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## MillerMan (May 19, 2005)

it can increase your muscular endurance but you won't get "big as hell" unless you are just genetically bigger.


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## Mr. Diesel (May 19, 2005)

What has worked for me and others in my high school weightroom is have a wider grip on the bench.  Move your hands out at least 5-10 inches.  Whatever you can handle the most will do you better.  Try to get at least 20 grams of protein within 3 hours of your workout also.  Exceed 20 for better results also.  Trust me it will work.


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## Mudge (May 19, 2005)

20 grams of protein EVERY 3 hours is good if you are 100 pounds.


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## god hand (May 20, 2005)

Your body can only take in so much protein at one time.


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## Flex (May 20, 2005)

Mudge said:
			
		

> Sorry man, but I doubt it. When I see someone who can hit 280@8% doing just pushups, I'm going to buy you some free whey protein. Ronald McDonald and Mickey Mouse, for the record, are not "big as hell."



PLEASE read what i said.

I didn't say for someone who is 280@8%. That example is pro-esque. I didn't say pros can do it. I said when i was 15, before i started working out, pushups definitely made my chest decently big........dick


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## Mudge (May 20, 2005)

Sorry Flex, I thought I saw in there "big as hell" something something.


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## Mudge (May 20, 2005)

god hand said:
			
		

> Your body can only take in so much protein at one time.



Because it cannot store protein unless its gets converted to something of course other than protein. If I take in 20g of protein every 3 hours which means I'm eating 6 hours a day (dont forget to sleep), that means I'm taking in a whopping 120g of protein. That would be great if I looked like ET.

However, it is better to have MORE than to have LESS in the case of protein. If you are underfed protein you wont be building muscle,  you will be losing it. This is a constant process that goes on ALL DAY EVERY DAY. To be in positive nitrogen retention means your muscles hold onto aminos, but the tendency is to let go of them.

If you look at your protein turnover rate PTR, you would be quite supprised at how much the body tears down and repairs in a single day. Look at even a FEMALE MODELS DIET and you will very often find 200-300g protein and lower carbs and fats, so I hope nobody in here is telling me that I should be doing 100-150 grams of protein per day as a male who is deep into the 200s.


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## god hand (May 20, 2005)

Lets just be honest, the average human doesnt get probably half of the protein recommended. I'm 155 do I get 155 grams of protein in a day? Hell no.
Do a 300pound fat lard ass get 300 grams of protein a day? Hell tha fuck no.


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## ihateschoolmt (May 20, 2005)

god hand said:
			
		

> Lets just be honest, the average human doesnt get probably half of the protein recommended. I'm 155 do I get 155 grams of protein in a day? Hell no.
> Do a 300pound fat lard ass get 300 grams of protein a day? Hell tha fuck no.


I'm 155 and I get 250-300 grams of protein a day.


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## DimebagDarrell (May 20, 2005)

i bet i can guess why your chest isnt growing...





(see my signature)


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## DimebagDarrell (May 20, 2005)

got it?  i dont ever get changes in chest size until im up to about 4500 calories a day.  if im down about to 3500, ill grow in other places but not my chest.


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## DimebagDarrell (May 20, 2005)

whoa, 666 posts, lets get to 667 quick


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## Mudge (May 20, 2005)

god hand said:
			
		

> Lets just be honest, the average human doesnt get probably half of the protein recommended. I'm 155 do I get 155 grams of protein in a day? Hell no.



I was under the impression people would not be on a lifting forum to be average. 

I have been as high as 520g protein per day before.


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## god hand (May 20, 2005)

I got some 100% whey, but everytime I take it, it all shoots out my ass!   Maybe its tha milk.


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## GeorgeS (Nov 5, 2005)

hey first of all u can grow a big chest doing just push ups.  which i am doing now.. and i am seeing more results then i was with a heavy bench.. alhtough i still do heavy bench and incline once a week.. but i do push ups everyday.. results are awesome.. not massive.. but definetly good... and there islots of people that got big and i mean BIGGGG chests just by doing push ups.    like flex said.. u have to know how to work your chest.. and flex it.. not your hsoulders.. or arms..  just yr chest.   i can do 50 push ups non stop easily if i dont concentrate on my chest well.. but if i do concentrate onmy chest every single rep.. i do about 20.   and my chest is EXPLOding after.  its all about the stress on the muscle.. u can put a lot of stress on it.. with low weight too.  not as much as big weight.. but still..   the guys that say u cant get no chest with  push ups are flat out idiots.


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## huesoloco (Nov 5, 2005)

I didnt get a big (decent) chest till I could max about 300lbs on the bench.


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## CowPimp (Nov 5, 2005)

No, not if you use your bodyweight.  Once pushups become easy for you the gains will cease.


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## Deity Goddess (Nov 5, 2005)

That's strange.  Before I started benching, I was doing pushups 4 days out of the week, 300 pushups per day.  When I very first did a bench for a 1RM I easily benched 305lbs.  Pushups DOES help in the strength and growth/size departments.


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## min0 lee (Nov 5, 2005)

Deity Goddess said:
			
		

> That's strange.  Before I started benching, I was doing pushups 4 days out of the week, 300 pushups per day.  When I very first did a *bench for a 1RM I easily benched 305lbs*.  Pushups DOES help in the strength and growth/size departments.


Free weights?


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## CowPimp (Nov 5, 2005)

Deity Goddess said:
			
		

> That's strange.  Before I started benching, I was doing pushups 4 days out of the week, 300 pushups per day.  When I very first did a bench for a 1RM I easily benched 305lbs.  Pushups DOES help in the strength and growth/size departments.



Yeah, I have a friend who doesn't even workout who can rep 225 no problem.  He's never really worked out consistently in his life.  It's called genetics.  It wasn't the pushups that let you hit a 1RM of 305.

Also, how long had you been lifting before you tried a 1RM?  Or did you just plop down on a bench and go for 3 plates?


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## GFR (Nov 5, 2005)

CowPimp said:
			
		

> Yeah, I have a friend who doesn't even workout who can rep 225 no problem.  He's never really worked out consistently in his life.  It's called genetics.  It wasn't the pushups that let you hit a 1RM of 305.
> 
> Also, how long had you been lifting before you tried a 1RM?  Or did you just plop down on a bench and go for 3 plates?


You realize *this Troll *is pretending to be a woman who benched 305 Raw the first time she went into a gym


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## min0 lee (Nov 5, 2005)

ForemanRules said:
			
		

> You realize *this Troll *is pretending to be a woman who benched 305 Raw the first time she went into a gym


Why would people do such a thing? It could be a personality disorder here.


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## CowPimp (Nov 5, 2005)

ForemanRules said:
			
		

> You realize *this Troll *is pretending to be a woman who benched 305 Raw the first time she went into a gym



I didn't even notice the female thing.  Yeah, it's probably a load of horseshit.  If not, then she has 1 in a million genetics and her situation has zero bearing on the general populus.

Trolls shouldn't spread misinformation like that though.  Being a jackass is one thing, but spreading ignorance is another.


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## Tier (Nov 5, 2005)

Don't forget her max bench is 405 too. I don't know that I've ever met a woman or seen a woman who could bench 405.


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## GFR (Nov 5, 2005)

Tier said:
			
		

> Don't forget her max bench is 405 too. I don't know that I've ever met a woman or seen a woman who could bench 405.


Raw......never been done!!!
I saw a woman in my home town about 6 years ago hit 400 AT 220 SHIRTED....she had the world record for a while.


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## Nachez (Nov 5, 2005)

shes on the juice!!!!!!!!!!


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## LAM (Nov 5, 2005)

Tier said:
			
		

> Don't forget her max bench is 405 too. I don't know that I've ever met a woman or seen a woman who could bench 405.



any woman that can bench that much is taking androgens at such a high dosage  there isn't much "woman" left...


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## gentlecaper (Jun 7, 2006)

Machher said:
			
		

> the reason being the overload presented to the chest during the workout never changes. You are applying the same force to your tris and chest during every pushup. so no adaptation will take place (thus no hypertrophy).




Push ups can build chest muscles. You can always put weights on your back and some more weight on you lower back to target core muscles.

It is also a great exercise for the lats and triceps. But must do the exercise slowly instead of bouncing up and down.


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## tucker01 (Sep 8, 2006)

Bump


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## viet_jon (Sep 8, 2006)

Flex said:


> that's because you are pushing with your SHOULDERS. learn how to flex your chest muscles, then they'll grow.



this wzs my problem when I started. I just focused on getting the weight up.

drop the weights. Alot of weights don't mean big muscles. that's powerlifting.


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## KataKlysm954 (Sep 8, 2006)

Mudge said:


> If he feels other things are growing though then its probably not dietary (only half way eluded to above).
> 
> If you are benching very high on the chest it hits my arms hard, I dont bench anywhere near the nipple on a flat bench. I only bench high on an incline.


 
i can bench more weight on incline then i can on decline :/ and its suppose to be the opposite


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## StanUk (Sep 8, 2006)

Benching 6 times a week is pretty insane. Personally id recomend benching once  a week, but bench big, 1 warm up set and then pyramid down. Start with a real heavy weight you can only just squeeze 5 or 6 reps out, then the next two sets drop the weight by around 10kg or so and do 8 and then 10-12 reps respectively. Dont forget to train your triceps and shoulders as well as these are both very important for a good bench. Id recomend also doing incline benching aswell but on a different day, preferably when you train your shoulders.

Good luck


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## soloboy (Jul 20, 2008)

god hand said:


> Yes thats what everybody told me. I use to bench press 6 times a week! And then cut it to once a week. I tried the Max OT program for awhile ( basically 4-6 reps if u want to see growth they stay) I did that for a month and my bench went up damn near 25 pounds. 160-185. But I was still the same size thinking it only effected my triceps and shoulders. I currently dont have a rountine, I dont know what the fuck to do.


hello there. 6 times a week is way to much    for your chest you should only work out your  chest 2 times a week  pusups will help your chest  but if you are trying to get  bulk  dont do  pusups    now they will make you stronger pusups will only  cut you up  but u will not gain no bulk from pusups and they also  are a killer Triceps  workout


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## Mista (Jul 20, 2008)

Hope he sussed it out after 3 years.


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## jasoncscs (Feb 9, 2010)

Push-ups are an excellent tool to build size and strength. And the good thing about them is of so many variations and progressions. You can easily do a regular push-up, you can switch to feet elevated, and some ball, or one arm push-up. If a good way to add mass and strength to the chest and of course the triceps and shoulders.


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## ikillsnowmen4fun (Apr 26, 2010)

This is a real long post but I have the same problem. I'll be a bit more specific. I'm 180 lbs with athletic build. I do chest 3 times a week on Mon/Wed/Fri which includes incline,decline,and flat bench and incline and decline crossover flies. I have done this for 3 weeks straight. I plan on doing this for 2 more weeks and then 5 weeks of pushups to shape the muscle built. Any suggestions to get my chest bigger? I have a protein shake after lifting and plenty of chicken and protein foods


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## Marat (Apr 26, 2010)

ikillsnowmen4fun said:


> This is a real long post but I have the same problem. I'll be a bit more specific. I'm 180 lbs with athletic build. I do chest 3 times a week on Mon/Wed/Fri which includes incline,decline,and flat bench and incline and decline crossover flies. I have done this for 3 weeks straight. I plan on doing this for 2 more weeks and then 5 weeks of pushups to shape the muscle built. Any suggestions to get my chest bigger? I have a protein shake after lifting and plenty of chicken and protein foods



How many calories are you taking in?


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## country1911 (Apr 27, 2010)

WOW, graveyard thread back from the dead...

There is a routine titled "100 pushups."  Probably will make you better a doing pushups, but won't build your chest past a point.


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## ikillsnowmen4fun (Apr 28, 2010)

I don't count calories. I eat practically zero sweets or fast food. I have a fruit salad for a meal about once a day and I eat small, about 5 meals a day consisting of salmon/haddock, chicken, rice, fruit


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## sassy69 (Apr 28, 2010)

country1911 said:


> WOW, graveyard thread back from the dead...
> 
> There is a routine titled "100 pushups."  Probably will make you better a doing pushups, but won't build your chest past a point.



You can also hit different parts by doing decline pushups at different angles, but still limited. I suppose if you really wanted to get fancy you could use resistance bands (held under your hands, wrapped around your shoulders) to increase resistance beyond just your bodyweight. 

I think pushups are a great thing to superset with for more kick as well. And variations, e.g. if you can do pushups with your hands on a raised surface so you can dip deeper.


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## country1911 (Apr 28, 2010)

Good point sassy, you can also do some plyo stuff with pushups that are difficult to do with a bar.  My favorite when I can't get to the gym for a chest day is clapping pushups.


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## CaptainNapalm (Apr 28, 2010)

Dips (weighted) leaning forward are a good mass building exercise for both tri's and chest.


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## kyle64 (Apr 28, 2010)

When I first got back from my 15 year no-workout fat bastard routine 4 months ago, I was not getting any pump from bench pressing so I started doing incline dumbbell flyes right after the warm up, then stretched my pecs really well before the bench press, after that, bench pressing started pumping the hell out of my pecs and they are starting to look awesome.


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## NOINRI (Mar 4, 2011)

Was working out daily since The end of August/Beginning of September of 2010. My first time seriously working out. Saw a little ab coming in but nothing ever significant.

Was working arms, cardio, chest, back, abs, calves,etc.

Around November I slowed down and began working out sporadically every blue moon. Just started picking back up and immediately I see results. 

I've been doing push ups and ab rolls almost nightly and getting back into my barbell lifting and doing the ellyptical a little less frequently.

Definitely see a growth in chest due to the pushups and my abs have snapped back a bit to, still with a ways to go though.

But I wonder if these were results I had had before I stopped and just hadn't noticed. Particularly with the chest. Along the lines of what a previous poster said in this thread about "newbies" being incapable of discerning results even though they're there.

I'm definitely motivated again. Haven't gotten back into all the other stuff as seriously as I was, such as flies, bench press, lunges, deadlift, etc., but definitely sticking with the pushups, ab rolls/sit ups, and barbells.


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## ihateschoolmt (Mar 4, 2011)

Why does this thread have 65,000 views haha that almost 3 times more than any of the stickies.


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## Dustdatarse (Mar 4, 2011)

Flex said:


> guarenteed you don't know how to contract your chest muscles when doing any kind of chest exericise, be it benching or pushups. You hafta literally SQUEEZE your pecs to raise yourself, not just push (that puts most of the strain on your shoulders)
> 
> first learn how to contract your pecs, then they'll grow.
> so yes, they can grow by doing pushups.


 
I agree with you Flex....when i was in jail and didnt have a weight pile...i spent 2 hours EOD doing incline, decline, wide, regular, and close hand push-ups with a deck of cards and i gained quite a bit of size and it also helped form my pecs a ton. I think concentrating on contracting my pecs definately made a difference on how i grew my pecs to what they are now. JMO


Edit: wow didnt realize how old this thread was....


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