Do push ups grow pecs?

[Bonhamish]

I'm starting to doubt the adequacy of push-ups, my coach used to tell me that their good for everything from abs to triceps including pecs, I concede that their good for triceps, but everything else? I do 30 push ups x2 every day and when I do them I don't feel the burn in my pecs.. what do you think?

[00200293]

I'm starting to doubt the adequacy of push-ups, my coach used to tell me that their good for everything from abs to triceps including pecs, I concede that their good for triceps, but everything else? I do 30 push ups x2 every day and when I do them I don't feel the burn in my pecs.. what do you think?

Try adding a 45lb plate on your back. Yes, pushups in my opinion are more superior than the bench press, however you will need things like weighted vests or a backpack full of weights to take in the full benefits. I did some the other day with a backpack full of 100lbs and I could barely walk from my abs being so fried. I had to balance the backpack with my core while still maintaining good push up form.

[Ironlife]

I think your pushups will only get you so far in terms of muscle mass and chest development.
Since your doing push ups so easily now, your activating more slow twitch fibers in your pectorals muscles and this isnt going to grow your chest anymore..
Heavy incline benching with 8-12 reps will induce and stimulate type 2 fibers, the ones that are prone to hypertrophy.

[boathead]

pushups will only take you so far. but, they are still a fine exercise, and have their place in many routines. nonetheless, if you have been doing sets of 30, it would appear your body has adapted and has no need to get stronger.

time to do sets of 35 or 40, my friend.

[ratedstrength]

The answer is simple, use a wider grip when doing push-ups and you will definitley feel the burn in the pecs. I have experimented with push-ups and you can work out the pecs very effectively assuming the grip is wide enough, try it, and if you don't feel the burn i will be very suprised.

[vestaxpmc]

get one of those pullup/pushup bars that hook onto the doorframe, do some reps on the bench and then jump straight onto the push ups. That usually ****s me up. I can do 20 push ups on the bar but il slap 60 on the bench do 12 then jump straight onto the push ups, can barely do 8

[blazing_hellion]

I'm starting to doubt the adequacy of push-ups, my coach used to tell me that their good for everything from abs to triceps including pecs, I concede that their good for triceps, but everything else? I do 30 push ups x2 every day and when I do them I don't feel the burn in my pecs.. what do you think?

your muscles are used to doing 2 sets of 30 so theres no reason for them to burn. increase reps or do more difficult push ups.

and they are very superior to bench press, but you have to do them properly. aka a backpack wieth weights is good, although i use a 75lbs weight vest.

heres a killer push up routine:
1 arm pushups maxX3
hindu pushups maxX3
plyo pushups maxX3
VERY HIGH rep pushups maxX5

again they are the best chest exercise possible, however you must do them properly for them to be so. at were you are at the benchpress is suprior mainly because you can adjust the weight. i use my full 75lbs weight vest during 1 arm pusups and every now and then ill have a few guys that workout asking for my chest routin.

www.weightvest.com

=) they have a weight vest that goes aaaalll the way up to 150lbs, which i want/need! try doing regular pushups with the full 150 for reps. assuming your about 200lbs, 75% of your weight is 150 plus the full 150 vest weight, thats lifting 300lbs! plus it will strengthen your entire upper body.

[Ironlife]

your muscles are used to doing 2 sets of 30 so theres no reason for them to burn. increase reps or do more difficult push ups.

and they are very superior to bench press, but you have to do them properly. aka a backpack wieth weights is good, although i use a 75lbs weight vest.

heres a killer push up routine:
1 arm pushups maxX3
hindu pushups maxX3
plyo pushups maxX3
VERY HIGH rep pushups maxX5

again they are the best chest exercise possible, however you must do them properly for them to be so. at were you are at the benchpress is suprior mainly because you can adjust the weight. i use my full 75lbs weight vest during 1 arm pusups and every now and then ill have a few guys that workout asking for my chest routin.

www.weightvest.com

=) they have a weight vest that goes aaaalll the way up to 150lbs, which i want/need! try doing regular pushups with the full 150 for reps. assuming your about 200lbs, 75% of your weight is 150 plus the full 150 vest weight, thats lifting 300lbs! plus it will strengthen your entire upper body.

Daring statement^^

[ironwill2008]

You didn't state a specific goal, but if it's to build a larger chest, you'll have to continually progress the weight lifted if you intend to grow larger pecs. It's just not practical to attempt to do this with pushups.

It's time to bench press, among other exercises.. Get a gym membership, and walk away from the bodyweight work.

[WildBill0771]

Bodyweight work can yield some of the best results..especially if you add extra weight to bodyweight excercises.

Dips
Pullups
Pushups
Planks

All body weight excersises that if they get too easy you just add some extra weight. So I definetley would not give the advice to get away from bodyweight excersises even with a gym membership.

[Mortum]

you gotta do more than 60 pushups a day to build real muscle, try doing an entire deck of cards and see what happens...or you could just lift weights.

[blazing_hellion]

Daring statement^^

true but going off personal experience

[Dominik]

I'm starting to doubt the adequacy of push-ups, my coach used to tell me that their good for everything from abs to triceps including pecs, I concede that their good for triceps, but everything else? I do 30 push ups x2 every day and when I do them I don't feel the burn in my pecs.. what do you think?

Given pushups involve around 2/3 of your bodyweight, @ 145lbs, you're lifting the equivalent of 100lbs or less on a barbell. You can't expect that kind of resistance to magically build a chest, even as a beginner.

They're good for a warmup, good for general conditioning, and still probably worth doing if you're on vacation and can't get to a gym. But as a bodybuilding exercise they're not going to achieve much without adding extra weight (i.e. having someone put some plates on your back or wearing a backpack with added weight).

[cman1787]

[gatorglaze24]

Pushups are great for strength, however they arent great fro size IMO. When i was active duty army thats all we did through basic and ait, sure i could do a ton but my chest always stayed the same size. There were othe contributing factors of course ie diet, lots of cardio, poor nutrition. On that not they are incorparated frequently into my workout.

[blazing_hellion]

You didn't state a specific goal, but if it's to build a larger chest, you'll have to continually progress the weight lifted if you intend to grow larger pecs. It's just not practical to attempt to do this with pushups.

It's time to bench press, among other exercises.. Get a gym membership, and walk away from the bodyweight work.

i agree that you have to lift progressivly heavier weight around to build muscle, but if you do that with pushups via harder variations(1 armed, decline, etc) than you can build muscle. you dont have to drop the push ups, just get a weight vest at www.weightvest.com iv had my 75lbs for about 3 years and its totally fine, except the velcro collecting lint, lolz.

that being said you also didnt state your goal. if you just want a decent build, decline and 1 armed will probably do the job. if you want slightly bulked look, the get a vest.

however, if your looking to get as big as possible and compete in bb compititions, then he is absolutly correct that you must to go to the gym and bench, along with other stuff for your chest. although keep pushups in there.

[christos_swc]

Do push ups on your fists , palms facing in, not on your palms facing forward.
Feel the stretch on your pecs.
Also don't use too narrow a "grip".
If this works for you as it should, the next step will be to do them weighted.

[MWheatley]

I think your pushups will only get you so far in terms of muscle mass and chest development.
Since your doing push ups so easily now, your activating more slow twitch fibers in your pectorals muscles and this isnt going to grow your chest anymore..
Heavy incline benching with 8-12 reps will induce and stimulate type 2 fibers, the ones that are prone to hypertrophy.

Exactly, progression is key to hypertrophy. Make it more difficult (either adding weights or making other changes) and you should start to see results again.

[MannyMacK]

I think that if you do different variations constantly it will grow

[Lecter612]

It depends on your fitness level, too. I started out barely being able to do pushups. When I could consistently crank them out, I added a 50lbs back of sand to my back. I'm seeing results. I do this b/c I am still lifting at home and I have no bench.

That begin said, I don't see why you would want to limit yourself to only one type of chest exercise. There's a place for pushups.

[sabrosoed18]

I'm starting to doubt the adequacy of push-ups, my coach used to tell me that their good for everything from abs to triceps including pecs, I concede that their good for triceps, but everything else? I do 30 push ups x2 every day and when I do them I don't feel the burn in my pecs.. what do you think?

YES YES YES

I dont have a gym membership so the only excersise i do for pecs is PUSHUPS. When i began working out i could only do 70, now i can do 340 and my pecs have grown so much. I hold onto 2 dumbell handles while i do them far apart. To feel the burn you have to keep doing them in larger sets 20X5 all the way to 100 with less than a minute break and keep increasing from there.

I can show you a before n after picture if you want only from doing pushups.

[Shredded-Wolf]

YES YES YES

I dont have a gym membership so the only excersise i do for pecs is PUSHUPS. When i began working out i could only do 70, now i can do 340 and my pecs have grown so much. I hold onto 2 dumbell handles while i do them far apart. To feel the burn you have to keep doing them in larger sets 20X5 all the way to 100 with less than a minute break and keep increasing from there.

I can show you a before n after picture if you want only from doing pushups.

i would want to see that please

[sabrosoed18]

i would want to see that please

the first one is from march 11 09 and the last 2 are from october 25 09

[Shredded-Wolf]

nice improvement bro

[redbinder]

yes. widen your hands apart to focus on teh chest more.

Still, without progressive overload you will be capped at how far you can go.