Many people under-estimate the power that pushups wield in building shoulders and chest strength and chest muscles.  On the surface, push-ups are plain and nearly dull: up down, up down, up down — that is it.  Nonetheless most people, outside of physical fitness fans, only know about the military-style pushups that they endured in their Phys Ed class back in college.  Just as there is more than a technique to climb a mountain and more than a method to skin a pussy — there is more than a technique to do a pushup. 

Here are four types of pushups you can do from home — routines which will help you to build upper body strength and target your chest muscles. 

“Wide” push-ups – Historically, push-ups are performed with your hands being placed at shoulder width.  Wide push-ups, often called “wide-stance pushups”, require you to increase your hands outside the width of your shoulders.  Wide-stance pushups work your chest muscles more heavily than military-style pushups, so if chest definition is what you are looking for — wide push ups are one exercise that may help you meet your goals. 

“Diamond” push-ups – Diamond pushups, often called “pyramid” push-ups, need you to place your index fingers and thumbs together in the form of a diamond during your push up workout.  While diamond pushups tend to work your triceps more than your chest muscles, the advantages of modifying your hand placement during pushups, regardless of if only a tiny bit, are certain. 

“Fist” push-ups – Infrequently known as “knuckle” pushups, require the use of your fists, instead of the palms of your hands, to bear your body weight during the pushup.  Fist push-ups are favourable because they target different areas of your body than normal push-ups, and may increase the efficacy of your workout. 

Decline pushups – rather than placing your feet on the floor, or using your knees, place your feet on a platform so that your head is lower than your feet.  You can use a chair, a stepstool, or a bench — just about anything that will allow you to raise your feet up so that they are higher than your head.  These types of pushups work your higher chest muscles.

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