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Texas Daytripper
I would like to develop my chest. But I don't want to spend any money on weights and such.

I have two 5 and two 8 lb. barbells.

Are there any exercises or workout regimes, I could do? Really, I can only think of a few things to do like push ups and using the barbells.
NFLJockGuy
QUOTE(Ausmusfan @ Oct 16 2007, 02:12 AM) *

I would like to develop my chest. But I don't want to spend any money on weights and such.

I have two 5 and two 8 lb. barbells.

Are there any exercises or workout regimes, I could do? Really, I can only think of a few things to do like push ups and using the barbells.


You pretty much answered your own questions; with all the technology and fads that are out there, the good old fashioned push-up is still the most effective way to increase the size as well as the tone of the chest.

This may sound too simple, but by mixing it up with varying the position of your hands (width as well as angle of the hands) and adjusting the incline/decline by resting your feet on a chair or hands on a bench with your feet on the floor can hit the upper and lower parts of the chest. As well as your chest, your arms will get a decent workout at the same time, as well as your shoulders and back; it's an all-around great upper body workout.

Then get yourself a pair of moderate weight dumbbells and you can incorporate flies to work the outer and inner parts; all this can easily be done at home with little or no cost. Good Luck!
Texas Daytripper
thanks for your advice. I wouldn't have thought to use a chair or bench in my workout.

I've got great arms, thanks to 10 years of lifting mowers, chainsaws and trimmers. but the chest and stomach need a lot work.
lesbnatc
You might what to look into some of the pliates move I use them when rehabing my shoulder and chest injuries with my athletes. Purchasing a BOSU ball would also be a good move it would help the chest as well as the abs, also it's just a good overall workout. Cardio too.
Crew Chief
I've never used those balls before. Dumb question: how exactly do they work? I hear more and more about them, including comments from several stud catchers behind whom I work during the season, and they all swear by them.
collegewrestler
My chest is the best part of my body, but it only got that way through lifting both barbells and dumbbells and using machines. So while this goes against what you said about not spending money, I'll figure I may as well tell you the routine that I finally found effective, especially since you can find everything I say at the cheapest most run down gym there is.

Bench Press 5 Sets, 8 reps, 8 reps, 6 reps, 6 reps, 4 reps, increasing the weight with each set
Decline Bench Press 3 Sets, 8 reps, 8 reps, max reps
Dumbbell Incline Bench Press 3 Sets, 10 reps each set
Chest Flye Machine 3 Sets, 12 reps each set
Dumbbell Flyes 3 Sets, max reps each set
10 Pushups after every set of bench, followed by 10 clapping pushups

Granted, theres alterations I make every week, but that's the general routine that worked really well for me. The key is to get yourself as pissed off as possible at the bar when doing low repetition sets, if you can get yourself real angry, I found that you can lift a whole lot more weight than normal, and this leads to big gains. Also, creatine is a lifesaver when lifting heavy weights. I increased my max bench press by 50 pounds in 3 months by using this routine, so it works, but it may not be feasible for you due to the money required for a gym membership or getting the weights yourself.

If not, when doing push-ups, the best thing I can suggest is a wide stance with your hands, because keeping your hands close tends to work the triceps a lot more than wider stances will. And try to do "jumping" or clapping push-ups after every set of regular push-ups, cause they build explosive power which will help with your normal push-ups. But like NFLJockGuy said, you gotta vary up the position of your hands and do other things as well. Oh, and if you can find a heavy object that can remain stable on your back, try to do pushups with it on your back, the added weight will lead to you doing a lot less pushups, but you gotta change your routine up constantly, otherwise you'll hit a plateau and not notice any new gains.

Sorry if this aint any help, but like I said it worked really well for me, so I thought I should post it.
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