back pack pushups
 

i am stuck doing the home work out for a while, and i can get a great work out on every other muscle, except my chest. i have been doing pushups, negative and regular, and cant seem to get a good burn. before i fill a backpack with phone books, strap it on my back and hit the push-ups again, does anyone have any suggestions for good home chest workouts. i dont have any equipment other than a 25lb and 50lb dumbell...and a back pack and a few phonebooks.

I wouldn't do that because it puts too much pressure on your spine. To do weighted pushups, you should be putting a 10-lb weight plate on your back between your shoulder blades. Putting the weight any lower then your shoulder blades is not good for your spine.

If you don't have a 10 lb plate, then go buy one. Brand new, they will only cost $5 each at the most.

Try doing a push-up with a dumbell (or a thick book) under your right hand and the floor under the left. Do your 8 push-ups and switch so that the left is higher than the right.

good suggestions! thanks guys!!!

I do pushups with a six-second negative. Works for me. Can only do about 20 that way, if I'm lucky.

Have you tried putting your hands on elevated platforms and lowering your chest to a point beneath your hands?

Try some decline pushups. Just get your feet up on a chair and feel the burn. When those stop doing anything for you, get your feet up on the wall. In essence you are doing handstand pushups at that point.

If he did that, he would be working his shoulders, not his chest :p

Heh, good point :)

You could get a bench for really cheap...

Do clap push-ups, and when getting too easy, try clapping twice.

http://www.exrx.net/Plyometrics/ClapPushUp.html

Visit that site, very useful.

this is some good advice... who need a personal trainer when we got you guys

Stretching is also a great workout for your chest. Get a solid stretch by expanding your arms inside of a doorframe. Take a small step forward and feel your chest stretch horizontally. Hold for 15 seconds, then repeat 4-5 times.

Holy shit, I tried some of those clap push ups! Wow! That's a work out! I almost fell on my face trying to clap twice after doing one a few times!

speaking of pushups, is there a proper way to do those one handed pushups because i was waching a Rocky movie the other night and he made them look pretty easy, so i went and tried a few and could barely get 5 out.

Damn, that's more than I can do! I'm can just barely do one on each side!

This will make me look like a newbie, but whats a negative pushup?

Ya know, I've got the same problem as the poster, but I live in a dorm so I don't have room for a bench as I suggest to him.

We all know that you can't really work your chest by lying flat on the floor and pushing weights up in the air. But get this, I found an easy way to do it in your own room w/o a bench!

Use pillows! lol I know it sounds kinda ghetto, but stack 2-4 pillows high and it gives you ample room to bring your elbows down!

It may not be the best form, but if the weather sucks and you don't feel like going out to go to the gym and you've got your own free weights, it works.

Diamond pushups are best at home chest workout. Make a diamond out of your thumb and pointer fingers and do a push-up. If you have weak forearms you'll feel it there first. Then your chest.

Pillows?
That's not quite a flat surface..might do more damage then good..