Push ups for building chest?

JMHFL7

New member
Im 5'10 @ 188. Im in decent shape, but one thing I lack is chest-especially mid and upper chest. Im assuming its genetic as I have seen some guys who are thin, but have that nice squared full chest.

So my question is, should I do push-ups every day on top of my normal chest routine or will this be overworking my chest? Some say this would be like guys who run.... they work out their legs, but they also run everyday (runners have big legs)

My workout:
Incline Dumbells x 3 set (1 warm up)
Incline Dumbells Flys x 3 set
Pullover x 3 set and/or (depending on energy) Flat Dumbell press x 3 set
 
Increasing volume is not the answer. Your workout is terrible if that's all you are doing. You should be incorporating a variety of compounds with machines and flyes secondary. Read some of the stickies.
 
ManOfMuscle said:
Increasing volume is not the answer. Your workout is terrible if that's all you are doing. You should be incorporating a variety of compounds with machines and flyes secondary. Read some of the stickies.


Hmm, well, those are basic compound movements for mass, no?
What about the push-ups?
 
JMHFL7 said:
Hmm, well, those are basic compound movements for mass, no?
What about the push-ups?

That's what M.o.M. was trying to tell you by saying "increasing volume is not your answer." Cranking out 200 push ups (increased volume) everyday or after chest is not going to give the result you are looking for.
You need mass, which means increasing the size of those muscle fibers. This means compound movements, heavy weight, and high intensity... all coupled with proper rest/diet.
Your runner analogy is good but off. "Runners" (i.e. long distance, marathon, cross country) usually have tiny sticks, because they work in volume running very very long periods. This tends to give you the thin, skinny, toned effect. Now "Sprinters" tend to have "big" legs. This is because of their style of training/competing. Short, heavy, intense burst with periods of rest over shorter periods of time. Make sense??
 
JMHFL7 said:
(runners have big legs)

really?

runners_wm_m2_31.jpg


JayC is on target with this one.
 
if you don't have any access to weights, push ups and other chest calisthenics is the way, but if you have, bench, db, flyes will do the trick
 
JayC said:
That's what M.o.M. was trying to tell you by saying "increasing volume is not your answer." Cranking out 200 push ups (increased volume) everyday or after chest is not going to give the result you are looking for.
You need mass, which means increasing the size of those muscle fibers. This means compound movements, heavy weight, and high intensity... all coupled with proper rest/diet.
Your runner analogy is good but off. "Runners" (i.e. long distance, marathon, cross country) usually have tiny sticks, because they work in volume running very very long periods. This tends to give you the thin, skinny, toned effect. Now "Sprinters" tend to have "big" legs. This is because of their style of training/competing. Short, heavy, intense burst with periods of rest over shorter periods of time. Make sense??

Thanks for the response.... The reason I was asking about the push ups is because I have heard so many times that just doing push-ups will develop your chest. I hit the chest hard... but growth is not as good as rest of body.
 
JMHFL7 said:
Thanks for the response.... The reason I was asking about the push ups is because I have heard so many times that just doing push-ups will develop your chest. I hit the chest hard... but growth is not as good as rest of body.

No problem.. Generally the only time you'll see push ups developing a chest is in a young newbie who's a virgin to resistance training... ya know? The Newbie effect. It's slight and usually tapers off very quickly.
In your case, you need mass to balance the look you have. Yes, genetics plays a huge role and is probably the reason your having a hard time achieving the "look" you want. Give it time. I to have parts that don't develop as fast as others... that's life. You just need to keep trying new techniques and stay at it. It will eventually come together.
 
JMHFL7 said:
Im 5'10 @ 188. Im in decent shape, but one thing I lack is chest-especially mid and upper chest. Im assuming its genetic as I have seen some guys who are thin, but have that nice squared full chest.

So my question is, should I do push-ups every day on top of my normal chest routine or will this be overworking my chest? Some say this would be like guys who run.... they work out their legs, but they also run everyday (runners have big legs)

My workout:
Incline Dumbells x 3 set (1 warm up)
Incline Dumbells Flys x 3 set
Pullover x 3 set and/or (depending on energy) Flat Dumbell press x 3 set

runners dont have big legs they tend to be VARY thin/lean. thank god i dont look like i got runners legs
 
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