natural bodybuilder

Scooby's Home Bodybuilding Workouts

Chest Workout

 huge bodybuilder chest (pectorials)

 

Pushups

First, the most important thing is using correct form.  Depending on your strength, you will be doing pushups from your knees or your feet.  It is better to use good form from your knees than bouncy, jerky form from your feet.  All pushups are done slowly (2 seconds down and 2 seconds up) and your body is held rigid as a steel I beam.  The pushups are done from fisted hands like you are punching the ground, this wrist position not only keeps you from hyper extending your wrists but allows you to get full range of motion on your pushup as it puts you 3" higher off the ground.  Make sure to either do the pushups on a foam pad or a thick carpet to save your hands and knees.  Toward the end of your workout you will get very tired, don't let your form suffer.  Use the alternate pushup position if you cant do more than 5 pushups.  Important on all these exercises is to keep your elbows and hands in front of the plane of your body, your shoulder is very unstable and prone to injury if you hyperextend it behind your torso.  Shown below are two different hand positions for doing pushups, although they look similar they work completely different parts of your chest so do both of them.  Your pectorals are a big muscle group and take a hard workout to make them grow but don't sacrifice form.  You will get a more amazing pec pump from doing these simple pushups than you will from a heavy bench press.
Video Clip shown pushups for beginners.  This covers what to do, what not to do, and how to get started.
bodybuilding home chest workout, pushups wide stance exercise pushup push up push-up wide stance.  Closely note wrist position, thumbs are pointing toward head (click on thumbnail for larger view).  Notice how I don't go all the way down to the ground, this would put my elbows behind the plane of my body and risk shoulder injury.
bodybuilding home chest workout, pushups narrow stance exercise pushup push up push-up narrow stance.  Closely note wrist position, thumbs are pointing toward head. (click on thumbnail for larger view)  Notice again how I don't go all the way down to the ground, this would put my elbows behind the plane of my body and risk shoulder injury.
bodybuilding home chest workout pushups knees exercise pushup push up push-up Alternate pushup position if you are having trouble maintaining good form, notice my knees are on the ground in this position not my feet.  Notice again how I don't go all the way down to the ground, this would put my elbows behind the plane of my body and risk shoulder injury.
Video Clip showing proper form of the pushup.  Note how slow I am going, try for 2s up and 2s down.
 

 

Backpack Pushups

If you are an advanced bodybuilder and cant get enough of a workout from normal pushups, here is an old idea - backpack pushups.  These come in handy too when you are on the road and cant bring any fitness equipment along.  The basic idea is to put some heavy weights in a backpack and then do pushups with the weight providing extra resistance.  Here are some tips to do the backpack pushup safely.
First important factor is a sturdy backpack with both chest straps and a waist strap.  A cheap, flimsy backpack is not acceptable.  Make sure you yank-test it with the amount of weight you plan on using to make sure the straps can safely carry the load, REI makes some excellent sturdy packs like this one.  Second, the weights must remain at the very top of the pack so stuff towels, blankets, or whatever you have into the bottom of the pack to keep the plates firmly at the top of the pack (reason will be explained below).  Here I have six 10lb plates.
If you have your own way of putting on a heavy pack safely, go for it.  Here I illustrate the table method.  Set the pack on the edge of the table and slide one arm under the first strap. The weight of the backpack is still 100% on the table.
Now slide your other arm under the other strap.  The weight of the pack is still 100% on the table so this is an easy process. 
Tighten up the shoulder straps as snug as they will go, this helps keep the weight load high over your shoulders where it will not stress your lower back.  Attach and snug the chest strap.
Attach and tighten waist strap.  Again, the weight of the pack is still 100% on the table.
Now all strapped in, standing up is a little like doing squats.
In preparation to do the pushups, put your nose to the carpet and allow the weights in your pack to slide as far forward as possible.  Since you packed the bottom of your pack well with dense towels/blankets they wont move much but every little bit helps.
Now straighten your body and start your slow, steady pushups.  Note that the 60lbs of plates in my backpack is almost exactly over my shoulder blades which allows this additional weight to be transferred directly to arms thru the chest muscles without putting any torque on the spine. 

 

Dumbbell Flys

Pushups alone can give you a great chest workout, however with a dumbbell set you have some other options as well.  The dumbbell fly is one of my favorite exercises and is what I feel has given me my chest thickness.  You can do this laying flat on the floor if you want or you can do it on a flat bench or a footstool with a pad over it as I am doing here.   If you use a bench or footstool, make 100% sure that you don't let your elbows drop lower than your shoulders as this would hyperextend your shoulder and put it at risk of injury.  Like all exercises, the key is to do this exercise very slowly and with strict form - no cheating.  Keep your arms nearly locked, if you have to bend your elbows then use a lighter weight. 

bodybuilding home workout chest flys exercise down position Starting Position.  Arms nearly straight but elbows are not locked, palms are up. Slowly squeeze the weights up while exhaling.  (click on thumbnail for larger view)
bodybuilding home workout chest flys exercise up position Ending Position.  Arms still nearly straight.  Now lower weights slowly back to starting position while inhaling.  (click on thumbnail for larger view)
Video Clip showing proper form of the dumbbell fly
 

 

Dumbbell Press

Pushups alone can give you a great chest workout, however with a dumbbell set you have some other options as well.  The dumbbell press is a good alternative to the pushup if you find pushups uncomfortable.  Do this flat on the floor without a bench, this insures that you will not drop your elbows too low and injure your shoulder. 

bodybuilding home workout chest dumbbell press, down position Starting Position.  Upper arms are inline with each other, elbows are 90 degrees.  Push up slowly while exhaling, should take a count of three to get the weights up.  (click on thumbnail for larger view)
bodybuilding home workout chest dumbbell press, up position Ending Position.  Now lower slowly back to starting position while inhaling, it should take a count of three to get back down  (click on thumbnail for larger view)
Video Clip showing proper form of the dumbbell press

 

 

Incline Dumbbell Flys

The incline dumbbell fly is a simple variation of the dumbbell fly done with the back at a angle instead of horizontal. If you have an incline bench, that's great.  I make one by tying a 2x8 to my coffee table, it works great and I don't have to store a huge bench.  If you do this, make very sure that everything is completely secure and will not move while you are doing your exercise.  As with the dumbbell flys, make 100% sure that you don't let your elbows drop lower than your shoulders as this would hyperextend your shoulder and put it at risk of injury.  Like all exercises, the key is to do this exercise very slowly and with strict form - no cheating.  Keep your arms nearly locked, if you have to bend your elbows then use a lighter weight. 

Starting Position.  Arms nearly straight but elbows are not locked, palms are up. Slowly squeeze the weights up while exhaling.   Don't let your elbows drop lower than your shoulders!
Ending Position.  Arms still nearly straight.  Now lower weights slowly back to starting position while inhaling. 
  Video Clip showing proper form of the incline fly
 

 

Incline Dumbbell Press

The incline dumbbell press is a simple variant of the dumbell press.  If you have an incline bench, that's great.  I make one by tying a 2x8 to my coffee table, it works great and I don't have to store a huge bench.  If you do this, make very sure that everything is completely secure and will not move while you are doing your exercise.  this insures that you will not drop your elbows too low and injure your shoulder. 

Starting Position.  Upper arms are inline with each other, elbows are 90 degrees.  Push up slowly while exhaling, should take a count of three to get the weights up. 
Ending Position.  Now lower slowly back to starting position while inhaling, it should take a count of three to get back down 
  Video clip showing proper form of the dumbbell incline press

 

 

Incline Front Press

The incline front press is a simple variant of the dumbbell press.  In this exercise the elbows don't point out to the side as they do in the dumbbell press, instead they are parallel to your body.  If you have an incline bench, that's great.  I make one by tying a 2x8 to my coffee table, it works great and I don't have to store a huge bench.  If you do this, make very sure that everything is completely secure and will not move while you are doing your exercise.  this insures that you will not drop your elbows too low and injure your shoulder. 

Starting Position.  Elbows touching your sides lightly.  Hold the dumbbells like ski poles.  Push up slowly while exhaling, should take a count of three to get the weights up. 
Ending Position.  Now lower slowly back to starting position while inhaling, it should take a count of three to get back down
  Video clip showing proper form of the incline front press

 

 

"No Time" chest workout

OK, you are a busy person and don't have time to drive to the gym, let alone do a workout but that is not going to get in the way of your progress!  Here's a great 15 minute chest workout you can do at home with dumbbells that will make you sore combining three of the above exercises into one quick, killer workout.  We are going to workout 15 minutes continuously, no rest, so get ready to sweat.  First we are going to do pushups, then dumbbell flys, then dumbbell press, then repeat.  The only rest you get is to remove plates of your dumbbells to make them lighter, but don't lollygag!  Do NOT sacrifice form here, keep the movements very slow and controlled - no jerking, bouncing, or flailing.  You can make the weights as light as you want but keep the form perfect.  On the pushups, do them from you knees if you cant do them smoothly and slowly from your feet.