The main go-to calisthenics chest exercise will always be push-ups. And why not? They’re perfect for performing anywhere and are known to tone our whole upper body. Hell, forget toning, calisthenics are among the best bodyweight exercises to get a girl strong – period.

For this workout, you’ll be pulling out four different push-up variations. Variety is key in calisthenics because you have to get creative when building muscle with nothing but bodyweight.

Plus, changing things up keeps workouts fun and challenging. Who wants the same old sets and reps every week? Bore.

To give your body a break from push-ups (even though they’re awesome) you’ll also hit a set of chest dips. So, you’ll need to find the parallel bars in the gym or park. Or you could just grab two chairs to lean against at home.

Okay, enough of the calisthenics chit chat. We should probably get to work building that bodyweight strength, girl.

Calisthenic Chest Workout for Women

Lace up your favorite pair of circuit training sneakers because we’re going all in. Perform each exercise back to back for 8-10 reps, resting as and when you need. Then when you’ve finished all five, take a minute or two to rest.

This circuit will be three or four rounds long depending on how strong you are.

It’s up to you to push yourself so your muscles adapt and grow back stronger. As always, you’ll get out what you put in here, girl.

Here’s what you need to do:

• Exercise 1 – Push-ups
• Exercise 2 – Wave push-ups
• Exercise 3 – Chest dips
• Exercise 4 – Diamond close hand push-ups
• Exercise 5 – Incline push-ups

You didn’t think we were just gonna leave you to go at it alone, did you? No way – that’s not our style. We’ll break down exactly how to do each exercise for you now.

Push-ups

Performing a perfect push-up is just as much about technique as it is brute strength. So, learning all the key points can help you really get the most out of each one.

1. First, you need to get into a plank position. Your hands should be under you and slightly wider than shoulder-width, with your legs straight and feet touching each other. This is the top part of your perfect push-up and your starting position.
2. Tuck your elbows into your side as you lower your chest toward the ground. Keeping your arms in like this helps keep your shoulders healthy, as well as making sure you don’t waste any energy. Once you’re at the bottom, your upper arms should be at a 45-degree angle.
3. Take a moment here and contract your working muscles. This is just a little tip to increase muscle damage and squeeze every last bit from the rep.
4. Now push hard back to the top position. Keep those elbows tucked in and core tight as you push. Your body should feel like one straight line while you’re doing the whole rep.
5. That’s it, one down and nine more to go. If at any point you feel your back bending and your form breaking – just stop and finish the set. That’s your body telling you your limit for that day.

Tip: If you find regular push-ups too tough, you can make them easier. Simply perform the same movement from your knees (and not your feet) until you’re ready for the full thing.

Wave push-ups

After perfecting your regular push-up, it’s time to move onto this tougher variation. Rather than just moving your arms, wave pushups get the hips and chest involved too. You might have also heard this variation called the Hindu push-up.

Are you up to the wave push-up challenge? Of course you are, girl. No calisthenic chest workout is complete without them.

1. Set yourself up with both hands out in front of you, palms down at around a shoulders width and a half. Come up onto your toes so your feet are now in line with your hands.
2. Raise your butt so your back is straight. Your arms, neck, and back will all be in a line right from your wrists to your booty. This position should look somewhat like a reverse-pike or a triangle shape with arms out in front and legs out back.
3. When you’re ready, bend at your elbows in the same way as doing a push-up. But, as soon as your chest is about to touch the floor push it forward before extending the arms.
4. Once you’ve gone as far forward as you can, press through your palms to return to the starting position. If you got all the steps right, you’ll have felt your body flow like a wave.

Tip: If you feel your hands slipping try wave push-ups on a yoga mat. Let your palms press and spread into the foam for better grip.

Chest dips

Chest dips are super convenient for a calisthenic chest workout. They make a welcome break from push-ups and can be done nearly everywhere. Plus, they’re great for strengthening the shoulders and triceps for a total torso bodyweight workout.

We’re going to teach how to hit these on the parallel dipping bars. But if you’re doing this workout at home, you can use the flat part of two chairs and keep your knees on the floor.

1. Set yourself up comfortably on the parallel bars so that both arms are straight. Think about pulling your shoulders in tight to take out any slack and look straight ahead.
2. Press your chest out a touch as you lower your body down slowly. To help keep things stable brace your core, cross your feet, and bend your knees slightly so your heels move toward your but a tiny bit.
3. Descend down until your elbows flex to a tight angle. Your hands will be in line with the top portion of your chest and you’ll feel the tension in your chest. You should also feel your upper-back squeeze together as you come to a natural stop. Don’t drop down really fast if you can help it as it could hurt your shoulders.
4. Make sure you’re stable and push using the power of your arms and chest until you’re back to the top. Maintaining a firm core will help you be the most efficient and not waste any energy. If at any point you lose form, finish the set right there.
5. Awesome! That’s job done, girl. Keep going until you’ve crushed the whole set unless your form became broken.

Tip: If you’re finding it too hard to hit your first rep, put your feet on the floor. As you progress you can move them further away, to one foot, and then to none at all. Strength is all about listening to your body and trying these natural progressions.

Diamond push-ups

We’re gonna go back down push town with this diamond variation. While it may look cute, it’s an absolute killer of a calisthenic chest workout. Especially for the upper chest.

You’ll also feel this exercise really home in on your triceps too. So, it’s an ideal bodyweight strength workout move if you’re looking to target your arms. Did somebody say hella toned tris? Yassss, girl.

Here’s what you’re gonna do:

1. Start in a top plank as you did for the first push-up. Now, move your hands in so your thumbs and forefingers touch. Look down and you’ll see a diamond shape. We’d make a joke about these being a girl’s best friend, but we all know that’s squats and peanut butter. Are we right?
2. Now, brace your core and tense those glutes. Pull your shoulders back and inward too to stabilize them.
3. When you’re ready, lower your body as one straight line until your chest touches your hands. The diamond will now be directly under your sternum and your elbows will be tucked in tight. It’s okay if they flare out a tiny bit but try to keep them as close as possible.
4. Using the power in your chest and tris push-up back to the top. Take a breath and then go again!
5. That’s one of many, sister. We told you they were a tricep killer – good work!

Tip: Just like in the regular push-up, if you find these tough, go from your knees. This is a really common way of scaling push-ups so they’re accessible to everyone. Then when you feel strong and ready try the full thing.

Incline push-ups

This is your last and final exercise. We’ve included it as a great way to target the lower chest as well as give you a less intense movement to finish.

It’s up to you what gradient of incline you use. The steeper you go, the easier things become. Bodyweight strength workouts are all about gauging what level of intensity you need to challenge your muscles. A low bow or step will provide a much tougher test than leaning against a wall. As always, it’s your call girl.

Hit these steps to finish strong:

1. Set up in a top plank position with your hands on an object. Your body should now be on an incline meaning your hands are higher than your feet. An example of this would be having your arms extended on top of a step.
2. Brace your core and tense those glutes. Pull your shoulders back to they feel tight and secure.
3. Lower your body in one straight line so your chest approaches the object. Remember to keep your back and neck completely in line with one-another.
4. Without letting your elbows become loose and move outward push-up back to the top. Pause and breathe to get you ready for the next rep.
5. Go again until you’ve completed that set.

Tip: If you feel your form break down just stop and take a rest, that’s your body’s signaling it’s reached today’s maximum workload. Stay positive and try again next time, girl – getting strong takes time.

Final rep of the Calisthenics Chest Workout

You did it, girl! Not that we doubted you – but not everybody is cut out for a hardcore calisthenics chest workout.

Take this workout and tailor it to your goals. Try new variations of the key chest exercises like push-ups and dips or mix in other body parts too.

As you get naturally stronger, you also might want to add more sets and reps. This is something related to progressive overload theory, which means making things harder over time encourages your body to adapt.

Progressive overload is important for your strength goals – fact. Only by consistently testing your body can you keep making changes, which is why we encourage you to step it up when you’re ready.

Add more reps, increase your sets, shorten your rest times, or just go harder – it’s down to you.

Finally, enjoy the process. Set strength goals and celebrate when you achieve them. If you finished all four rounds of push-ups easy maybe try 12 next time. But on the other hand, if you found going from the knees more comfortable, work toward that perfect push-up as your own unique goal instead.

Good luck on the gym floor, girl. As always, drop a comment below if you have any questions.

Your sister in the squat rack,

Mia

More bodyweight strength training to smash your goals: 

• Female Calisthenics Workout for Beginners
• Ultimate Female Pull-Up Program
• Bodyweight Chest Workout for Women

Chest and arms are the staple of so many workouts for men. Unfortunately, it seems like for every guy who loves to hit the bench, there’s a woman who undertrains her upper body.

Luckily, this chest and arms workout for women is about to change all that.

If you’ve made the decision to transform your upper body, this workout will help you do it.

Chest and arms workout for women:  

Note: a. and b. refers to a superset. This means do 8 lateral raises, immediately followed by 8 front raises. Then rest for a couple of minutes to recharge before starting again.

Chest and arm exercises

Before you start your chest and arms workout, find out how to perform each exercise to perfect your technique. We’ll also cover exactly which muscles each movement works so you know how you’re challenging your body.

[Related Article: Best Shoulder Workouts for Strength]

[Related Article: Dynamic Stretching Vs Static Stretching]

[Related Article: 10-Minute Triceps Workout for Women]

The Final Rep

This arms and chest workout for women should help you create a stronger, more toned upper body.  It’s the key to crafting a well-rounded, full-body physique and it shouldn’t be neglected.

Head to the gym and try this workout today.

Bodyweight training is the new revolution of fat burning, muscle strengthening training for busy working women who don’t have the time to hit the gym. All you need is a free space, some loud music and a bit of motivation.

In this short guide we’ll be giving you our very best chest-based training tips. If your goal is to tighten your upper body and sculpt some athletic, shapely arms, you’re in the right place.

This is our bodyweight chest workout for women…

The benefits of bodyweight workouts

When it comes to easy, accessible and intensely effective workouts, bodyweight is where it’s at.

Getting fit doesn’t have to take up your whole day.

It shouldn’t leave you in a crumpled, sweaty mess on the floor or unable to move for days and days after.

Bodyweight training can help you strengthen your muscles, improve flexibility, increase health and completely transform your body composition. It helps you achieve not just a sexy silhouette, but one that means business too.

Research shows that daily bodyweight training at high intensity can do more for your body than hours and hours of boring cardio ever could.

HIIT workout plans for weight loss for example, are one of the most effective fat burning systems ever designed.

If you’re still not convinced, check out these key benefits to bodyweight training, and why they can form a fundamental part of your overall health and fitness journey…

The workout

Okay, so now you’re excited at the prospect of dicing up fat while targeting muscle tone, it’s time to look at the bodyweight chest workout for women.

This workout plan has been designed to activate every fiber of your upper, mid and lower chest muscles. It uses a variety of loading and rep ranges to spice up your workout, and even involves your arms and core too.

It’s a full upper body blast, with special emphasis on your pecs.

Complete this workout twice per week, with at least 3 days rest between workouts. That way you give your muscles enough time to heal.

Because you’re targeting a specific muscle group, you don’t really need a load of different exercises. You just need a small number that do the job.

The workout should take you no longer than 20-30 minutes to perform, based on your own individual recovery needs between sets.

All you need to do is complete 3 rounds of each circuit. Try your best to limit rest between sets – around 1-3 minutes if you can but take a breather between rounds too if you need to.

Here’s the workout.

#1. Decline push-ups using a step

4 sets of 8-15 reps

Th push-up is the squat of the upper body – it’s a must have exercise. If you can perform full push-ups that’s great. But for many women, it’s a step too far.

Performing push-ups on the knees isn’t challenging enough for most people, so a great variation that matches the intensity of full-push-ups are decline push-ups using a step.

1. Find a step that is around 12 inches in height. The higher the step, the easier the exercise will be.
2. Place your hands just wider than shoulder-width and walk your legs back until your legs, torso and head are completely in a straight line.
3. Brace your core to stop your lower back from arching.
4. Bend at your elbows and lower your chest to the step until you are around 3-4 inches above it.
5. Pause briefly and push yourself away, making sure you don’t lock your elbows out at the top of the movement.
6. Breathe in as you lower your body and out as you push yourself away from the step.

#2. Plank holds

3 sets of 30-45 seconds

The plank is a great exercise for your abs and core. It helps you transfer force from your strong lower body to your arms, shoulders and chest.

The reason why it’s included in this bodyweight chest workout for women isn’t so much for its effect on your pecs (although it does involve them), but rather it teaches you to hold position when doing push-up variations.

1. Place your forearms and the ground, around shoulder-width apart. Your elbows should be directly under your shoulders.
2. Walk your feet back until your body is completely straight. Imagine drawing a line through your body – the line would pass through your heels, knees, hips, shoulders and ears.
3. Tighten your core and booty and hold that position.
4. Make sure you control your breathing and relax as much as possible. Holding your breath can be dangerous.

#3. Chair dips

3 sets of 15-20 reps

Dips are a fantastic exercise for toning the underside of your arms and hitting your lower and outer chest muscles. When it comes to an effective bodyweight chest workout for women, this is a must-do muscle strengthener.

1. Position your hands on a bench or chair at shoulder-width apart.
2. Slide your booty off the step and straighten your legs out in front of your body. Bending your knees makes the exercise easier.
3. Keeping your elbows high, bend your elbows and lower your booty to the floor. Keep your back close to the step.
4. Once you’re hovering just above the ground, extend your arms and bring yourself to the start position.

The bottom line

Bodyweight workouts are flexible, adaptable and fun. And with this bodyweight chest workout for women, you’ve got the best chance yet to tone your upper body and build a strong, athletic figure.

Now, a lot of girls think they shouldn’t train arms. They’re worried about getting bulky and anyway, we’re all just here for the booty gains, right?

Wrong.

Although we can all admire a peachy booty, you gotta work your bench too, girl. And unless you’re taking some nasty steroids, you’re never going to get bro-levels of bulky. It’s just not in your DNA.

By including upper-body days in your routine, you’ll be on track to achieving that coveted all-round physique. With the perfect bench press for women, you’ll feel stronger and more confident in this essential big three lift. It can even help firm up your other lifts too.

What are you waiting for?! Hit the bench girl!

Don’t forget to power up before with the right pre-workout too.

How to bench press

To start you off on this guide to upper-body perfection, we’ve got to teach you how to bench press. It’s one of the big three lifts in powerlifting, a super effective compound movement and a key muscle building tool.

You’ve seen the gym bros go nuts for it, but now it’s time to check it out for yourself. Follow these simple step-by-step instructions:

1. Lie in the bench with the bar directly above your face
2. You should have an arch in your back, so you can easily slide your hand underneath. Your feet should be firmly planted on the floor and your shoulders back and tight beneath you
3. Grip the bar at just outside shoulder-width apart
4. Push it up and out of the rack, so it’s now above your upper chest/lower throat and your arms are going completely straight upwards
5. Slowly lower the bar down to your chest so it touches down in the centre, right over your nipples
6. Push the bar up in a smooth motion, until your arms are straight again, and the bar is above your upper chest and lower throat.

Getting started

We recommend you start off light to get used to the form. Take it easy to make sure you get the technique down. If you haven’t benched before, don’t worry if you get shaky arms and aren’t achieving a smooth movement. That will come as your deeper, stabilizing muscles develop and your body learns to adapt to the exercise.

Once you’re good with the overall movement, you should start adding more weight to it. Don’t go crazy and start throwing on the big plates, girl. Where you can easily add 10kg to your deadlift or squat, the arms need much smaller increments. Become best friends with those teeny tiny plates and build yourself up nice and slow.

If it starts to get heavy, grab your gym girl and ask her to spot for you. With a little support from your sister, you’ll be able to hit bigger weights and not worry about dropping the bar or injury.

How to incline bench press

The barbell bench press is a key lift to have in your arsenal, but that’s not where it ends. It’s the lift that keeps on giving.

Once you’ve got the bench press nailed, you can start working on other variations, designed to target your muscles in new, hella-painful ways. The incline bench press alters the focus on your body, putting more emphasis on your upper chest and shoulders.

Turn up the heat on your upper-body day with this variation on the standard bench press:

1. Find an adjustable gym bench
2. Alter the back of the bench so it sits at around a 60-degree angle and place it under the bar rack
3. Sit on the bench and grip the bar at just outside shoulder width apart
4. Press the bar up and out of the rack until your arms are straight and pushing directly upwards
5. Lower the bar to your chest in a straight line. This should be to your upper chest rather than below your nipples as with the normal bench
6. Push the bar directly up again until your arms are completely straight

This one will make washing your hair a little difficult, but the strength that comes from it will be amazing. So, we’re sorry… but you’re also welcome.

What muscles does the bench press work?

Your bench press is a key compound movement, which means it works a range of muscles in your upper body. With this movement you’ll be working your:

• Pectorals (chest muscles)
• Triceps (back of your arms)
• Anterior deltoids (front of your shoulders)
• Latissimus dorsi (back muscles)

It’s works a huge range of muscles in your upper body, so it’s one of the best things out there to challenge your body. What’s more, because you’re working so many muscle groups in one go, you’ll improve muscle coordination.

Benefits of doing the bench press

Now, we know that if you’re new to the gym, it can feel a little intimidating get started on the bench. Guys love working bench and seeing them push big weights could easily put you off. But don’t sweat it girl, we’re all here to do our own workouts and, besides, the bench has so many benefits, you need to get on it.

Strength

We’ll start with strength, shall we? There’s no doubt that drilling a compound upper body movement is one of the most effective ways to build muscle. It encourages your body to work together and improve strength in a more intelligent way – you just don’t get that from isolated movements.

Calories

By working bigger sets of muscles you’ll be burning more calories as your work out. That’s great if you’re looking to get rid of fat and tone up in your workout. The extra bonus is, the muscle you grow from drilling your bench will also use up more calories on a day to day basis. Sweet.

Shape and confidence

Working bench and pursuing upper-body strength is also an excellent way to help you achieve that incredible, athletic body shape. You’ll be able to craft an enviable hourglass figure. What’s more, as you get stronger, you’ll feel empowered and confident in the gym space, having mastered the top three key lifts.

Final word

Get out there, girl. Slay the bench press and achieve that well-rounded body strength and full physique all at once.

Drilling the bench will make you fitter, healthier and stronger, so don’t spend all your time on those isolated movements. Give the bench a go.

Looking for more articles to get you started in the gym? Have a read of these:

• Squats – Everything Women Need to Know
• Boost Your Butt: Top Hamstring Exercises for Women
• Essential Lifts Every Woman Should Know

Or check out our list of best pre-workouts for a burst of motivation before you hit the bench!

While not everyone is fussed about where their breasts sit, some people may be wondering if there is a way to make them tighten up again without these ridiculous ‘miracle creams’ and expensive surgeries.

If this is you, you’ll be glad to hear that there are ways to lift your boobs naturally with exercise.

For this reason, we’re giving you the best exercises to make sure your boobs are perky for longer – which will firm up your confidence too!

Check it out:

Lifting Weights Helps Lift Boobs

It should seem pretty obvious that working your pectoral muscles will help ‘lift’ your boobs. And lifting heavy weights to build muscle behind your breasts will help keep them firm.

As a result, you’ll be instructed to lift heavy in this workout below. But don’t worry – you won’t turn into a ‘she-Hulk’.

Simply put, just because you’re lifting weights, it doesn’t mean you’ll be building a huge chest (if it was that easy, half of the population would be elite bodybuilders!).

Also, as we don’t have as much testosterone as men (if you’re not shooting yourself with steroids) then it’s basically impossible to become a ‘she-hulk’ anyway.

So rest assured that this workout will help lift your boobs – without you looking bulky.

Best Boob Lifting Exercises

Warm Up

There’s a lot of people out there that skip the warm up. But this isn’t going to be you.

Simply put, you can pull your muscles and injure yourself without getting your blood pumping first.

So do a light jog on the treadmill or light cycle to get started.

What to do: 

• 2-3 mins jog on treadmill
• 2-3 mins cycling machine

1. Dumbbell Chest Press

This is probably the most commonly used chest exercise (by both men & women). It’s great for targeting your pectoral muscles – which will help firm up your breasts.

If you’re new to weight-lifting, then start light then build your strength up.

What to do: 

• 4 sets of 10 reps

2. Incline Dumbbell Flys

This is another great exercise that you can use to hit your chest. For dumbbell chest flys, as you won’t be able to lift as heavy as your chest press – you can perform higher volume.

Again, this will help tone up your pecs and lift your boobs.

What to do: 

• 4 sets of 12-15 reps

3. Push Ups

You can perform push ups whether you’re in the gym or in your living room. So there’s no excuse to skip this exercise.

If you usually find push ups easy – then you’ll be feeling the burn from the last 2 lifts. So don’t think this will be an easy ride here.

• 4 sets of 10 reps

4. Low Cable Crossovers

Low Cable Crossovers are another exercise where you’ll have to lower the weight. So dig deep and push out those reps.

Ultimately, it’ll work your pecs and help give those boobs a lift back to prime position. So let’s get started.

What to do: 

• 4 sets of 12-15 reps

5. Cable Flys

You’re staying on the cable machine for this last exercise. By this point, you’ll definitely be feeling the burn.

But get this finished, knowing that you’ll be toning the muscles on your chest with your hard work.

What to do: 

• 4 sets of 12-15 reps

Cool Down

You’ll no doubt want to put your feet up on the couch after that workout. But don’t forget to cool down – if you don’t want to wake up in the middle of the night due to cramp…

It’s only an extra 2 minutes, and you can go as slow as you like.

What to do: 

• 2-3 mins cycle machine

Summary: Lift Your Boobs Naturally With Exercise

Lifting weights can really help keep your breasts in their prime for longer. And they’ll tighten up due to the pectoral muscle being worked.

However, it’s still important to follow a clean diet plan and drink 2-3 liters of water per day. Ultimately, remember that your boobs are made largely of fat – so if you put on weight, they’ll only be weighed down by gravity even further.

However, by losing weight and toning up the chest area you can support them a little more.

But it isn’t important why you want to improve your bench press. The most important thing is that you want to do it. If you’re out of ideas about how to start, then follow the tips below and you’ll be able to see how your bench pressing results get better and better.

1. Improve Your Bench Press Form

By making sure that you complete bench presses properly, you’ll not only avoid injuries but also be able to improve your bench press faster than while doing it incorrectly. The primary things you should remember while bench pressing:

• You shouldn’t raise your butt while lifting as it might injure your back.
• Keep your entire feet on the ground to keep yourself stable.
• Bench with straight wrists; if you do it in any other way, it can cause a feeling of irritation or pain in your wrists.

If you’re able to complete bench presses correctly, you’ll be able to move over the shortest distance, so it’ll result in making it easier to lift. Moreover, a proper form improves the transfer of force, which is important when you want to learn to use your full strength.

2. Bench Press More Often

To be able to bench press a heavier weight, you need to perform bench presses more often. The easiest way to do so is to have two or even three days per week on which you could bench press.

While you might think that doing bench presses so often can decrease your results because there will be fewer days for you to rest, the truth is that it isn’t quite right. This is because you’ll need to perform only bench presses, not a full chest workout, so it won’t take as much time to recover as completing your full chest routine.

So, your chest will have plenty of time to recover as well as get used to performing bench presses without making you feel so much pain and tiredness. After doing it for a longer period of time, you’ll start feeling that it’s getting too easy. When you begin feeling like that, it means that you should start lifting heavier weights.

3. Lift Heavier Weights and Complete Fewer Reps

Instead of completing many reps with medium weights, start doing five reps with heavy weights. The reason behind this advice is simple. If you want to increase your bench press, you need to get used to lifting heavier and heavier weights.

Just make sure that you do the exercise properly as some people aren’t able to complete a full range of motion after increasing the weights they use. Also, don’t rush with using heavier weights, take as much time as you need to gradually get used to heavier weights.

If you can’t increase your bench press for longer than two months, then you might be overtraining, lacking some nutrients, having at least one weak spot, or experiencing any other problem.

4. Rest Longer Between Sets

To be able to use even heavier weights, increase the amount of time you rest between sets. Most athletes recommend increasing the amount of time you rest up to 3-5 minutes.

By having more time to rest, your muscles will get plenty of time to almost fully recover and make it easier to lift the same amount of weight as while doing it on the first set.

5. Make Sure That You Don’t Have Weak Spots

If some parts of your chest, shoulders, or triceps are too weak, then it might be the reason why you can’t increase your bench press. This is because these are the muscles that get the most work while doing bench presses.

If you feel terrible pain or irritation in any of these muscles without even bench pressing a lot, then it means that you should give more attention to these areas by performing more different exercises, increasing sets and reps, and just giving more time to strengthen these muscles.