Many people under-estimate the power that push-ups wield in building chest and shoulders strength and chest muscles. On the surface, push-ups are plain and nearly dull: up down, up down, up down — that’s it. Nonetheless most people, outside of physical fitness enthusiasts, only know about the military-style push-ups that they endured in their Phys Ed class back in high school. Just as there is more than a technique to climb a mountain and more than one way to skin a kitty — there is more than a technique to do a push-up.

Here are four kinds of push-ups you can do from home — routines that will help you to build shoulders and chest strength and target your chest muscles.

“Wide” push-ups – Historically, pushups are performed with your hands being placed at shoulder width. Wide push-ups, often called “wide-stance push-ups”, need you to extend your hands beyond the width of your shoulders. Wide-stance push-ups work your chest muscles more heavily than military-style push-ups, so if chest definition is what you are looking for — wide pushups are one exercise which will help you attain your objectives.

“Diamond” push-ups – Diamond push-ups, often called “pyramid” pushups, need you to put your index fingers and thumbs together in the shape of a diamond during your push up workout. While diamond pushups have a tendency to work your triceps more than your chest muscles, the advantages of modifying your hand placement during pushups, even though only a tiny bit, are certain.

“Fist” push-ups – Infrequently referred to as “knuckle” pushups, need the use of your fists, rather than the palms of your hands, to bear your body weight during the push-up. Fist push-ups are advantageous because they target different areas of your body than standard push-ups, and may increase the efficacy of your workout.

Decline pushups – Rather than placing your feet on the floor, or using your knees, place your feet on a platform so that your head is lower than your feet. You can use a chair, a step-stool, or a bench — pretty much anything that will allow you to raise your feet up so they are higher than your head. These types of push-ups work your upper chest muscles.

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