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Incline Bench and Bodyweight Alternatives

This document provides 6 bodyweight exercises that can be done as alternatives to the incline bench press when no equipment is available: 1. Decline pushups with feet elevated to work the chest and shoulders. 2. Judo or dive bomber pushups which train the shoulders, chest, and triceps in one movement from an upward dog position. 3. Pike pushups which work as preparation for a handstand pushup and require hamstring flexibility and a hollow body position. 4. Wall pushups which are effective in an upper body circuit and work the chest when nothing else is available. 5. Ring pushups with feet elevated which have higher stability demands than regular pushups and tension the muscles

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307 views5 pages

Incline Bench and Bodyweight Alternatives

This document provides 6 bodyweight exercises that can be done as alternatives to the incline bench press when no equipment is available: 1. Decline pushups with feet elevated to work the chest and shoulders. 2. Judo or dive bomber pushups which train the shoulders, chest, and triceps in one movement from an upward dog position. 3. Pike pushups which work as preparation for a handstand pushup and require hamstring flexibility and a hollow body position. 4. Wall pushups which are effective in an upper body circuit and work the chest when nothing else is available. 5. Ring pushups with feet elevated which have higher stability demands than regular pushups and tension the muscles

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matiaslmart4571
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We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Incline Bench and Bodyweight Alternatives 

 
By AJAC 
 
My love of incline bench pressing has become a meme unto itself online, 
and for good reason: Incline Bench pressing is a better pressing variation for 
athletic strength and muscle in comparison to the flat bench press, while 
also being a more biomechanically natural position to press. It also has the 
aesthetic effect of building the deltoids and upper chest to a much greater 
degree.  
 
Its my professional opinion that incline bench press in combination with dips 
are the two exercises that develop a functionally and visually powerful upper 
body.  
 
That said, what do you do if you do not have an incline bench, or barbell, or 
any free weights for that matter available to you?  
 
This might initially seem like a barrier, but there are in fact a variety of ways 
to train the “incline” angle and achieve the same effects. Bodyweight 
training, ie calisthenics, is incredibly versatile anything that you can train with 
free weights or machines can be trained just as well, or even better, with 
your own bodyweight working against gravity.  
 
The following exercises are listed from relative “easiest” to least hardest, 
and I cover the bodyweight only versions first before those that require 
some equipment. Sets and reps are given, along with attached videos for 
exercise demonstration.  
 
If you have any interest in a Calisthenics based program, check out Fight 
Club Physique​. Otherwise enjoy your pushups.  
 
1. Decline Pushups 
 
This is the most analogous to the incline bench. Its putting your feet up on 
an elevated surface, and then doing pushups.  
 
The height of the object does matter; you want your body at a 15-45 degree 
angle to work the chest and shoulders. If you higher than that, it becomes a 
shoulder dominant exercise.  
 
The sets and reps are no different than a conventional pushup; aim to be 
able to perform at least 20 bodyweight reps, and once you are able to do so 
you can consider adding weight  
 
2. Judo Pushups 
 
Also called Dive Bombers or Hindu pushups. These are a favorite of mine 
because they train the shoulders, pectorals, and triceps all in one 
movement. You begin in a pike/downward dog position, and transition 
through an eccentric shoulder press, into a controlled pectoral abduction, 
into a tricep dominant pushup.  
 
The entire movement is great for both shoulder health and muscular 
development.  
 
Rep wise, you need to start conservatively with these. While there are many 
accounts of old school wrestlers doing high rep sets, I suggest starting in the 
6-10 range, and performing 3-6 sets. As you get stronger you can increase 
the speed of the reps, and the overall volume of reps performed  
 
3. Pike Pushup  
 
This is the beginning of preparation for a handstand pushup. While this is 
basically an upside shoulder press, I thought it was worth including. Pike 
pushups can be surprisingly challenging and require both a hollow body 
position and excellent hamstring flexibility.  
 
Similar to the Judo, start with 3-6 sets of 6-10 reps. As you get stronger, you 
can elevate the feet to make them more difficult  
 
4. Wall Pushup  
 
These are as much a core exercise as they are a chest exercise for upper 
body, and not a movement that you’d be doing high reps with. That said, 
they are very effective as part of an overall upper body circuit, and if you 
truly are trained with NOTHING and all you have is a wall, they certainly 
work.  
 
Rep wise, I’d suggest the 6-12 rep range, for 2-5 sets  
 
5. Ring Pushups with feet elevated  
 
Rings themselves are a phenomenal training tool, and I have an entire 
program that is dedicated to their usage.  
 
Ring pushups with feet elevated much like the regular version, except its 
rings. The stability demands and intramuscular tension are going to be far 
higher and much more demanding than the conventional version  
 
I suggest 5-10 reps, in 2-5 sets. You can do these for higher reps, but if you 
are getting into the double digits, I’d suggest progressing towards 
handstand pushups.  
 
6. Suspended Pushups 
 
These are particularly challenging, as your abdominals are doing all the 
work here in keeping your spine from collapsing. The cool thing about these 
is that they can be challenged by continuously altering the position of the 
feet, and you can make them harder and progress towards doing a 
handstand pushup eventually, as the video demonstrates.  
 
I suggest 2-5 sets, in the 6-12 rep range.  
 
For every exercise listed, you can always challenge yourself by using a 
weighted vest. There is no point in which a bodyweight movement is too 
easy to be worth doing, there is always a way to make them harder.  

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