Fitness coach Jeff Cavaliere is taking the guesswork out of training. In a recent YouTube video, published on August 25, 2025, he broke down a pushup-only workout for beginner, intermediate, and advanced lifters aiming to grow a bigger chest.
Cavaliere’s ATHLEAN-X YouTube channel boasts over 14.1 million subscribers. He’s a staple fitness educator, bringing years of gym experience to his content. He’s not just an influencer; Cavaliere served as the assistant strength and conditioning coach to the New York Mets. Even without equipment, he’s found crafty, effective ways to grow the pecs.
Jeff Cavaliere’s Pushup-Only Chest Workout for Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced Levels
Find a breakdown of each routine below. He recommends taking every exercise to failure, regardless of skill level:
“No matter what level you decide to follow this workout at, you have to take these sets all the way to failure,” explains Cavaliere.
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Beginner Exercises:
- Knee Pushaway
- Knee Pushup
- Incline Pushup
- Twisting Knee Pushaway
- Lateral Knee Plyo Pushup
Beginner: Knee Pushaway
“We call this a pushaway. What I want you to notice is you’re not going to be moving just straight up and down, but rather up and back. What this does is it puts those arms in a relative position above your shoulders at the end of every rep. This is how you target those upper pec fibers more effectively.”
Beginner: Knee Pushup
“Make sure you’re fully extending your elbows. You’re not shortchanging any repetition, and you lower yourself with good pushup mechanics all the way to the floor and back up.”
Beginner: Incline Pushup
“All you’re going to need here is either a box or a bench, or even your own staircase at home. The main thing going on here is you’re changing the angle of your body and the orientation of your arms relative to your body.”
Beginner: Twisting Knee Pushaway
“What this does is it allows us to get some relative adduction of the arm. Again, we can’t lift it and cross it across the body in this case but what we can do is twist the torso closer to the arm to create that relative adduction of the arm, to engage the chest in a way that’s not typical for a standard pushup.”
Beginner: Lateral Knee Plyo Pushup
“You do these from your knees to allow you to do these more explosive especially if you haven’t tried them.”
Intermediate Exercises:
- Prowler Pushaway
- Pushup
- Pseudo Planche Pushups
- Twisting Pushaway
- Double Hand Release Plyo Pushup
Intermediate: Prowler Pushaway
“It’s the same movement but this time you’re doing it from your toes rather than from your knees, which is going to make the exercise more difficult because you’re moving more body weight.”
Intermediate: Pushup
“You’re going to have to pick those knees up once again and perform a standard pushup, not sacrificing form along the way.”
Intermediate: Pseudo Planche Pushups
“Your focus should be on shifting your body weight a little bit forward off your toes and more in the direction of your shoulders to create more of that forward lean and backward angling of the arms. Small but important, to shift the focus more to those lower pecs.”
Intermediate: Twisting Pushaway
“You’re getting off the knees, so here once again, you’re alternating between the right and left sides, still trying to do the same thing in terms of reaching through almost pushing through up on to your fingers if you can to increase the range of motion,” he shared.
Intermediate: Double Hand Release Plyo Pushup
“The hand release is actually we’re moving momentum, forcing you to become more explosive from a dead stop.”
Advanced Exercises:
- Decline Pushup
- Archer Pushup
- Modified Hindu Pushup
- Crossover Pushup
- Brock Shuffle Pushup
Advanced: Decline Pushup
“Using the same mechanics of up and back, but when you put yourself up against the wall here, the challenge becomes even greater if you can’t get at least four or five of these repetitions, then drop back down to the intermediate level.”
Advanced: Archer Pushup
“We’re making it a little bit more complex, but we’re also increasing the challenge on the chest. Regardless of what variation you’re following here, you’re still going to take it all the way to failure.”
Advanced: Modified Hindu Pushup
“It’s just a little bit more range of motion, a little bit more travel in that forward direction to put a little more of that stress and focus on the lower pecs.”
Advanced: Crossover Pushup
“It’s called the crossover pushup. You anchor the band out to the side onto something stable, and as you push up, you cross your arm against the resistance of the band for actual adduction of the shoulder which is going to light up your pecs even more.”
Advanced: Brock Shuffle Pushup
“Taking these all the way to failure, maybe it’s not a lot of repetitions, but make them high-quality explosive ones.”
Sculpting a chiseled chest is a topic Cavaliere has tackled before. He recently laid out a science-backed workout program designed to transform flat pecs. He offered tips and technique cues to keep in mind on common exercises on chest day, like the flat dumbbell bench press.
Cavaliere is confident that anyone can grow a bigger chest by following this routine. He encourages progression, so once you’ve mastered one level, he says to move on to the next challenge.
RELATED: Jeff Cavaliere Shares Science-Backed Guide to Transform Flat Triceps Into Massive Horseshoes
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Cannot do pushups, bad shoulder, 75 years young. What can I replace that with ? Shoulder presses are out also.
Hi William, thanks for reaching out! Since push-ups and shoulder presses are off the table, you can try gentler alternatives like wall push-ups or incline push-ups on a countertop for the chest, and resistance band or light dumbbell exercises for arms and back while seated.