Looking for the secret to a well-defined body? It can be just the introduction of push-up into your workout routine. But for this, you need to know how to do push-ups and why they are such good exercise.
With all the new and complicated exercises that seem to be coming out on the treadmill in the fitness world, the push-ups have been overshadowed. Everyone is looking for “new exercises” and forget about one of the oldest and most effective exercises for the upper body: push-ups.
Why are Push-Ups the best?!
You might think that an exercise with bodyweight such as push-ups cannot give you enough strength to work your chest, triceps, and shoulders.
When it comes to increasing muscle mass, you have to remember that the effort the muscle is subjected to is more important than the weight used. In simpler terms, muscle growth is limited to exhaustion.
Benefits: 7 Reasons to include them in your training
There are very few exercises that require at the same time the muscles of the chest, arms, shoulders, back, abdomen and the medial region and burn a considerable number of calories as can the push-ups
Below, you have 7 reasons why you should start doing push-ups every day.
1. Carved abdomen
Although push-ups are considered an exercise for upper body muscles, chest, arms, and shoulders when you perform them, you use the main muscle groups in the mid-body region, and this will help you define your abdominal muscles.
2. Maintain and increase muscle density
As you grow older, muscle density decreases, and this will affect how your body uses energy. Push-ups help maintain and increase muscle density.
3. Instantly increase energy level
Push-ups improve blood circulation, raises body temperature, and gives the brain an immediate stimulus that will make it function more efficiently.
4. Increase bone density
As with muscle density, bone density decreases as you get older, and this increases the risk of fractures.
The push-ups fortify the major muscle groups of the body, as well as the joints. By keeping these components engaged, the risk of fractures will be considerably lower.
5. Increase metabolic rate
Because during the exercise of the push-ups you use multiple groups of muscles simultaneously, your heart rate increases, the muscles needing more oxygen to provide the necessary energy.
This will result in a higher metabolic rate and, consequently, higher caloric burns.
6. Prevent shoulder and neck pain
The muscles in the shoulders and neck are also required during the execution of the push-ups, and this means that they will be stronger and gain more flexibility.
7. Correct posture
During the execution of the push-ups, you must keep your back in a straight line, which will, in time, correct the posture problems.
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How to execute them correctly
In theory, performing a push-up seems easy, but as with squats, 95% of the people who do it do not execute them correctly.
The push-ups consist of rhythmic gymnastic movements whereby the body is raised and lowered by extension and flexion of the arms with the palms resting on the ground.
In the component of the Push-up, there are 3 movements:
1. Initial position – in which the body is stretched in a straight line, in support of the toes and palms with the fingers open, with the arms in full extension and the head in the extension of the body.
2. Lowering – is performed by flexing the arms, until the chest reaches close to the ground.
3. Return – consists of pushing in the arms, until the elbows become perfectly stretched.
3 Tips
• The back, buttocks, and abdomen are kept tense throughout the push-up
• Inhale when a descent
• Exhale at the return
Frequent Mistakes in Their Execution
• Keep your head too high, facing forward, or bending too much, with the chin on the chest.
• Keep your body bent up or down, a mistake that occurs when your abdominal and back muscles are not tense.
• Position the elbows well outwards, the body taking the shape of the letter “T”; doing the push-ups thus, not only will you work less your chest muscles and triceps, but you will overload your shoulders; During exercise, the elbows should form an angle of 35-45 degrees with the trunk.
• Keeping the palms facing inwards is, again, a very common mistake; this position of the palms will determine the wrong position of the elbows we talked about in the previous point.
How Many Push-Ups Should You Do?
A fairly common question among those who want to do a workout for muscle at home. In my opinion (based on experience) push-ups are an exercise in which volume is the king.
But that doesn’t mean you have to do 50 push-ups per series. You will most likely end up using the wrong form as you struggle to finish the last repetitions.
The best method is to make 15-20 series of push-ups. As for the number of series, stop when you can only do 4-5 push-ups. Expose your muscles to many repetitions to stretch them, especially if you want to add mass and power to your chest and triceps.
Use shorter rest periods to get more muscle.
How do you do a Push-up Training Program
When you want to do a push-up workout, you need to focus on the worked muscle group. Choose between the chest, triceps, and shoulders, and then put together several variations of the push-ups that work for that muscle group.
For the chest
- Normal push-up
- Wide grip push-ups (long distance between hands)
- Arch push-ups (alternating from one arm to another)
- Crucifix push-ups (arms extended almost completely)
- Push-up with raised legs (on a bench or chair)
For the triceps
- Normal push-up
- Diamond push-ups
- Push-up in one hand
- Push-ups with a palm clap
For shoulders
- Push-up with raised legs
- Handstand push-up
- Normal push-up
Last Thoughts:
The push-up, despite its inconspicuous appearance, is one of the most powerful upper body exercises around. It’s effective, cheap, and a good fit for anyone looking to build muscle tone and even strength in their upper body.
If you’re interested in adding push-ups to your workout routine, then all you need is an exercise mat and some dedication!
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