What is a Push-up Exercise?
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| Push Ups Exercise |
A classic workout, push-ups are done in a prone posture by raising and lowering the body with the arms bent and straightened while maintaining a straight torso and supporting your body with your hands and toes.
Push-ups strengthen your core and upper body. They can be altered in a variety of ways; more experienced exercisers can utilize a difficult variation, while beginners can begin with simpler ones. You can use the push-up as a bodyweight exercise, circuit training, or strength training.
Learning how to perform a push-up correctly is easier than you might think. Please continue reading for our advice, the advantages, and eight different push-up variations.
Push-ups are a quick and efficient strength-training exercise. They don’t require any equipment and may be performed in almost any place.
Doing pushups daily can be helpful if you’re searching for a consistent workout. Regularly performing pushups will probably improve your upper body strength.
Continue to vary the kinds of pushups you perform for optimal results. In two months, you can increase your rep count to 100.
Which muscle is used in push-up exercises?
- Pectoralis major
- Pectoralis minor
- Triceps
- Anterior deltoids
- Core muscles
- Stomach muscles
- Hips muscles
- Leg muscles
What are the Health Benefits of push-up exercises?
enhances the strength of the upper body.
- enhances the endurance of your cardiovascular system.
- aids in calorie burning.
- helps shield your shoulders and lower back from harm.
- enhances your ability to balance.
- enhances your posture and balance.
- Helps to Improve your flexibility.
- helps you perform better in athletic events and sports.
- This workout targets several groups at once.
- This exercise will be Easily Modifiable.
- This activity doesn’t require any equipment.
- Your core muscles will benefit from this as well.
- A functional exercise is the push-up.
- aid in bone strengthening.
- assist in strengthening your heart.
- aids in lowering the development of osteoporosis and raising testosterone.
- This workout improves your quality of sleep.
- Burn Calories and Helps in Weight Loss
How to Do a Push-Up Exercise?
To perform a high plank, which is the uppermost pushup posture, bend forward and place your hands shoulder-width apart on the mat with your fingers facing forward or slightly inward. Your shoulders should be above your hands. Your upper body should be flat, and your toes must be straight behind you. Maintain a taut line.
Lower your body slowly toward the ground. Maintain a solid torso and align your head with your spine. Avoid allowing your hips to rise upward or your lower back to slump.
Continue lowering yourself until your chin or chest makes contact with the ground. The downward motion may cause your elbows to flare out.
Raise your arms in a press. At the peak of the pushup posture, keep pressing until your arms are fully extended at the elbows and you are back in the plank.
Do the downward motion again. As your strength increases, work your way up from 10 pushups, or however many you can perform with good form.
Push-Up exercise video:
Push Ups Variations
You can perform eight different variations of the push-up workout at home:
There is a push-up variation for you if you are a novice and need to make this exercise easier, or if you are more experienced and want a greater challenge, or if you want to better target a particular muscle.
Bent-Knee Push-Up
How to do?
This version of the normal push-up entails completing it on the knees rather than the toes. Make sure the shoulders, hips, and knees are all in alignment. You should avoid bending from the hips.
To begin this exercise, you must stand on all fours, then stretch your arms so that your hands and shoulders are shoulder-width apart on the ground in front of you.
As you bend your arms and lower your trunk till your eyes are fully visible on the ground, tighten your abdominal muscles.
Straighten your arms and push the trunk back up.
Complete 18–20 repetitions in three or four sets.
Incline push-ups
How to do?
Try this version if you want to make the exercise easier. You will need one bench and will need to stand a few feet away from the bench.
To perform this variation, rest your hands on a table and then perform the same fundamental push-up method.
Bend your elbow 90 degrees to lower yourself, and then return to the starting position.
Complete 18–20 repetitions in three or four sets.
Stability-Ball Push-Up
How to do?
You must perform 20 simple push-ups before beginning this exercise.
To perform this exercise, you must kneel in front of the ball and maintain a straight trunk and hip line.
Do not lock your elbows. Instead, push your body to the side until both of your arms are nearly straight.
For two to three seconds, maintain this posture and balance.
Then continue this movement while gradually going back to the beginning position.
Complete 18–20 repetitions in three or four sets.
Decline push-ups
How to do?
This variation requires one bench or box and is more challenging than a simple push-up.
Do push-ups with your feet up on a bench or box.
Using only your body weight, you may change the resistance by adjusting the height of the bench.
Kneel with your back to the bench. Position your elbows at a 45-degree angle, your hands on the ground, and your shoulders above your wrists.
Place both feet on the bench.
Make use of your quadriceps, glutes, and core. Next, lower your chest to the floor and bend your elbows, maintaining your back and neck straight.
To return to the beginning position, extend your elbows and push into the ground.
Complete 18–20 repetitions in three or four sets.
Clapping push-ups
How to do?
To perform this exercise, you must start with a regular push-up position and position your hand beneath your shoulder and fingers in an arm support position.
After that, drop until your chest is barely over the floor.
To begin the first portion of the push-ups, flex your elbows. Your elbow should remain close to your body.
Begin by performing a regular push-up.
Place your hands behind your shoulders and spread your fingers slightly to assume an arm-supported position.
Complete 18–20 repetitions in three or four sets.
Diamond push-ups
How to do?
This push-up version targets the triceps muscle.
This is accomplished by placing your hands close together and creating a diamond shape on the ground with the thumbs and index fingers of one hand touching the other.
After that, you will perform push-ups, keeping your elbows close to your sides and your hands touching the middle of your chest with each repetition.
Complete 18–20 repetitions in three or four sets.
Push-Up With Lat Row
How to do?
You will need a pair of dumbbells for this variant. By using the latissimus dorsi and working the core muscles, this version intensifies the push-ups.
You must first complete simple push-ups with your free hands, then press the ground with one hand while holding dumbbells. At the top of the workout, bend one elbow and grasp a dumbbell to pull the weight towards your chest.
On the other hand, perform this movement.
Complete 18–20 repetitions in three or four sets.
Medicine Ball Push-Up
How to do?
You must bring a medicine ball for this variant. First, you must place your right hand over the floor and you’re leftover medicine ball in a basic push-up stance.
Lower your chest toward the floor, then press upside down. If you want to become more complex, you may also use rolling medicine balls, which provide a different range of motion and enhance balance and shoulder stability.
Do 8–10 repetitions in 4–5 sets.
Superman Push-up.
How to do?
This is a harder and more complex form of push-up.
When performing push-ups, we recommend that beginners first remove their hands from the floor. Only then should they elevate their leg and assume the push-up position.
After that, raise both hands and legs off the ground, perform a push-up, and then raise them off the ground once more.
Do eight to ten repetitions in two or three sets.
Staggered Push-up
How to do?
The staggered pushup is an additional type of pushup that you can incorporate into your training regimen.
Putting yourself in the fundamental pushup position is part of this variation. You must adjust the position of your hands in this variation.
While the right hand should stay in the same line as the shoulder, the left hand should be positioned higher.
You must raise yourself above and then lower yourself into the basic push-up posture, then perform push-ups with a higher-level hand.
Individual side strength is increased with this version.
Complete 18–20 repetitions in three or four sets.
Wide Arm Push-up
How to do?
You must begin this exercise in a plank position with your hands wider than your shoulders.
Bending your elbows is the first step in lowering your body; maintain a taut core and a straight back until your chest touches the floor.
More elbow flare will occur than in a simple pushup.
Immediately thrust your torso back up and straighten your elbows.
Try the broad grip if you want to use your chest and front shoulders more.
Although your hands are placed farther apart, it is identical to a normal pushup.
This implies that when you lower yourself to the ground, your elbows will bend a little more.
You will put more effort into your chest during pushup variants if your hands are spaced widely apart.
Compared to standard push-ups, this variation focuses more on the pectoral muscles.
Complete 18–20 repetitions in three or four sets.
Wall push-ups
Basic wall push-ups
How to do?
You must stand with your feet hip-width apart and at arm’s length from the wall.
With your fingers pointing toward the ceiling, place both hands on the wall about shoulder-width apart and at shoulder-level height.
Place your feet toward the wall if you think you are reaching too far.
Now Lean your body toward the wall until your nose nearly brushes it, then slowly bend your elbows.
Maintain a straight trunk and elbows bent at a 45-degree angle, not straight to the sides.
Return to the starting position slowly.
Complete 18–20 repetitions in three or four sets.
Try the variations listed below to make your push-ups more difficult.
There are numerous versions of wall push-ups, some of which are described below for your convenience.
1. Close hands wall pushup
How to do?
You must spread your hands wide apart for this variation.
Your palms must be moved in the direction of the body’s midline.
This is more difficult than simple wall pushups and will work your pectoral and tricep muscles.
Position yourself so that your legs and feet are together, your arms are straight out in front of your body, and you are about arm’s length from the wall.
With both hands touching and fingers pointing toward the ceilings, you should place your palms on the wall at shoulder height this time.
Bend your elbows now. Your nose nearly makes contact with the wall. You should have a straight back. then return to your starting point.
Complete 18–20 repetitions in three or four sets.
2. One-arm wall pushup
How to do?
when you were able to perform many repetitions of basic wall push-ups.
After that, you must perform this progression of one-arm pushups. One side of your body is worked at a time because it is a unilateral action.
This version provides a terrific challenge for your core and helps balance out strength imbalances.
Position yourself so that your legs and feet are together, one arm is straight out in front of your body, and you are approximately arm’s length from the wall.
This time, place your fingers pointing toward the ceilings with one palm on the wall at shoulder height.
Bend your elbows now. Your nose nearly makes contact with the wall. You should have a straight back. then return to your starting point.
Continue on the opposite side.
Complete 18–20 repetitions in three or four sets.
3. One-leg wall pushup
How to do?
Position yourself so that your legs and feet are together, your arms are straight out in front of your body, and you are about arm’s length from the wall.
With your fingers pointed toward the ceilings, place your palms on the wall at shoulder height this time.
Bend your elbows to a 45-degree angle after lifting one leg off the floor behind you and bringing your foot closer to the wall.
You nearly touch the wall with your nose. You should have a straight back. then return to your starting point.
Complete 18–20 repetitions in three or four sets.
4. Feet on the wall pushup
How to do?
This is a more complex variant that calls for balance and strength.
You must place yourself on the floor in a plank posture with your feet contacting the wall for this exercise.
Step up toward the wall with your foot until you are at a comfortable height.
This can be above your body height or parallel to the ground.
This is where you start. Now do a 45-degree bend with your elbows.
You nearly touch the ground with your nose. You should have a straight back.
Then return to your starting point.
Complete 18–20 repetitions in three or four sets.
Tips for proper push-up form:
Tips for proper form
- While doing a push-up:
- Hold your back straight and your core active.
- You should have your butt down, not up.
- Your body should form a straight line. Avoid letting your body slump or arching your back.
- Have a friend check that your form is accurate. Additionally, to preserve your wrists, keep your hands firmly planted on the ground or a mat.
- Start on your knees if you find this too challenging.
When you do not do push-ups?
- If you’re injured in your shoulder
- If you’re injured at the wrist
- If you’ve had an elbow injury
- If you get shoulder aches while exercising
- If you’ve already experienced pain
- If your physician suggested that you relax
Common Mistakes occur while performing push-ups:
Sagging in the Middle
To avoid this, you must begin with a plank. To keep your body in straight alignment, try push-ups after you’ve mastered the plank.
Improper Neck Alignment
Throughout the action, keep your neck neutral, your head in a straight line with your trunk, your eyes on the floor, and the top of your head pointing away from your foot. You are out of alignment when you point your chin so high or so low that you can see your foot.
Locked Elbows
You may make the error of locking your elbows at the top of push-ups when you’re exhausted and need a quick rest. However, this puts an excessive amount of tension or harm on your joints. Always maintain a small bend in your elbows. You must relax before moving on to the following set if you start to feel exhausted.
Hands Too Far Forward
You are putting greater strain on your shoulders when you extend your hands farther than your shoulders.
Limited Range of Motion
You aren’t reaping the full benefits of push-ups if you are only partially going down. It is preferable to go to a simpler variation that you can perform with your entire range of motion, like knee or incline push-ups.
How to start doing push-ups every day?
The best workout you can do in the morning at home is a push-up. It’s a traditional activity that helps build muscle in the upper body. You can begin this workout by performing a basic, uncomplicated exercise that requires only five repetitions on the first day. You can complete eight repeats on the second day. 10 repeats on days three and four. On the fifth day, you can perform two sets of ten repetitions.
You can progressively raise the number of repetitions as you get better and try other variations to give your upper body additional endurance. Avoid doing too much activity all at once. You can practice it five times a week, with one day dedicated to relaxation and another day for light upper-body stretches. It must be painless to exercise.
