Push-Ups are one of my favorite workout exercises.
As with many “bodyweight” exercises, push-ups are something you can do when you’re short on time.
You can do them as a quick workout in the morning or throughout the day.
They can be performed no matter where you are and they are completely free.
Best of all, push-ups help you get rid of flab and define your arms with no expensive equipment or annual gym fees!
6 Reasons To Master This Classic Exercise
- Full-Body Strength: Pushups engage multiple muscle groups, including chest, shoulders, triceps, core, and even legs. By mastering pushups, you’ll develop overall upper body and core strength.
- Convenience and Versatility: Pushups require no special equipment and can be performed anywhere, making them a versatile exercise option. Whether you’re at home, in a park, or traveling, you can maintain your fitness routine with pushups.
- Improved Posture: Regularly performing pushups helps strengthen the muscles responsible for maintaining good posture. This can reduce the risk of developing back pain and related posture issues.
- Enhanced Functional Fitness: Functional fitness involves improving your ability to perform daily activities efficiently. Pushups mimic pushing motions used in various real-life scenarios, such as pushing a heavy door or lifting objects from the ground.
- Increased Muscle Definition: Pushups contribute to muscle definition and can help you achieve a toned upper body. As your strength increases, you may notice improvements in muscle tone and aesthetics.
- Core Stability: During pushups, your core muscles play a significant role in stabilizing your body. This helps to improve overall core strength and stability, which is essential for maintaining a strong and balanced physique.
What Muscles Do Push-Ups Work?
Push-ups are one of the basic and most common exercises for your body.
They are not only great for your chest, but they work your arms (triceps and forearms), lower back, abs, quads, and calves.
They work the intercostal muscles covering your ribs.
If you do enough of them and breathe in and out explosively as you do them they even work your lungs so then they become an aerobic exercise that also works your cardiovascular and aerobic systems.
This Is How To Do A Push Up Correctly
To get the most benefits from doing pushups you must do them with the correct form otherwise, you may just waste your time.
Learn how to do a push-up correctly by watching this video before you get started doing them.
Remember, if you’re new to pushups, start with modified versions or variations that suit your fitness level.
Progress gradually to standard pushups as you build strength and confidence.
Always maintain proper form to avoid injury and maximize the benefits of this fundamental exercise.
Related: 10 Workouts That Burn Fat
What If You Can’t Even Do One Push-Up?
In the beginning, push-ups can be hard.
If you try to do a push-up and you can’t or feel too weak then start with leaning against a counter or a wall or try starting on your knees.
You’ll work the same muscles with those methods but you’ll place less weight on them.
So with each one, you do you will become stronger.
Then you can work your way up to regular push-ups.
Remember: Strength comes with repetition. The more you do, the stronger you get, and the easier it all becomes.
Watch this video if you can’t do a regular push-up, yet.
This Is How To Increase The Number Of Consecutive Push-Ups You Can Do
From NeilaRey.com:
Here is a very simple formula for increasing the number of consecutive push-ups you can do no matter the fitness level you are at – you can use it indefinitely:
- SET #1 Perform a set of push-ups to muscle failure, as many as you can do in one go and time yourself. Now rest the same amount of time it took you to do the push-ups. So if it took you 20 seconds to do 20 push-ups you will now rest 20 seconds.
- SET #2 Perform the second set of push-ups to muscle failure, as many as you can do and time yourself. Now rest the time it took you to do the second set.
- SET #3 Perform the third and last set of push-ups to muscle failure.
If you repeat the exercise 3-4 times a week you will very quickly raise your number of consecutive push-ups.
Note: the number you build up will eventually drop if you don’t do push-ups regularly and stop pushing yourself (literally). Nonetheless, it’s a cool goal to have.
Push-Up Types And Variations
There are many different variations of the basic pushup that you can do to focus on different muscles.
ManvsWeight.com, has some great push-up illustrations and he’s compiled the world’s LARGEST interactive list of variations!
DareBee.com
Ready For A Push-Up Challenge?
OK, so now you can do some push-ups but not many in a row.
Take the 30-day 50 push-ups challenge below to build up to doing 50 push-ups…or more.
Get More Results From Your Workouts And Burn More Fat
As much as I love to do pushups I know that I’ve got to have enough protein to build muscle and burn fat.
I drink a protein shake every day to help me get enough protein.
I’ve researched many brands and found Isagenix Isalean to be the cleanest and most bio-available.
If you take cheap protein you’ll get cheap results. Don’t waste your time or money on bulk bags of junk at Sam’s club.
Learn more about the Isagenix protein here.
About David Russell
David (Stacy’s husband) owns a website design company called RedSpot Design. When he is not designing websites he’s fishing or coaching soccer. You can follow along with this 30-Day HIIT Workout that he previously shared HERE.
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