Why you should do push-ups and what the most effective and challenging variations are
For some reason, it is the exercise that cannot be missing from any routine.
Push-ups are torture. Yes, exactly. I don't know anyone who enjoys them, or who goes to the gym wanting to do them. But, if they are so unpleasant it is precisely because they are tremendously effective, as is usually the case with most exercises. It is one of the most efficient when it comes to working not only the upper body, but our entire body.
Although they are difficult to do, once we have mastered them, we will realize that it will be one of the exercises that should not be missing in our training routine, because we can do them anywhere without needing any material.
Why we should do push-ups
Almost all trainers include them in their routines. But why? One of the reasons is that, as they do not require any equipment, we can do them at any time and in any place. This is very useful when the gym is full and all the equipment is occupied. In addition, it is a resistance exercise that will be good, whatever our goal.
It works several muscles at the same time - It's not just about strengthening your chest, shoulders or triceps . Push-ups go much further: they also involve your glutes, back and, above all, your core. This way, you work your entire body in less time. Depending on the variation you choose, you'll focus more on certain areas or others.
They help improve posture - It is one of the least known benefits, but by working the upper body and the back, we will be able to improve our posture.
For better cardiovascular health - Because push-ups are so challenging, even though they are a strength exercise, they will speed up our heart and there are already studies showing that they help reduce the risk of developing diseases.
How to practice them until you get them
Before doing traditional push-ups, we must try the simpler variations. There are two options: either we support ourselves on our knees or we do them with our hands resting on a surface. In this way, we will gradually gain strength and control over our body until we can complete a repetition of a conventional push-up.
What push-up variations should we practice?
Once we have become experts at traditional push-ups and can do quite a few in a row, we can try incorporating different variations that make our muscles work harder.
Diamond Flexion
This one is very simple and will have the most impact on our triceps. Place your hands just below your chest, in a diamond position, so that your index finger and thumbs touch. Lower your chest until your hands touch it and then explosively raise yourself up.
Push-ups with feet elevated
By tilting our bodies with our feet elevated, push-ups will become more complicated. We will place our feet on a bench, a chair or a box (the higher, the more challenging). From there, we will place our hands on the floor and do push-ups, but being careful not to deactivate the abdominals.
If we already have a highly advanced level, instead of using a bench, we can use a surface that takes away stability, such as a yoga ball to work the core more.
Open push-ups
Wide push-ups consist of doing them with your hands further apart than traditional ones, thus focusing more on your chest.
Unilateral push-ups
We can try doing push-ups with one arm, which will obviously be much more difficult and will also activate our obliques. We must be careful not to lose technique with each repetition, no matter how difficult it is, because then we risk injury. It is a very effective exercise to gain stability and balance.
We get into a traditional push-up position, but we open our legs wide for better balance. We lift one of our hands off the floor and place it on our back. From there, with the other hand, we will do push-ups.
[via GQ Spain]