Benefits of doing push ups
79Benefits of doing push ups when you have no time to hit the gym
Push-ups are better than not doing anything at all. Push-ups tone up our front and side deltoids, upper abs, pectorals, some part of lats, triceps and even short head of biceps depending upon the type of push ups we execute and that also depends on the amount of body fat we have. Less fat means more visible shape.
Push-ups are vital if you want to gain and maintain strength, so keep doing them. I prefer three pushups and you need to do all of them if you are not going to the gym at all:
1. Wide arm push-ups (with hands wide apart): Works more on the outer chest and helps stretch the outer lats, bringing out more definition in the wings.
2. Close arm pushups (with both hands directly below your shoulders): Works more on triceps and the chest and stretches the middle back if done carefully and slowly.
3. Clap pushups (if you are a beginner, do this with a small cushion under your face, on the floor- go down as far as possible as in a normal push up, then shove yourself upward with all the force you can get from both your arms, then in the middle of your "flight", just clap your hands and bring them back on the floor before your head hits the cushion: A painful exercise, but very effective if you are not gaining much size after a long time of chest workout. It also brings out muscle striation in the chest.
Also read an interesting post uploaded today, Push Ups | Variations of Pushups | Incline and Decline Pushups
Now lets see if pushups is a strength/endurance exercise or does it really builds mass.
I want to start from zero. Basically, muscle fibers are divided into two major categories, fast-twitch fibers and slow-twitch fibers. Fast twitch fibers are able to produce much greater speed and are the ones we used when we need explosive power in out movement for example power lifting. Slow twitch fibers are basically for endurance, etc. and are slow reacting and these are used for sports like bicycling, running, rock climbing and even push-ups and pull-ups.
Now lets see what was the secret behind Franco Columbu's enormous and wide back (also latissimus dorsi) that used to help him win Mr. Olympia titles 2 times even though he was short, as mentioned in "Arnold's Encyclopedia of bodybuilding". Arnold says, "Franco used to do 10 sets of pull-ups of each 25 reps".
What was the secret behind Tom Platz's massive and monstrous legs that were so developed at those steroid free times that it is difficult to achieve the completeness even in today's steroid-dependent bodybuilder's world, not even by today's famous bodybuilders like Jay N. Ronnie. As far as hamstrings and balance are concerned, I would clearly say no! In the same book Arnold says " Tom Platz was the hardest trainer. He used to do heavy squads and then just after his leg workout, he used to cycle 10 miles.
Now don't you see any similarities? I think it is clearly evident that Franco Columbu's and Tom Platz's "SLOW TWITCH" fibers were developed beyond normal because of their different kind of trainings. While most of the bodybuilders used to train, especially their high twitch fibers, these two have been quite busy in training the other fibers as well which most of others neglected.
That is why fitness experts always give emphasis to pushups. Another reason is clear that its an all time favorite exercise. It can be done anywhere anytime your want, in the office, at home, etc. I believe that pushups are responsible for my own chest development and for my heavy bench press. I can do 40 pushups in one go and can do 10 or more after taking a rest of 5-10 minutes. I have been doing pushups since I was in school.
It is a cool strength exercise as well.
Before starting bench press, beginners should try pushups and you should try to do more and more reps. If you have not yet joined the gym or starting after a long time just do pushups and pull-ups for a week. Every other day, you should increase your maximum repetition by 2-5 or even more if you can.
One more thing, the reason I have given for Columbu's back and Tom Platz's legs is my reasoning based on my studies about the different types of muscle fibers. These are not mentioned in any of the body building books or magazines. You may or may not agree with me but I have given every valid scientific reason for my claims!
Now read below some information on variations of pushups:
For upper chest, place your feet on the bench and your hands on the floor. Lower your chest until it touches the floor. This position builds your upper chest and the front of your shoulders.
Do a lot of pushups with variations also and increase the reps every 4-5 days. For example if you do 50, then do 40, then do 30, then do 20, then 15, then again 15, and then 8 or so with sufficient number of rests between the sets unless your shoulders and hands start shaking. This whole thing will take one hour or so. It really builds the pecs.
In the initial phase, don't do with the pushup handles, first do normal sets and a lots of repetitions, placing hands on grounds, after you feel that your chest is tight enough and you have done enough sets. Now start with handles since your hands are in an elevated position, so lowering the body to touch the ground and that after heavy sets of pushups may be very difficult, but still you should do it but very slowly until your chest touches the ground so that the pectorals that are now tight can stretch beyond its limit and then contract again. This stretching can cause your muscles to explode, do 3-4 sets of 8-12 reps. Take sufficient rest between the sets.
Don't do close grip (diamond) pushups on this day, concentrate only on chest and front delts. Do diamond pushups and dips (both bench as well as parallel bar) after 2 days, when you concentrate mostly on triceps.
(Note: To make parallel bar dips more effective on triceps, lean a little backwards and to emphasize on chest, lean a little forward).
One question people normally ask is how can a stretching exercise grow muscles. My answer is if stretching exercises are done correctly after heavy exercises, it helps expand the fascia, i.e., the tough connective tissue in which the muscle bag is contained, so start doing pushups. It is especially for those, who do not get time to go to the gym. Follow the plan and tell me if it really helped you or not.
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Thanks Brenda. Yes I am older than how I look in this pic. Actually this is my best pic so I uploaded it over here. I am 30 right now and I have been doing push-ups since last 15 years and I know there real benefits and that's why I tried to share my own story and technics here. Do you know whenever I make a gap of six months and then hit the gym, I build up all my body and lose all my extra fat and weight in just 2 or 3 months. The startup phase of going to gym is painful as like for everyone due to timing constraints and the pain but push-ups, which I have done and I do whenever I have just 15 mins free, help me tremendously in starting any gym exercise I do. Push-ups when combined with chin ups and pull ups make me active, look younger, and stress free. Now Brenda go ahead and start doing some push ups and you will feel the REAL DIFFERENCE.
Yes I found it on youtube. I do not have one of mine that is why I got it from there. I will definitely make one to share over here.
I hear push ups are one of the best exercises to do. I'm not really sure how it works the chest? I feel it mostly in the arms, and maybe the abs if I focus on lifting them up, but not really in the chest.
I do like how I can always do more the next time though.
I heard somewhere that the record for push ups was like over one thousand in a row. I found that hard to believe though, unless there is a person somewhere who doesn't suffer from muscle fatigue.
Thanks Raj! I do push ups every day. :)
Superb hub on push ups. As old military and has been body builder, you are right on the money. I looked to make sure you remembered lats, Push ups do more for lats than you have any idea. Loved the pics, I remember all of them back in the day when I was in the business so to speak. Thanks for speaking the benefits of simple exercise.
good hub men really informative
nice Article...
Wow, I read this hub completely! It's interesting and contains facts that I haven't known at all! All those benefits come only from push-ups? Amazing. Thanks.
Hi daveearley.yeah, pushups work primarily the pectorals. Most people think it works your arms somehow and while they are incorporated, its mostly the chest that gets the workout.
Good quicksand. It is very useful to do push ups everyday. I also do them once a day.
Yes emohealer I mentioned lats because after doing a lot of pushups, I feel pain in pecs and lats and that helps me know where push ups effect the most and also I can stand very straight and flexed due to that. Thanks to this simple exercise.
Thank you very much mwakym sandunruki, and shamelabboush. I have got more interesting facts about doing push-ups which I will publish in my upcoming hub.
So when your body is as you like it to be maybe you will show us a picture..... Yes I am doing push ups now..... thanks to you
Definitely Brenda. I will upload one. Best of luck..
Also one more thing to say, when you are done with clap pushups, close arm, and wide arm pushups, try one more style which I like the most. DO PUSHUPS WITH YOUR LEGS ON A COUCH OR SOFA OR CHAIR AND FACE WILL BE FACING THE GROUND AND NOW PUMP IN THE FORCE. WHEN I DO IT, MY FACE GETS RED WITH BLOOD and I feel the real pain and then I am satisfied.
It is advanced stage, so no need to try now. Try after one month of doing all the push ups with steps listed in the hub above.
One whole Gym whith out any equipment! Great Hub. Thank You.
Thanks for your kindness and support bala.
I will add something on one arm push up also.
I bookmarked and printed this one out, thanks for the tips!
Thanks for the visit and print out Ladybird33.
arg!hate push ups! that pic on the guy doing them with his wife on top reminds me of my own push ups with my son laying on me!
Nice information ,I will make a six pack soon.....
Hi AsherKade I love push ups, chin ups, and pull ups and even I do it a couple of times a week with my 20 month old daughter on my back.
Hi SEO Expert Kerala. Best of luck for making a six-pack ab. Let me know if you have any questions on this.
I use the iTouch app 100 pushups as motivation to help grow my chest with pushups.
That's a great source friend. Best of luck. Keep up the practice.
soni2006: This is a fantastic hub, thanks for publishing it! I've been doing push-ups almost every day since June of 2009, (it's September, now, 2009,) and I have to say I'm very pleased with the results. After the first couple of months I started to notice some definition that wasn't there before on the back-side of my arms, which encouraged me to continue doing push-ups. I've found that at first if you aren't strong enough to do push-ups from the ground level up you can use a stair, (or two) and start with push-ups from there, then work your way up to the ground level push-ups. Keep up the great work!
Yes you got it all right Nicole. Push-ups are really beneficial for everyone. Just keep on doing and you will see a lot of changes in your body. I have done aggressive push-ups when I was a teenager and the muscle cuts on my body have remained visible for up to 13 years now. I love push-ups more than any other exercise, the best reason for me loving it is that it can be done anywhere anytime but remember do not do it with a full stomach. Just give around half an hour or so after your meal and then you can do it and believe me, if you will do it first thing in the morning, you will remain active throughout the day. No need to take those energic 31 capsules when you can develop a lot of energy in your system which will last whole day long.
i am doing push up since june.i am doing it 3 days in a week.i am following 100 push-up in a 6 weeks plan.bt till date i m struggling at 65 push up in 5 sets which is the normal push up.now i want to include other forms of push up too.so wud it b ok to do 2 sets normal,2 sets close grip and 2 sets wide arm totalling upto 65+.i m also doing chin-up bt i can only do 2,how can i increase it.
Hello Aditya, You are following a very good plan but if you want to increase from 5 sets 65 pushups then continue with that form of pushup only and if you are going to do 2 sets normal, 2 sets of close grip pushups, and 2 sets wide arm pushups totally 6 sets of 65+ pushups that would be really difficult so it is better to follow them one by one. Start with 2 sets of close grip pushups and increase them to 65, then start 2 sets of close grip and increase them to 5 or 6 sets worth of 65 or plus and vice versa. That would be really easy to do because your body will get accustomed to the various sets and various forms of pushups and then after completing all these you can include them all together in 5 or 6 sets.
great hub. You can't beat a push up for an all round body workout
Thank you Johnmce, I agree that push-up is an whole body workout.
Great Article! Really shows the benefit of an old classic!
Yes pushups are evergreen exercises and can be done at any time...... Thanks for the comment friend.
I miss my weights
the perfect push up handles are a great purchase for push ups. i use mine every day and have noticed great results in my chest, lats, and tris since i started using them in spring.
Thanks a lot Filipino Girls and Ron for your comments. Yes pushup handles are cheap but very effective.
Thanks a lot Filipino Girls and Ron for your comments. Yes pushup handles are cheap but very effective.
Your hub has taught me alot that I didn't know. And, made be remember things I had forgotten. I'm going to start doing push-ups again.
Push-ups is the best exercise a person can do without the need of an equipment or exercise machine; I am glad that you remember your old days when you used to do push-ups. Best of luck for becoming active like before. Keep it up Larry.
benefits of pushups, when done correctly they can be a very
brutal form of exercise, pushups have been used for many,many years and they have
stood the test of time.
Hi Jatin, thanks for the comment but I do not know what you mean by the word "brutal" in your comment. I think you were trying to say aggressive or good or something like that and you have mentioned brutal which means "Extremely ruthless or cruel". Thanks for the comment though.
Great Hub. I will adjust my push ups based on your post!
Thanks for taking benefits from this hub on push ups Carl.
What a great hub, I do workout,but now I can get more out of my push ups, They are no longer boring to me after this hub.Thank you. Here also is a link to 7 Secrets to removing body fat permanently http://burnbodyfatwithmrs.weebly.com/ that I found useful.
For my seniors, I always recommend wall push-ups. I just had a client who injured her shoulder. It took 4 months but with regular wall push-ups she was able to avoid surgery. The body is so amazing. The muscles want resistance training. Wonderful hub! Great inspirational photos! You rock! Keep hubbing!
Thanks for all the information you delivered this has kept me occupied I hope you have more information in the future thanks interesting!
Thank you so much KellyEngaldo for your inspirational comment. Yes, I agree human body is amazing and we should care for it each day to keep it fit and fine. Congratulations for your client who with the help of your guidance and advice on wall pushups was able to avoid surgery which would have been so painful. Blessings to you Kelly. Keep it up.
Very cool about helping the person avoid surgery. Agree with soni2006.
Thanks a lot 4everfitness for the comment and link.
Wow! Look at those muscles!
I tried and I could not lift my body off the ground yet :(
Try it again Dao. Be consistent and success will touch your feet.
Very good article, and right on for posting a video of the inimitable Scooby and his amazing workout techniques!
Pushups, and bodyweight exercises in general, are definitely underrated forms of muscle and strength-building. Depending on the rigor and duration of pushups, they can even be a minor cardiovascular workout. Thanks for sharing your insight!
It's my pleasure Renaissance Mouse. I am trying to publish more hubs like these in the future. You all are my inspiration.
Wow... that was the best most comprehensive "article" I've ever seen on pushups! I love them and try to do a variety of different types to try to "shake things up"... I do spider pushups as well as hindu pushups.
Thanks for all of the tips and ideas!
I know Hindi pushups are really great. I have done all of them and there are multiple benefits of pushups. It gives me a total boost of energy if I do pushups for just 20 minutes per day, that's not whole lot of time. I just do it in the mornings after freshening up. I love pushups because of its multiple benefits.
Excellent and very detailed explanation on why doing pushups are beneficial. Thanks for the inspiration soni!
It's my pleasure creative orange. I am your fan now.
You've put a lot of work in your hub.
Good work!
Thanks a lot My Health Coach.
great hub i actually started to do pushups and can see a big difference
befpre i wasnt able to do itso benched weights and now i can do 5 lool
great hub really liked it
Just keep on practicing and you will be able to do push ups in different other ways, every way has its own benefits. I just cannot live without them.
push-ups are the most interesting exercise.
Yes they are RAHUL RAMAN. Do them regularly and reap the benefits.
thanks a lot dude!
It's my pleasure Dstiteler.
Nice Hub! I do agree that push ups are an excellent exercise, I have personally in recent months opted for variations of pushups as opposed to things like benchpress and dumbell press, to get a different type of workout for my chest. Mixing between pushups and bench is an awesome idea, especially when you've got countless varities of pushups to mix within even further!
Yes variations of pushups always help in building different points of our chest and shoulders. I also try different styles of pushups when I get bored with simple ones.
Been adding push-ups in my exercise for awhile and enjoyed reading the hub. To be honest I found some of the pictures of the body builders pretty grotesque and unattractive. I guess most guys think we're impressed.
Hi hypnosis4u2, yes I agree that there are many men who think that girls get impressed by looking at their macho body but they don't know that not all girls like an unattractive or weird body, but most girls like a simple man with well defined abs and v shaped body structure. Tell me if I am wrong here? Actually you know better than me as I am not a girl.
I am currently taking a month break from lifting and started doing 100 pushupS and 25 pullups 6 days a week. I got motivateD after reading this. I got a question though. Will pushups build MASS on my chest? Or just endurance? Thanks!
Hi Pep, just continue with your routine. Pushups build up lean muscle mass and lose body fat. Yes pushups build up endurance also and is the most trusted and favorite warm up exercise done by millions of fitness freaks around the world.
thanx buddy,for the creation of a great hub ... nxt time when i workout i ll try to execute ur ideas.
It's my pleasure mightywarrior. I am glad that you like to apply my ideas. I am continuing push ups and would you all to continue for good health, maintenance of weight, flexibility, and building endurance. In my next hub, I will explain some breathing techniques with push ups.
I'm now 22, 5.11 tall, 78kg weighed. My body looks well shaped even not going to gym. When I got a lengthy vacation, I went to nearby Gym. Although it is a small gym, my willingness made me to hard-work there about 4hours a day, 6days a week for 3months. The result was amazing as you know it might be. But 2month ago, while giving support to my friend, he failed to pull-up a bar-dumbbell of 70kgs. Accidently I was forced to pick-up that weight in a wrong position and that whole weight damaged my hip. Even if not very serious, the medicines and massages could'nt fix my hip well. And I'm now feeling that my hand's total mass is going without doing exercise. There is pushup-bar with me. I want to start push-up after i read your hub. I'm telling these to you as i want to know if taking push-ups now may harm my hip? I took some push-ups, but i don't feel much hip pain when doing. So, it you would be very helping me if you give me some suggestion in your mind., Thank you and great to meet you here..
Aju, I have read your whole story and according to me, you will not have any problem doing simple pushups with push up handles. If you are so excited about pushups, you should do them straight as is because other variations of pushups like inclined and declined ones or one arm pushups, you will definitely have problems because some force will be applied on your hip joints. According to me, the best thing to do in this crucial time when you are having hip pain is to perform some yoga exercises focusing on treatment of hip joint. Yogo will not only relive your hip pain but will also help making your hip joint as flexible as it was before the injury sustained.
This is a simple advice from my side. I think you need to contact an orthopedic specialist for your hip complaints as right now you are young, slim, and full of energy but when you will get older or a little overweight, your problems will increase, so it is better to attack and hit the snake (your hip problem) on the right time before it is too late. Best of luck for continuing with simple pushups but remember without push ups handles. I am saying this again because while using push up handles your whole body will be a little inclined which may cause problem to your hip.
This is great! I've been doing push ups (20 a day) and I am very please to say that after doing them I either feel very energetic or very relaxed. I just love the feel of my beating heart afterwards.
Great article an thank you for sharing. I've been doing lots of push ups since small and you can see the difference in just matter of weeks. You will gain strength, confidence and your life will transform into a better shape. It is simply amzing and simple exercise to perform. Just start with little reps and scale up the moment you gain the strength. The most important thing is your will power and dedicate several minutes a day to perform push ups. You will experience new atmosphere in no time. :) Good Luck!
Thank you so much MP and Thomas for sharing your personal experience of doing push ups.
This is a very motivating article.
Here's my variation (using handles). When I push, I push the floor the FASTEST and HARDEST possible utilizing my maximum strength. Feels like Speed cased my weight to double! I don't like slow because the force I exerted will limit to my weight only.
Do you approve this method? Can I gain MASS this way?
thanks in advance
When i read about you only doing 40 Pushups i was Surprised. with such a vast knowledge of them, and you doing them Since school i would have expected at least 100. Personally i've only ever done 55 in One go, but i believe i could make 60
i have one question....i can do 30 in go and can do 3 reps...but this has resulted in bulging of the chest...i dont want that...can you help??
great site. i love how the excellent pushup form is displayed in the pics, very usefull info
I have been doin push ups on and off for years now and I feel its a complete upper body work out. I do them in my reps in every set starting with 90 in the 1st set and ending with 110 in the 5th and last set. So I do 500 push ups every alternate day and people think Im a real gym rat even though I have never stepped in one.
Can push up help with the trimming of the stomach and performance in the bedroom?
i hav been hitting the gym since a year and a half and my friends make fun of me since i hav gained enough mass or got huge muscles aftr training n sweating it out all this tym..i exercise 6days a week and workout for only a part a day..say monday i workout for my chest, tuesday wings and so on..i dont workout for more than an hour n my diet is quite routine..at the gym..i dont get any guidance from professional trainers.now i want to take bodybuilding more seriously.plz help.
Wow, what an interesting piece of article. Actually, if not for your hub, i wouldn't have known the benefits associated with push ups but am really impressed to have learn these from you soni2006 and am really happy about that.
I have been working out now for a while, but when I first started I used push ups as a way to increase my bench press. instead of using more weight I would do more push ups. Now I just use them as a wake exercise in the morning.
Same here push up. I like start doing push ups as soon as I get up from my bed. It infuses an instant boost in the body. It seems like I am addicted to this exercise doing it for so many years now.
For a while I had been working my way up to be able to do 100 pushups a day, every day. I finally got there by doing a first set to 40, a second set to 30 and a last set to 30. I kept it up for a while but then stopped. Reading this hub will hopefully inspire me to start doing them again.
Hi hubs nice aticle i hav been durin press up 4 month but i hav nt seen any result.
Two second up and two second down is really an inspiring word, when you think of it or try it. When you do push up slowly it is better because your muscle moves and function very well. This is a perfect hub for those who doesn't have a time for gym.
i can do 50 push ups yeah but i am targeting to do 100. cool exercise combine with the pull up exercise it will be great!!
pushup is one of the best exercise!i just love it a lot!
soni 2006, if i do push ups evryday how long till i get pecs ?
i am girish, 42 years old. i have been doing pushups since i am 18. i didnt stopped doing it since then. now i cud take every day 500 with in 1 hour painlessly. now i look like i am in my sweet 20-23 age old only. i dont do any other execises. i am fit. i have no diceases. i am fully active in my work. it helps me to reduce my stress levels. i am happy now.
hey bro your that was a real good......useful!! just i wanna know "Are Pushups useful for Biceps ?"
Really interesting hub and motivating enough to pick up push ups. Great work!
very useful article thanks a lot
Movie Star Motivator-Personal Trainer NYC, ''I motivate you''. John is a master adviser.Image consultant Date coach and Business consultant. Servicing the client's tempered headquarters: http://motivationamust.com/home.html
We are New York City best personal trainers, and Suitable to service clients in any state.
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http://m.youtube.com/index?desktop_uri=%2F&gl=US#/watch?v=3XInRV7Jg1Q
I ve been doin push ups for two weeks now and i am now lookin muscular,attractive and strong.push ups is the best exercise
Movie Star Celebrity Motivator-Personal Trainer NYC, ''I motivate you''. John is a master adviser.Image consultant date coach and business consultant. Servicing the client's tempered headquarters: http://motivationamust.com/
We are New York City best personal trainers, and suitable to service clients in any state.
With the Body Crave (natural development program)
Nice details
Movie Star Celebrity Motivator-Personal Trainer NYC,
''I motivate you''. A master adviser.Image consultant date coach and business consultant.
Servicing the client's tempered headquarters:http://motivationamust.com/.
We are New York City best personal trainers, and suitable to service clients in any state.
With the Body Crave (natural development program).
home personal trainer.
photo by
\Brenda Scully 2 years ago
wow you are a great hubber....... pictures are brilliant.... may start doing push ups straight away, if I start looking as good as some on there,
not today though ...... going to check out some more of your hubs..... Are you older than you look... what a question, you look young, but this hub is very mature...
This video is very detailed and good I watched it all this guy is good for teaching beginners