Traditional Push Ups are beneficial for building upper body strength. They work the triceps, pectoral muscles, and shoulders.
Push Ups are a fast and effective exercise for building strength that can be done from virtually anywhere. Although you may have a desire to join a world-class gym, their monthly dues may not fit in your tight budget. Thankfully, you don’t need an expensive gym membership – or even any equipment – to obtain an effective and thorough full body workout. All you require is a small bit of floor space and a little time to perform them. You should also know that when done with proper form, they can also strengthen the lower back and core by engaging abdominal muscles muscles since you are actually doing a Plank as a part of the exercise.
Pushups are particularly effective at strengthening the muscles around the shoulder joints.
Why do we need to care about the health of our shoulders? Simply put, our shoulders are a crucial part of our mobility and independence. We need them to be healthy and pain-free in order to accomplish our basic life functions such as driving a car, lifting groceries, doing housework, or picking up our children or grandchildren. As we age, the shoulders become vulnerable to health problems and pain that may curtail those activities a great deal or entirely. The muscles and tendons in the shoulder area are responsible for keeping the upper arm bone in the shoulder socket.
Push Ups aren’t just about building your upper-body strength. They can also be considered a full-body workout when done correctly.
A significant component of that total-body work includes core strength and stability. When performed correctly, pushups are a great way to stabilize and strengthen your core, which is essentially all parts of your body that aren’t your heads, arms, or legs.
While certain core moves focus primarily on the abdominal muscles, a properly performed pushup targets some of the lesser-known muscles in your core, like transverse abdominis (the deepest core muscle that helps supports your spine), multifidus (a series of small muscles that run along the spine), and others. By targeting these other core muscles, you’re helping the entire unit of your core become stronger and more stable. Because the core is essentially the powerhouse of the body and a crucial component of the movements we do in so many different scenarios, a stronger core unit will essentially make everything in life easier.
Hot to perform the Push Up
Standard Push Ups
Fully extending your legs increases the difficulty of this move by adding more body weight. The amount of weight you are pushing with standard Push Ups is about 64 percent of your body weight . To compare, a kneeling Push Up is about 49 percent which makes it perfect for beginners.
Begin with your chest and stomach flat on the floor. Your legs should be straight out behind you and your palms should be at chest level with the arms bent out at a 45-degree angle.
Exhale as you push from your hands and heels, bringing your torso, chest, and thighs off the ground.
Pause for a second in the plank position — keep your core engaged.
Inhale as you slowly lower back to your starting position.
What if I can’t even do Push Ups from kneeling?
Simple! You can begin by doing the same movements from a standing position and pushing away from a wall. You can slowly move your way back from the wall to add more resistance as you progress.
Later, as you have progressed from the wall, find something shorter you can lean against such as a stub wall, a kitchen countertop, a piece of furniture etc…
Find some like minded friends and make your Push Up exercise fun!
