If you can’t do push-ups – or if you’re still scarred by being forced to do them as a kid – it can be hard to see the point of them. Sure, they look impressive, especially the “explosive” variety that launches you into the air, but even the standard version is so demanding that armies use it as a punishment: “Drop and give me 50!” Then there’s all the macho, chest-beating rubbish that surrounds them. It is no surprise many of us avoid them, or think we will never master them.
The thing is, we probably can with the right preparation, and we should definitely try. Push-ups are one of the most effective ways to strengthen your upper body, building your chest muscles, your shoulders and your triceps. They will help you open a heavy door, lift your bag into an overhead locker, lever yourself off the floor after a fall. You can do them whenever you have a few minutes at home, at work or on holiday – no need to go to the gym or spend a penny on equipment. Once you’re used to them, they won’t even leave you sweaty.
“If you’re doing them correctly they will recruit your core as well as your upper body,” adds Cali Joseph, a personal trainer (PT) based in Walthamstow, east London, who is helping me try a few variations. Those core muscles, such as your abs and your spinal erectors, are what stabilise your pelvis and lower back. “Push-ups also improve joint health, daily movement quality, posture and injury resilience,” says Deborah Lee, a PT from Grantham, Lincolnshire. Like any resistance exercise, they will keep you healthier as you age by slowing the muscle loss that starts in your 30s, as well as bone diseases such as osteoporosis.
DonnaJean Wilde, the Canadian teacher who holds the women’s world record for the most push-ups in an hour – a jawdropping 1,575 – won the title last year at the age of 59, watched by 11 of her 12 grandchildren. She still does at least 500 push-ups every day. “I’m not getting any younger,” she says, “but it’s such a safe activity that I hope I can continue it to keep other problems at bay.”
“It’s something that you can probably do in some form for ever,” says Joseph.
There’s no denying that push-ups take training, though. For the standard version, you have to start in a high plank, lower yourself in controlled fashion until your chest is almost touching the ground, then lift yourself back up again – without bending anything other than your arms. Viewed from the side, your body must remain in a straight line from your head to your heels – no sagging at the knees or hips, no dipping of the head, no lifting of the bum. You need to brace your core, tuck in your pelvis and clench your buttocks from start to finish. It’s two-thirds strength, one-third concentration and one-third bloodymindedness. Yes, this is mathematically impossible, but that’s push-ups for you.
“Many people think push-ups are hard because they are somehow weak or not doing them correctly,” says online PT Amy Snelling. “I always put it like this: you wouldn’t walk into a gym and expect to bench press half your body weight on the first go – most people train for years to get to this point. In a standard straight push-up, you’re pushing about 70% of your body weight. Even in a modified knee push-up” – where you take some of the weight on your knees – “you’re lifting around 50% of yourself. It’s hard because it’s hard.”
Particularly if you’re a woman. “Women tend to have a lower percentage of muscle mass on their upper body than men,” says Snelling. “There are also plenty of social and psychological factors at play. When fitness is marketed to women, it’s all about toning, flat stomachs and big glutes, whereas men are talked to in terms of growing muscle and having big arms – so it’s easy to see why push-ups would be on most men’s training programmes and not women’s. Traditional gender roles also mean that some women tend to have less time to train than their male counterparts.”
That’s still no reason to avoid them. “You just have to stick with it, put in the work, and you can be just as good as the guys,” says calisthenics star Raahavy Rasaiya, who started doing push-ups at the age of 10. Thirteen years later, she can crank them out on her fingertips, while wearing a weighted jacket.
It’s not just muscle that you’ll be growing. “A push-up might help you get up off the floor more easily,” Snelling says, “but to me, learning to do push-ups is about creating confidence as well as building upper body strength.”
“They teach you to do difficult things,” agrees Joseph. “They teach you discipline, they teach you the importance of consistency.”
“I used to hate them,” says Lee. “To an extent I still do. But I persist.”
Eight tips to take the pain out of push-ups
Aching arms? Short of breath? Can’t face it any longer? Here are the ins and outs of the up and downs.
You don’t have to start on the ground …
You can build up to full push-ups by doing them against a wall, the edge of a table or the back of a sofa. This shifts some of the weight off your hands. If you’re training in a gym, you can stick a barbell in a squat rack and use that. As with standard push-ups, keep your body in a straight line as you move. Once things get easier (they will!), you can graduate to something closer to the ground.
… or in a full-body plank
A partial plank, with your hands and knees on the ground, rather than your hands and toes, will also make things easier. But make sure you keep that straight line from knees to shoulders as you go up and down. No hinging at the hips!
You can skip the up bit
For a “negative” or “eccentric” push-up, start in a high plank, lower yourself with correct form until your chest is almost touching the ground, then get back up however you like. Do this enough and you will build the strength to do a full rep without losing your form. Slower is better.
You need to look after your wrists
Especially when you’re starting out, it’s worth warming up with some gentle strengthening exercises. Get on all fours in a tabletop position, then put just a little weight on your hands as you turn them palm up, palm down, fingers facing forward, fingers facing your knees, fingers facing out, fingers facing in … Then sit back and give your hands a good shake.
Don’t flare your elbows …
Your hands should automatically drop into a comfortable position, under and a little wider than your shoulders, but beginners often flare their elbows and put unnecessary strain on their shoulders. Better to have them closer to your body. Especially if you do a lot of yoga, you may be comfortable with them almost brushing your ribs, though this will work your triceps harder. Joseph goes a little wider: “An American lady said you want your elbows to be a slice of pizza away from your torso. I’m like, yeah, a generous slice of pizza away.”
… unless you have a good reason
Footage of Wilde racing through her 1,575 push-ups shows her with her upper arms at right angles to her torso, and her hands unusually far from it. This would normally make everything harder. “I have this condition in my hand called transverse myelitis,” says Wilde, “and it gives me quite a bit of pain. This stance feels better.”
Don’t be afraid to experiment
Depending on your build, mobility etc, you may find you prefer one of the supposedly advanced pushup variations. I like push-ups with rotation, where you turn your body 90 degrees at the top of the move and reach one hand to the sky, so you’re almost in a side plank. You get a nice little rest in that rotated position and anyone watching thinks you’re much more athletic than you are.
You need to breathe!
That’s right: one more thing to think about. But it is easy to forget as you focus on your core, your elbows, your bum … Try to breathe in on the way down and out on the way up.
Drop and give us 12!
This training guide from Cali Joseph should build the strength and stamina for a dozen push-ups without a break. Aim for three sessions a week, taking at least one rest day between sessions. Each stage should take at least two weeks; don’t move on until you’re happy with your progress. If it takes longer, it takes longer.
Stage one
Wall push-ups Stand a few feet from a wall, place your hands on it at shoulder width, and lower your chest to it. Push back up. Do three sets of 10-12 reps.
Knee push-ups Position your knees on the ground, keeping your body straight from head to knees. Lower your chest to the ground, then push up. Do three sets of eight to 12 reps.
Plank holds Hold a high plank for 20-30 seconds, keeping your body straight from head to heels. Do three sets.
Stage two
Incline push-ups Place your hands on a raised surface (bench, step, table etc). Lower your chest towards the surface and push back up. Do three sets of eight to 12 reps.
Negative push-ups Start in a full push-up position, then slowly lower your body to the ground (three to five seconds descent). Push back up or reset to the start position. Do three sets of five to eight reps.
Advanced plank holds Hold a high plank for 30-45 seconds, maintaining a straight body from head to heels. Do three sets.
Stage three
Full push-ups Perform a full push-up with your hands slightly more than shoulder-width apart. Do three sets of one to three reps.
Full push-up variations For more of a challenge, add variations like diamond push-ups or wide push-ups. Do three sets of five to 10 reps.
Stage four
Aim for three or four sessions a week, but keep at least one rest day between them.
Full push-ups Build up to three sets of 10-15 reps.
Stage five
Advanced push-up variations Spice things up with decline push-ups (feet elevated) or clapping push-ups. Or spread your arms wide and go from side to side with archer push-ups.
This article was originally published by a www.theguardian.com . Read the Original article here. .