Give the Pushup Some Credit
Let’s face it: there are a lot of good body weight exercises out there that a lot of us don’t do because we think you can only workout by going to the gym. But what about those days where you just didn’t have time to go? Think about it, what would be better: don’t workout at all or do some good body weight exercises so that you still get your workout even though you aren’t pumping iron
? Yes, its sort of a duh statement - you should at least get in some sort of a workout!
One of the great classic moves is the pushup. The nice thing about the pushup is that it isn’t just a chest move. Its actually more of a full body workout that most people give it credit for. Let’s break it down a little bit and see what groups are being worked when doing pushup:
Chest - yes, the pushup does work the chest. Similar to the compound movements of the bench press, doing pushups will also stimulate your chest muscles
Arms - also very similar to the bench press, doing pushups will work your arms as well. Especially the tripceps.
Abs - here’s where some of the differences start to come in. By holding your body straight you are also working out your abs because you have to contract them in order to keep your back straight.
Lower Back - similar to the reason doing pushups works your abs, you also have to clench your lower back muscles to keep your back straight. This actually applies to you glutes as well.
Looking at the list above, you have to agree that pushups are much more than what a lot of people think. In fact, it might not be a bad idea to incorporate some of them into your standard workout as well. (The military has had people doing pushups for a long long time . . .)
If by chance you don’t want to do pushups because you think they’re boring, look at them again and spice things up a bit. There are a lot of variations that you can do with pushups. Here’s a great article from Men’s Health writer Scott Quill: More Power to the Pushup
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This article makes some good points. I have always valued the “generic workout”, or so that’s what everyone at my athletic club calls it. I only have time for two days at the club so it really comes down to push-ups, crunches, and other natural or “generic” workouts. I totally give credit to natural workouts because I have been doing them for some time now and I’m staying in fantastic shape.
I love how pushups work your back muscles. This is true for a lot of other manual exercises as compared to a machine.
This is also true as it realtes to squats vs. leg press. With a leg press, you don’t work your back like you do with a regular bar. And what good are strong legs without a strong back.
Indeed push-ups are really helpful to build a strong body. What you are saying above were true. Push-ups can help to develop your muscles in some parts of your body like your arms, lower backs, chest, abs and others.
That if you know how to do the specific push-up hand position. Because there many push up hand position where it affects on a specific parts of your body.
Shall we say, if you spread your arms widely while doing push ups, it will harden your outside part of your chest (near your underarms).
If you position your hands near to hips, you will develop some muscle in your upper chest and shoulders.
That’s not all, you can experiment it for yourself. Try to do push where your hands in different positions.
I sure love push-ups and I always do it everyday. Anyway, thanks for sharing.
- Felix
I give the push-up plenty of credit. Yeah, there are many variations to this simple exercise, as well. Hey, have you tried those “Perfect Push-up” rotating bars, yet? I use push-ups in conjunction with my Power Tower routine of pull-ups, dips, leg lifts, curls, etc.