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The push-ups are a good exercise. It makes you feel like you’ve done something when it’s done. That’s why they are one of the top goals for people who want to exercise.
If you have never done a push-up before, it can be hard. If you tend to forget how to do a push-up when you were in gym class, then maybe it will still feel difficult and make your muscles ache. Push-ups are one of the best exercises for the upper body and lower body. You should try them again, even if they make your back hurt at first.
If you think you can’t do push-ups, then do them more often. If you don’t try, then it will be hard to get better at them.
Push-ups can be good for you. They make you feel stronger and more confident. You need to know how to do them so that you can start doing them at home.
What is a push-up?
A push-up is a simple exercise that you can do anywhere. It is a type of compound movement, or when you use more than one joint simultaneously, and it stimulates large muscle groups.
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When you do push-ups, your body should be in the “high plank” position. Your hands should be shoulder-width apart or a little bit wider if that’s more comfortable. Then bend your elbows and lower yourself towards the floor. When you get down low enough so that your chin is about to touch the ground, stop and push back up again.
While a 45-degree angle is standard for push-ups, the angle that feels the best for you may be different. You can adjust your arms to match what you are most comfortable with. If your shoulders feel good at one angle, then do that.
When you push your body up, that is the bottom of one rep. Then, you will push your body down again and keep your stomach tight. When your elbows are fully outstretched, and back in a high plank position, you have completed one rep.
Benefits of Push-Ups
Push-ups are good for your pec muscles. They are great for two different muscles- the larger, fan-shaped pec muscle and the smaller, triangular one.
Strength in your chest muscles is important. It will help you get stronger in chest-specific exercises, like the bench press. It also makes everyday activities easier to do, like pushing open a heavy door or pushing something back onto a high shelf.
When you do a push-up, your chest muscles are not the only thing that is being worked. Your shoulder and arm muscles are also working. You get better at doing push-ups by holding yourself up on your arms for longer and longer periods of time.
Types of Push-Ups
One of the good things about push-ups is that there are many different types. You can choose what you like to do, but whichever you choose will work for you.
Elevating your hands or feet will make the push-up easier or harder. Stopping at the bottom of a push-up, which breaks the momentum of the move, can also crank up the difficulty. Here’s how to do some of those variations.
1. Hands-Elevated Push-Up
- Stand on a low box, chair or table.
- Put your arms out to the side and halfway down so that they are about shoulder-width apart.
- Balance by bracing your core and tucking in your elbows. This is the starting position.
- Now bend your elbows to bring them close together and lower them to the box or table so you can touch them with your chest.
- Then straighten back up again for this to be one rep.
2. Push-Up
- Start with your hands on the ground, shoulder-width apart.
- Then put your butt and stomach on the ground.
- Straighten your arms without bending them to make one full push up.
- This is one rep.
3. Dead-Stop Push-Up
- Place your hands on a high plank, with your palms flat and close together. Your shoulders should be directly above your wrists and your legs extended behind you.
- Lower yourself by bending the elbows until your chest touches the floor. When it does, raise your hands to rest on the floor instead of just touching it.
- Now put them back down and push through the palms to straighten out again; that is 1 rep!
4. Decline Push-Up
- Stand up on the floor with your toes on a box, bench, or step.
- Get into a high plank position by balancing on the toes and the palms of your hands.
- Your shoulders should be stacked directly above your wrists, and core muscles should be engaged.
- Bend at the elbows and lower yourself until you touch the ground with your chest.
- Push back up to straighten out arms again.
Common Push-ups Mistakes
Push-ups are a good exercise for your upper body. But if you do them wrong, they might not work as well, or you could get hurt.
You should make your back flat when you do push-ups. You can do this by keeping your back and hips straight. If you are not doing that, then it will be harder to do push-ups. Plus, if you don’t keep your muscles engaged, it won’t strengthen your core as it should.
You can make it easier for a push-up by putting your hands up high rather than on the ground. It is more effective because your knees will not bend as much when you are on the ground, so it can be hard to finish the push-up. But when your hands are higher, it is easier to get down and back up and make all of the motion smoothly.
If you want to do a push-up, but it is difficult, start with your hands elevated and then decrease the incline. The next time you do a push-up, your hands will be lower. If you keep on doing this over time, then one day, you will be able to do a full push-up.