For continued progress, it is important to maintain the intensity of your training, mastering new variations of exercises and moving away from what you are already used to.
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This does not mean that you need to replace push-ups with another exercise. Just try other variations of push-ups - this will be a real test for your muscles and will ensure rapid progress.
If up to this point you have always done only classic push-ups, Lifehacker will help you take your training to the next level. The push-up routine below will have your pecs begging for mercy.
Push-ups with wide arms
These push-ups are performed in the same way as classic ones, only the hands are placed not under the shoulders, but a little wider. By spreading your arms wider, you remove some of the load from the triceps and transfer it to the pectoral muscles.
If this is too easy for you, try spreading your arms as wide as you can and, keeping a slight bend in your elbows, do push-ups from that position. The wider you place your arms, the more load will be transferred to the pectoral muscles.
Perform 3-4 sets of 8-12 repetitions.
How to learn to do a lot of push-ups
No matter how strange it may sound, in order to learn how to do a lot of push-ups at one time, you need to do a lot of push-ups. This means that during the day you need to do 1-2 endurance workouts.
How many push-ups should you do per day? As much as possible. Find out your current maximum number of repetitions and aim to increase this number by one repetition every day.
There is another way. Divide the workout into 5-6 approaches. In the first set, perform 80% of your one-time maximum repetitions, and in each subsequent approach add one repetition. Try to progress the load in each workout - this is the key to success.
Rep Increase Program
Let's say your maximum is 50 push-ups at a time. This means that the first set starts with 40 repetitions.
- first approach – 40 repetitions;
- second – 41;
- third – 42;
- fourth – 43;
- fifth – 44;
- sixth – 45.
Rest between sets for 30-60 seconds. If you can’t complete the program right away, don’t give up. Remember, you have to do as many push-ups as you can, and everything will work out.
Push-ups with cotton
The starting position is the same as in classic push-ups. You smoothly go down, and then sharply push yourself up, lifting your hands off the floor and clapping your hands under your chest. After the clap, land in the starting position.
A sharp release from a push-up provides an explosive load on the chest muscles, and this is the best way to jump-start stalled progress.
Perform 3-4 sets of 8-12 repetitions.
Before the exercise, be sure to warm up and stretch your wrists: a sudden load when landing on “cold” muscles can lead to injury.
Benefits of push-ups for men
Push-ups have many advantages over other types of exercise. Men will benefit from including them in their training reason for the following reasons:
- help increase strength reserves;
- increase endurance;
- increase muscle mass;
- help to thoroughly work out the torso muscles;
- strengthen the spine and joints;
- make the hands stronger (which is especially important for those men who engage in active sports, whose work involves heavy physical activity, and even those who spend a lot of time at the computer and their hands do not receive the proper load);
- Push-ups are especially useful for athletes involved in martial arts, as they help improve the direction and clarity of blows.
Push-ups are a universal type of physical activity, as they allow you to achieve more coordinated functioning of the body as a whole, as well as strengthen the muscle corset.
The chosen training program is also important:
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- If you want to increase your endurance, then focus on multiple sets and high reps.
- If you want a sculpted body and strong muscles, then add weights to simple push-ups.
- If you just want to keep your muscles toned, recharge your batteries and improve your own health, then a standard program of classic push-ups will be enough for you.
Diamond push-ups
This exercise is the opposite of a wide-arm push-up. Here you place your hands close to each other, so that your fingers touch each other. During push-ups, your elbows should move close to your body.
If you can't do this exercise, first try placing your hands under your shoulders and doing classic push-ups, but make sure to keep your elbows moving close to your body. When you feel comfortable doing these push-ups, you can move on to diamond push-ups.
During diamond push-ups, more load is placed on the triceps. It's best to do them after wide-arm push-ups to give your stressed pectoral muscles a rest.
How to gain muscle mass with push-ups?
This question is asked not only by guys, but also by girls. Unfortunately, due to the low level of testosterone in the blood of representatives of the fair sex, they will not be able to achieve a large increase in muscle mass in strength exercises.
However, with the correct program of weight push-ups, it will be possible to achieve a positive result. Before proceeding with the exercise, it is worth considering 2 important factors in building muscle mass :
- nutrition;
- rest.
Healthy and wholesome food, an abundance of protein foods, water without gas and dyes are the key to a beautiful body.
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From school anatomy lessons, we know that muscle fibers grow during the recovery process that occurs during rest. For active growth you need “fuel” - protein food.
It is important to pay maximum attention to these two things. Therefore, after doing push-ups, for muscle growth you need to eat well and properly, and also rest.
Elevated push-ups
Stand facing a bench or other elevated platform. Place your hands on the edge of the bench (not under your shoulders, but slightly wider) and perform standard push-ups, trying to keep your body straight.
By positioning the body with the upper part elevated, this exercise puts more stress on the lower part of the pectoral muscle.
If these push-ups seem too easy for you, try bent-over ring push-ups. Feet on the floor, hands on rings fixed at a distance of half a meter from the ground. During these push-ups, you not only exert effort to lift your body, but also to maintain your balance on unstable rings. As a result, the pectoral muscles are loaded much more heavily.
Perform 3-4 sets of 12-20 repetitions.
Exercise technique: how to focus on a specific part
The most accessible part of the chest is the side. This pectoral muscle is pumped during almost any push-ups, and most of all in standard push-ups, where you need to keep your elbows close to your body. As you lower, the lateral chest muscle stretches. This develops it even more than when lifting. However, it is very important to twist the pectoral muscle at its highest point. That is, when you have fully straightened your arms, round your back and, as if twisting your pectoral muscles. Here you can divide the workout into 2 paces, where in the first case you do everything dynamically, without straightening your arms, and in the second - slowly with twisting.
To work the upper chest with push-ups, you need to extend your arms above your shoulders. You can also push with your body, lifting your pelvis. This will transfer the load and make the repetition more comfortable.
If you want to hit the lower part of the chest, then, therefore, when doing push-ups, you need to lower your arms lower. When working this muscle, perform the twists discussed earlier. You can even sink your pelvis down and lift your shoulders higher to reach the bottom. This is recommended to be done in deep push-ups or with legs raised.
There is one general piece of advice: to increase chest mass, it is recommended to perform push-ups very slowly at full amplitude. This will also increase muscle endurance under static load, especially if you linger at some point.
Dynamic execution will adapt the body to a sharp extraction of energy, that is, with explosive force. For the same reason, you can perform a clap approach or simply lower yourself slowly and rise up very quickly. These are two completely different workouts that will challenge your body differently.
What happens after a month of doing 50 push-ups a day?
If you do 50 push-ups a day for a month, you will target that muscle group for 30 days. If you've been doing them infrequently before, you'll likely notice big improvements in your fitness. Consider this from a logical perspective: if you were not interested in this muscle group before, then with an unexpected load these muscles will begin to develop rapidly.
In the first month, you will notice weight loss in the deltoid, triceps and biceps areas. For many people who are obese or simply overweight, fat is deposited in these areas, which will improve your overall health and self-esteem.
In addition, you will immediately see an improvement in your overall physical strength, which will continue to increase throughout this month.
If you do 50 push-ups a day, you'll be training a muscle you haven't worked before. The body, as a rule, reacts aggressively to such unexpected changes, and therefore you will feel severe pain and discomfort in your arms and upper abdominal muscles for the first week.
After a week, your body will get used to the stress that your arms and chest will receive. Then he will begin to build muscle to compensate and be able to withstand such a load.
It is important to note that doing so many push-ups will lead to fatigue.
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In some cases, if you did 50 times yesterday, the next day it will seem like too much. In the following days, on the contrary, 50 repetitions will seem easy to you.
Ways to correct this problem is to perform the same 50 times at a faster speed, but without losing the correct push-up technique. You can increase the load by placing a weight on your back. If you are tired, you can do sets of 5 or 10 repetitions. Short sets will allow you to pay more attention to form.
A push-up routine for muscle growth is usually developed for both beginners and those who have been involved in sports for a long time. Push-ups are considered the most effective exercise in sports. Even children over 6 years old are recommended to do it. As for adults, thanks to such a simple movement, you can use those muscles that need a lot of work, but at the same time they are inactive in everyday life.
- 1. How to do the exercise?
- 2. Lightening and increasing loads
- 3. Program used
- 4. Conclusion on the topic
Before choosing programs for building muscle mass, you need to learn how to properly perform the push-up movement. In general, this exercise is always beneficial, even if you only do it and not do other tasks. Thanks to a specially selected scheme, you will be able to train your upper body well: torso and arms. When performing this exercise, the muscles of the back and chest, deltoid, serratus, as well as triceps and biceps are involved. In addition, a person not only stimulates the growth of muscle tissue, but also increases the endurance of the body. It is imperative to do a complex with floor push-ups for those people who are actively involved in various sports. In addition, such exercise is also required to maintain good health.
The basic exercise looks like this: first you need to take a lying position. The base surface must be flat. Then the arms are placed on the sides, the distance is the same as between the shoulders. Palms should be directed forward. The feet are located at a distance of the width of the human pelvis. When inhaling, you need to bend your arms at the elbows, while the body lowers. The body itself should form a straight horizontal line. You can't bend. It will be much easier to perform the exercise with them, but the effectiveness will definitely decrease. When exhaling, you need to return to the original position.
Now there are many varieties of this exercise, so you can choose the best options. Today, approximately 500 species are known, but you can choose the most popular ones. Depending on how the lower and upper limbs are positioned during the exercise, you can make the task easier or, conversely, make it more difficult. There are other classifications that involve foreign objects, including special equipment.
The way the trainee’s hands are positioned determines which muscle group will work most actively:
- 1. Narrow setting.
This option is not recommended for women, as it can spoil the body visually: the shoulders will become wider. This option is considered quite difficult, since the hands are placed under the chest itself. Because of this, a large load is placed on the triceps and chest muscles.
- 1. Average setting.
Here you can do the exercise using your fists, palms or even fingers. This already depends on how well the human body is physically developed. The biceps are best worked.
- 1. Wide stance.
This option is easier to implement than the above. Recommended for beginners. Over time, the load can be increased. In addition, you can then rest your feet on a chair or other elevated surfaces. Thanks to this task, it turns out to pump up the chest muscles.
