Push-ups are a great exercise for the chest, which additionally affects the biceps and stabilizing muscles. It is important to do the push-ups correctly, keeping the spine's curvature neutral - only then will this exercise bring the desired results. Check how to do push-ups and what muscles work during push-ups.

Push-upswork on the chest and biceps, sculpting and volumizing the muscles. This is one of the oldest exercises without equipment that is definitely worth doing. Although push-ups are a bit forgotten by modern training methods, their undoubted advantages will make you return to doing them after reading this article. You will also do it better and technically correct. Thanks to the push-ups, you will strengthen the stabilizing muscles, pectoral muscles, biceps and learn how to work with your own body weight.

LearnHow to do the correct push-upsto effectively engage your chest and shoulder muscles.

Contents:

  1. How to do push-ups - technique
  2. What muscles work when doing push-ups
  3. Exercises to prepare for push-ups
  4. Types of push-ups
  5. Effects of push-ups

How to do push-ups - technique

  • Initial position

The position to be taken for the push-up is apparently well known to everyone - it'spalm supportsorhigh board . However, you should pay close attention to a few important elements.

  • Baseline Key Elements

The hands should be positionedslightly wider than the line of the shoulder girdle . The toes in the classic version should pointparallel to the body , feet together. The starting position should take into accountbuttock tensionandreducing the natural curvature of the lumbar spine . To do this, slightly tuck the pelvis underneath you. Buttocks tension along with pulling in the navel as if we would like to touch the spine with it helps people who do not yet know how to control their body.Take off your shoulder bladesand keep your head neutral. We don't look straight ahead, but at the floor.

  • Push-up movement

While moving, keep your body in its original position. We make the lowering movementslowly with inhalation , the exit movement upwards depending on the type of training, also slowly or dynamically withexhaling . In the classic version of thepump, the elbows are kept at an angle of 45 degrees from the body . Such their arrangement increases the safety of shoulder rotators.

See instructions on VIDEO how to do push-ups

What muscles work when doing push-ups?

Push-ups are performed primarily as an exercise for the chest muscles. The truth is, however, that as a compound exercise, it involves many more muscles. First, it forces us to tension all spine stabilizers. We also strongly engage the buttocks, triceps and the shoulder girdle. Depending on the type of pump, we will activate different muscle fibers to a different degree. It is worth considering the introduction of several types of push-ups in your training.

Don't do that

Most common mistakes made when doing push-ups

  1. Keeping your elbows sideways- this error may result in a shoulder injury.
  2. Lowering the torso not low enough , which reduces the effects of push-ups.
  3. Elbows are not fully extendedwhen lifting up.
  4. Head set too low- the neck is to be an extension of the spine.
  5. Holding hips too low or too high- the silhouette should form one line.
  6. Rounded back- shoulder blades should be drawn down.

Exercises to prepare for push-ups

Not being able to do a single push-up, first you need to strengthen your core, i.e. stabilizing muscles, e.g. by plank exercises. It is ideal to keep the starting position to the push-up for a certain period of time.

Below you will find examples of other exercises that should be included in the training of a person preparing to do a full push-up.

  • Platform pumps

In order to strengthen the arms and chest muscles, it is worth doing push-ups on a platform. The higher we place our hands from the ground, the easier our work will be. However, you should keep all the elements of the starting position, i.e. pulled shoulder blades, tense abdomen and tucked pelvis.

  • Women's pumps

The next step will be to perform the so-called women's push-ups. The movement is exactly the same as during a normal push-up, but the body is not on the feet, but on the knees. It is worth noting that the most commona common mistake when performing this version of the exercise is leaving the pelvis pushed upwards. The body is supposed to form a straight line at all times, which means that the movement is done by lowering all the weight down, not just the upper body.

  • Push-ups by the wall

For people who have a very poor physical condition, push-ups at the wall will be a good way to strengthen the body. During their performance, the same rules apply as for the standard exercise. The goal, however, is to force the body to maximum tension. We lower the weight of the body to the wall very slowly, we push ourselves away from it as if we wanted to move the entire wall. This means that we need to tighten all muscle fibers as much as possible.

Types of push-ups

There are as many types of push-ups as people can imagine. Here are the most popular variants.

  • Push-ups on the rails- these are the so-called dips. During them, we work very hard with the shoulders and the three-headed muscles of the arms. For many people, this is also the perfect way to build a lower chest. Dips are one of the 7 most important strength exercises and one of the basic calisthenics.
  • French pumps- these are easy dips. In this version of the exercise, we put our legs on the ground. We hold our hands behind the body. Movement occurs by bending the arms at the elbows and lowering the body down, and then pushing it upwards. The exercise involves the triceps and shoulder muscles the most.
  • Diamond pumps- differ from classic ones only in the way the hands are placed narrowly under the chest so that they touch each other. The exercise is designed to engage the triceps muscles of the upper arm more strongly. It is worth remembering that depending on the position of the hand, we will perform a different type of push-up.

In addition to those listed above, you can also distinguish one-handed push-ups, push-ups with a clap and asymmetrical ones. Asymmetric push-ups includearcher push-ups , with one arm extended to its full length along the body and the other held narrowly. The name comes from the arrangement of hands resembling a string of a bow.

Asymmetrical push-upscan also be performed with one hand held on a platform or placed above or below the shoulder line. The push-up with a clap is one of the dynamic exercises in which it is important to push the body upwards intensively. You can perform variants with only a kick, a clap behind your back, or a throw of your hands forward.

See also: 22 types of push-ups

Effects of push-ups

Effects,what you can get by doing push-ups are a reinforced shoulder girdle, chest muscles and the whole core. Many people who train exclusively calisthenics have a well-built chest. This means that by performing push-ups you can greatly expand your muscles.

An important effect of performing this type of exercise is increased body awareness and improved muscle feeling. Thanks to training without additional load, apart from increasing strength, you can also work on endurance, speed and power. These are very important elements for many sports.

Read more: Effects of push-ups

About the authorTomasz Piotrowski He is a certified personal trainer and nutrition specialist. He gained his knowledge from the best experts in the fitness industry in Poland. He has several years of experience working as a dietitian in a private facility in Krakow and experience in working as a personal trainer. He also writes expert articles on he alth, training and supplementation, and works in the supplement industry. He is passionate about fist fencing.

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Category:

Anatomy