Push-ups are a popular and practical form of training for the muscles of the chest, abs, delta and triceps. At school, physical education instructors often resorted to this exercise. Of course, not by chance and not out of a desire to satiate your sense of self-importance, reveling in power over the kids. Still fragile youthful bodies (as well as the flabby carcasses of office clerks) need to train several muscle groups at once. In the absence of the opportunity to conduct physical education lessons every day, teachers are forced to resort to a difficult, but effective method of operational development of the muscular system – push-ups. Consider basic exercises for different muscle groups, which are a springboard into the world of a chiseled figure and admiring female looks.
The path of a thousand miles begins with the first step. In our case, the path to an ideal and athletic figure begins with the simplest basic exercises.
Basic position – body parallel to the floor, arms shoulder-width apart
Parting word about the benefits for the body
Even a person far from sports knows that proper physical activity is beneficial for the body. Fit figures attract the views of the opposite sex, sport reduces the likelihood of hypertension and heart attack, postpones the onset of many diseases. In general terms, floor presses benefit the entire body, especially the cardiovascular system.
Any plans to practice martial arts? The floor presses must be included in the individual training regimen. It is push-ups that strengthen the hands, especially if the exercise is performed on the fists. With the systematic practice of all types of push-ups, the muscles of the chest, back and abs, deltoid muscles of the shoulders, gastrocnemius and intercostal muscles develop. The spine also has a positive effect, which is in dire need of a strong muscular corset.
Systematic push-ups develop an entire muscle group
The opposite effect of the floor press can give if done incorrectly. For example, you definitely shouldn't start training with additional weight bearing right away. First, you need to learn how to perform the basic bench press from the floor, which the school physical education instructor so insistently suggested.
Basic technique
Before starting classes, you need to warm up. The rules of the classic push-up technique:
- The emphasis is lying. The arms are slightly wider than the shoulders.
- The back should be straight. The entire spine, from the neck to the lower back, should look like a straight, stretched string.
- The abdominal muscles should be slightly tense.
- Legs are slightly apart and raised on toes.
- The arms are bent at the elbows for inhalation. Important! The back should remain straight; it is not recommended to bend the spine.
- It is not necessary to lower the chest to the floor. A few centimeters should remain between the floor and the body.
- The body returns to its original position on exhalation.
The basic technique will prepare your back, delta, abs, and chest muscles for their focused workout. Also, the classic push-up from the floor trains coordination, which is important for further training.
To train the upper chest, you need to place your legs on a dais
Pectoral muscle training
In order to focus efforts directly on the chest muscles during push-ups, you must remember the following rules:
- The floor press technique should involve flattening the shoulder blades. Only when this condition is met, the corresponding muscle groups are turned on.
- Hands when lying down should be wide apart. In this case, to raise the body, it will be necessary not only to straighten the elbows, but also to bring the shoulder blades together.
- To work out the middle of the chest, the legs and arms should remain on the floor, the body should be parallel to the floor. Thus, elevation is not required for mid-chest exercises.
- The upper chest will work with your feet elevated, but not too high. The height of the gymnastics bench will be ideal.
- The lower part of the chest will be involved when placing the arms on a hill. The same principle works here as with the upper pectoral muscles. Hands should not be too high.
An alternative to the gymnastic bench is parallel bar push-ups. In this case, your feet should not touch the floor. To effectively stretch the pectoral muscles, you need to use stable supports on which you can place your hands. This will lower the body lower. Horizontal bars in the yard are fine.
To train the lower chest, you need to place your hands on a dais
Triceps workout
A bit of physiology. Triceps (triceps muscle) is the posterior muscle of the humerus, thanks to which the elbow flexes and extends. When pushing up from the floor, it always works, however … This muscle is small in size, so the load on it is distributed over other muscle groups. To maximize the inclusion of the triceps muscle in the work, it is necessary:
- Minimize the work of the pectoral muscles. The reduction of the shoulder blades is excluded.
- Use the correct hand position. It is better to place your palms shoulder-width apart. In this case, the elbows will be laid back and located along the body.
- Practice reverse push-ups. You will need a gymnastic bench or any other similar support, hands are taken behind the back.
When working out the triceps, it is important to remember that this muscle will work when pressing from the floor only in the absence of the shoulder blades. In this case, the body will not rise with the help of the pectoral muscles, but exclusively due to the extension and flexion of the elbows.
When training triceps, it is important to exclude flattening of the shoulder blades.
Training of the middle and anterior deltoid muscle bundles
To work with shoulder push-ups, you need to position your lower body high. To do this, you can put your feet on a bench or wall bars. It is with vertical push-ups that the middle and front bundles of the deltoid muscles are turned on.
It is advisable to start this type of press from the floor after training the pectoral muscles and triceps. Otherwise, it will be difficult to achieve optimal efficiency.
Ballistic exercises and crossfit
Push-ups help strengthen the hands and prepare them for hitting a bag or sparring partner. It is possible to start the steepest and, at the same time, the most traumatic types of push-ups, in which the back of the palms, fists and fingers are used as support, only after a detailed study of all the above muscle groups.
Explosive strength development
Plyometric (also called 'ballistic' or 'explosive') exercises allow you to maximize muscle work in a minimum of time. A must have for athletes who consider themselves to be 'advanced'. They include two basic types of push-ups:
- Floor presses with hand claps. Good old 'Spartan' floor press. Both hands are shoulder-width apart, one hand in relation to the other is located slightly in front. When push-ups after cotton, the position of the hands changes.
- Burpee refers to the elimination from the CrossFit system, the algorithm of which looks like this: squat, palms on the floor in front of you; with a push, the legs are straightened, the body is parallel to the floor in the press position; push-up; return to squat; jumping out with arms extended up; return to starting position.
All push-ups from the floor, aimed at developing explosive strength, are performed at high speed, without pauses and with maximum muscle work in their positive and negative phases.
Clap push-ups are important to do at high speed
Stimulating muscle growth
To stimulate muscle growth, you need to use an additional load in the form of weight when pressing. This could be a barbell pancake, a heavy backpack, a weighted vest, or a girl. In this case, it is recommended to perform push-ups with both wide and narrow arms alternately.
Sets and push-ups in numbers
The number of sets and presses depends entirely on your training goals. Where to start:
- If you need to burn body fat and build a relief – from 10 to 25 push-ups in 4 sets.
- If you need stimulation of the growth of the pectoral, shoulder and upper back muscles – from 8 to 13 push-ups in 4 sets.
Next, we gradually increase the numbers. Landmark – occupations at the limit of the possible, but not at the expense. If after or during exercise there is discomfort, discomfort or pain, and you have to make a volitional effort to continue exercising, the chosen training regimen is most likely not suitable and should be reviewed.
Parallel Bar Dips – An Alternative to the Gym Bench
If you are unable to develop a training regime on your own, the most reasonable solution is not to experiment with your own body, but to turn to a professional. Even one meaningful lesson from a coach will yield more than a few 'touch' workouts.
Conclusion
Push-ups are an effective way to develop endurance, stimulate muscle growth and even lose weight without going to the gym. Benches can be done anywhere, and if done correctly and without fanaticism, the temporary and moral investment in the exercises will have a 100% profit. What else does our modern and eerily busy brother need?
