Push Ups
What is a push up?
Press ups are easy-to-perform, suitable for all fitness levels and can be done anytime, anywhere without the need for any kit.
As a compound exercise, they use more than one muscle group at the same time. As a result, they'll give you a great workout, help burn calories, get your blood pumping and leave you feeling energised.
A classic press up does more than just work out your arms. They also work wonders for your shoulders (deltoids), chest (pectoralis major), core (rectus abdominis), hips (obliques) and legs (quadriceps).
If you want to put your strength to the test, here are some press up variations for you to try, ranging in difficulty level from beginners to advanced, that will promote muscle growth and strengthen and tone your upper body.
As with every exercise, quality is more important than quantity so check out the tips below on how to get the most from each and every rep.
Check out our other chest exercises: Chest dips, Chest flyes, Chest presses
MOST COMMONLY ASKED QUESTIONS ON PRESS UPS
How many calories you burn doing push ups depends on several factors such as your genetics, weight, reps, etc. There is no magic number and it will vary person to person.
Push ups primarily work the chest and triceps. It also works the shoulders, biceps and core. To target your biceps more, you can try the following press up variations: narrow press ups, one arm press up, backward-facing reverse press up.
Push ups can work that abs if you activate the core when performing the move.
Push ups require adequate strength and practice to perform. If you struggle with push ups, you can try to work on strengthening your upper body by performing regressions such as the elevated press up. Some people may have challenges limiting them from doing press ups such as their anatomy or joint issues – if you experience any pain please make sure to consult a doctor or qualified practitioner like a physio.
Push ups are a great exercise to improve your upper body strength. You don’t need any equipment to perform this exercise so it’s a great move that can be performed anywhere, whether you’re working out in the gym or at home. There are many variations of press ups which can help target different upper body muscles and cater to different strength abilities so no matter if you’re a beginner or advanced, this exercise is great in building and maintaining upper body strength.
The conventional push up is an intermediate bodyweight exercise that works the chest, triceps, shoulders, and core.
Knee push ups are a regression that can help you build the chest, shoulder, and trice strength needed for standard push ups.
Incline push ups are less challenging than conventional push ups and can help build upper body strength and master the correct body alignment for push ups.
Tricep push ups use a different hand placement to shift tension from the chest to the triceps, meaning they are challenged more than in a standard push up.
Wide grip push ups have a wider hand placement than regular push ups which places more emphasis on the chest and anterior delts.
Decline push ups are a challenging progression which place more emphasis on the upper chest and allow for a greater range of movement.
This push up variation involves making a diamond shape with the hands to alter which muscles are worked. There is more emphasis placed on the triceps in diamond push ups.
Medicine ball push ups provide a greater challenge to the stabilising muscles in the shoulders and core. It's a challenging variation that can even out muscular imbalances and help prevent injury.
Spiderman push ups involve alternating bringing one knee to chest as you lower to the floor. This variation provides an extra challenge to the obliques, hip flexors, balance and coordination.
Archer push ups are an advanced push up variation where one arm is extended as you lower to the ground, placing more weight through the remaining bent arm. This is a good regression for building strength for one arm push ups.
One arm push ups are an advanced, single arm variation of the push up that challenges balance, coordination, and stability and improves imbalances between the two sides.
Pike push ups place more weight through the shoulders and upper chest Compared to a convention push up, the hips are in a pike position above the head rather than in line with the head and feet.
If you’re not sure if any of the above exercises are suitable for you, please consult your doctor before you start it. Need guidance on how to perform the exercise? Ask a personal trainer at your gym.