A Guide to Push Ups

Push-ups are exercises designed to help develop your arms and chest region. They are ideal for a home setting as you do not require any sophisticated or special equipment. The resistance component in the exercise is offered by your body weight. Push-ups also known as press-ups help provide muscle definition to the chest, shoulders, triceps and biceps.

Prior to performing any kind of exercise, you should always consult with your doctor or physician to ensure whether the exercise is safe for you. You could be suffering from a certain condition that may negatively affect your health when you perform the exercise. Hence, it is essential to consult a doctor to confirm that you can practice the desired exercises.

You should always perform stretches and warm up your body before beginning your routine. Begin the exercise by assuming the standard push up position on the floor. To do this, keep your hands under your shoulders with your palms on the floor. Your toes should be curled in the direction of your head in a manner that allows the balls of your feet to support your body weight. Ensure that your back is straight and that your feet are together. Once you are in a stable push up position, raise your arms to raise your body and then maintain the raised stance for a couple of seconds before lowering your chest downwards.

If you are new to this exercise, you can practice a slightly less strenuous version. Instead of making your chest touch the floor, just lower your body until your elbows make a rough ninety-degree angle with the floor. Besides making the push-up a bit easier, this technique also makes your arms stronger as your arms support your body weight.

To avoid exhaustion, try to breathe out (exhale) when you are raising your body and breathe in (inhale) while you are lowering yourself back down. Maintaining a suitable breathing rhythm will provide your body with increased endurance to complete the exercise. However, make sure you don\’t hold your breath, which cause dizziness and you might even not able to complete the exercise.

While you are performing the exercise, your face should be facing in the forward direction with the tip of your nose pointed in front. When you are pushing your body up, ensure that your arms are almost, but not entirely, straight as this will result in your weight being supported by your arm muscles rather than the bones.

Perform the exercise for as many repetitions as possible. Do not however push yourself too much as this can lead to aches and strains in the muscles which would consequently prevent you from performing the exercise in the following days. Keeping your workouts regular is far more crucial than keeping them intense yet irregular.

If you are new to performing push-ups and you do not yet have the strength required to perform the exercise, you can try keeping your hands at a higher level in order to make the exercise easier. You can achieve this by using a box or any other stable material to raise the level of your arms. After finishing the exercise, make sure that you perform a few stretches to let your body cool down.

Author Bio: If you want to book for a bootcamp session, or for a free consultation with a Personal Training Sydney, visit Sydney Personal Trainer.

Category: Wellness, Fitness and Diet
Keywords: Bootcamp

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