Push-ups, also known as press-ups, are one of the few workouts that exercise nearly all the muscles in the upper-body. They are great for toning the upper body and increasing muscle strength without making you look bulky. They play an integral role in most strength-training workouts. Hence, they are considered to be a measure of a person’s strength and hence feature in most military physical fitness tests too.

Muscles involved

Even though they involve most of the muscles in the upper body, push-ups specifically target the triceps and the pectoral muscles. The triceps is present on the upper back and is involved in the straightening of the elbow, whereas the pectoral muscles are located in the chest region. They also involve the deltoids and the midsection to some extent.

Right Technique

Most of the exercise related injuries occur due to improper technique. Improper technique can also make you feel that the exercise is much more difficult than what it actually is. This might lead to you neglecting the exercise altogether which is not advisable.

The traditional push-up position can be adopted by lying facedown on the floor with your palms planted beside your shoulders. The elbows should point to the ceiling, at this point. Your feet should be together with your toes supporting the weight of the body.

Now, raise your body on your hands such that your back hips, and legs are in a straight line. The back should be straight during push-ups to obtain maximum benefit. Since there is a lot of pressure on the arms, you tend to arch your back to loosen the pressure on your arms. To avoid this, you can look forward instead of down.

This is the traditional push-up position. Now, slowly lower your body until your elbows line up to the shoulder. Inhale as you are doing this. Once you are in this position, hold for a couple of seconds. Now push yourself back to the original position. Exhale as you are doing this. The back must be kept straight throughout. Repeat the exercise a number of times. Stop when your lower back gets tired. Do not over-exert yourself.

In case of difficulty

Some people find it difficult initially to perform this. They need to build some amount of strength before attempting the exercise. There are two ways of doing this. One is to go for the easier Knee-push-ups. In this variety, usually practiced by women, instead of putting all the weight on to your toes, the weight is transferred to the knees by kneeling during performing the push-up. The second is to build strength by adopting the traditional push-up stance and holding the position without actually performing push-ups. This builds-up strength.

Variations

Many variations of push-ups are practiced nowadays. They all fall under two categories, viz., Hands on an object and Feet on an object. The first one is the easier version of the traditional push-up and involves placing your hand on any object such as a wall or a desk or a chair. This makes it easier to do the push-up. The latter involves elevating your legs to increase the difficulty and is practiced by advanced exercisers.

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