We’re reaching the halfway point of our push-ups challenge and we’re very happy to see everyone engaged with it, we’re very proud of our members for stepping up and showing us how strong and committed they are.
The push-up is considered a staple to effective workout routines. It’s simple yet effective for building strength. Push-ups can be done with minimal space and zero equipment, making it a popular and effective body weight move. Push-ups are also easy to modify, as proven by their cameos in high-intensity interval training (HIIT), Pilates, and weight-lifting workout routines.
Beyond their simplicity and versatility, push-ups have a lot to offer in the way of physical health benefits. They’re especially excellent for the upper body and core, which is good news for functional strength, daily mobility, and injury prevention.
Some benefits of this exercise include:
1. You can strengthen multiple muscles at once
When you do a push-up, you work multiple muscles at the same time. Push-ups help strengthen your:
• Chest muscles
• Shoulders
• Triceps
• Biceps
• Upper back muscles
2. You can modify push-ups to suit your needs and fitness level
The nice thing about push-ups is that they come with many variations; you can modify how you do your push-ups to suit your current fitness level and make them more challenging as you get stronger.
For example, if you are just starting out, you can perform push-ups on your knees or try incline push-ups using a bench. Mastering these beginner exercises will help you progress to doing a regular push-up on the floor. When you get stronger and are ready to take things to the next level, you can try more challenging variations or change the speed at which you do your push-ups.
A few examples of push-up variations include:
• Decline push-ups: Have your feet elevated on a workout bench while keeping your hands on the floor.
• Diamond push-ups: Place your hands close together under your chest, with the thumbs and index fingers touching.
• Clap push-ups: Push yourself off the floor and clap your hands before you come back down.
If you have any questions regarding how or why to do push-ups please reach out to our athletic team.