The push-up is more than just a great exercise for building upper body strength and sculpting the arms and shoulders. It’s a full-body exercise that embodies true physical strength and endurance.
It’s also great way add emphasis to a statement. Like, “B*%ch that's my cookie dough ice-cream!” Followed by immediately dropping down and doing 5 push-ups. (Maintaining eye contact is crucial here.)
Like most other bodyweight exercises, the push-up is one of the most challenging exercises for so many people -- women particularly. (Since women tend to have less muscle mass in their upper body compared to men, their upper body strength is about 50% to 60% that of men).
Bodyweight exercises have also gotten a bad rap for being ‘easy’ and not challenging enough. That’s far from the truth.
Being able to do a bodyweight exercise like a pull-up or a push-up requires a great deal of strength, especially if you’re on the heavier side (like 95% of my are clients when they start out). But the only way to get increase strength is through practice. And since nobody wants to be the person sucking at the ‘easy exercise’ at the gym, nobody practices it.
So I’ve put together a few exercises to help tremendously improve your push-ups without looking like a weakling in the gym.
Incline Push-ups
Incline push-ups are the best exercise to use for improving your push-ups. By having your hands in an elevated position, your upper body supports less of your body weight, allowing you to perform more reps with good form than you would otherwise.
The Smith Machine is great for this exercise because you can adjust the difficulty; stairs and benches work well too. The exercise gets harder as your starting position gets closer to the ground.
Posteriorly tilt your pelvis (pull your belt-buckle to your belly button/tuck your tailbone under you)
Maintain a straight line from the top of your head to your heels
Brace your core (like you're about to get punched in the gut) from start to finish.
Pull the bar towards your chest and not letting the elbows flair out.
Push the bar away from you to return to the starting position.
Start with 2-3 sets of 10-12 repetitions. Move your hand position slightly lower to the ground each week.
Pro-tip: Add close-grip incline push-ups to the end of your workout to target the triceps. (2-3 sets of 15-20 reps)
Floor Press
This floor press lets you use heavier weights than you normally would if you were using a bench without needing a spotter, and it minimizes any stress on the shoulder. It's a great exercise to work the shoulders, triceps and chest.
Place your feet flat on the ground
Pull your shoulder blades into your back pocket.
Push the dumbbells up, but still keep your shoulder blade position.
Pull the dumbbells down with the elbows close to 45 degrees from your body.
Start with 2-3 sets of 4-6 reps.
Eccentric-Only Pushups
Eccentric refers to the down or lowering phase of an exercise, whereas concentric refers to the up or raising phase. Emphasizing the eccentric phase of an exercise is great way to build strength. Use the eccentric push-up to practice maintaining perfect form as you lower your body to the ground. You'll definitely feel this one the next day.
Get into a standard push-up starting position. Hands shoulder-width apart, elbows, knees and body straight.
Posteriorly tilt your pelvis. This will keep your lower back from arching
Brace your core from start to finish.
Lower your body to the ground, taking 3 to 4 seconds. (Think about keeping your head behind chest)
Rock back on your knees and repeat.
Start with 2-3 sets of 6-8 reps.
How Do You Measure Up Right Now?
Checkout the chart above. The average woman in her 30's should be able to do at least 10 push-ups; for a man in the same age bracket, that number is 12.
Typically we hate exercises that we’re weakest in. And push-ups fall into this category for most people, especially women, and so we neglect training them.
But getting better at push-ups means you can exercise anywhere, at home or in the hotel room, even if you don’t have equipment. And there are endless variations of it you can use to constantly make your workouts more challenging to continue building a stronger and more toned upper body.
Best of all, mastering push-ups gives you an incredible feeling of true strength and body mastery.