Whenever we want to test our strength, we straight up ask for push-up combat. Most people even associate it with the idea of fitness and health care. According to the majority of the fitness trainers, people come to them and ask how many pushups they can do at a stretch. It is like they are trying to assess their health progress. While performing pushups, most people like to count the numbers of push-ups and others try to make it difficult just for the sake of showing off. Traditional pushups are very beneficial and there is no doubt about it. They help in building the upper body strength, biceps, shoulder workout, and a lot more. With proper technique and form, push-ups can be a great way of strengthening the upper body, lower back as well as abdomen area. Most people do not focus on technique and only focus on numbers. This difference in approach makes it very difficult to understand which region will be affected the most. A simple push-up should be done with the main weight focus on the arms and shoulders. The second focus should be on the tightening of the core. The third and most important focus should be on the spine. While performing a push-up, keep your bum tucked in while your spine is straight. Most people do not engage the core, which means they let their abdomen area lose. This is one of the biggest mistakes that you can make.
Humans are a fan of progress. They always want to go one step forward and always want to grow. Even with the exercise, they will like to push themselves to do better. Once you have mastered the traditional push-up, you want to go one step forward. Some people like to add weight, others opt for resistance bands whereas, and few would challenge their technique. If you have mastered your traditional push-up technique and want to progress, we have got some of the most recommended methods for you. With the help of these methods. You will not only be able to increase your overall strength, but also you will be able to accelerate the desired results. For better results, health gurus and fitness trainers recommend you should use variations of push-ups.
Amplify Your Strength
Developing body strength is an ongoing thing. If you think you are at your peak, don’t give up just yet. Similar is the case if you feel you are not good enough. With continuous practice and gradual change in the moves, you will be able to see the progress. Fitness trainers usually give a simple example of this process. They try to compare this with continuous math practice. If you skip the practice for a few months, you will observe how you are finding it difficult. However, once you are back on track, you will feel like you never left the practice. While you exercise every day, your body learns the art of exercise. This then develops muscle memory. Eventually, even after you stop, your body remembers the technique. However, with nobody’s strength, your body is unable to execute it. Eventually when with daily practice, your body starts to regain strength and you are back on track. The best thing about this exercise is that you don’t need to have special gear.
Strength Exercises That Will Help You Regain the Upper-Body Strength
As we discussed earlier, your body needs stimulation to regain the lost strength. For this reason, we have some basic strength-based exercises for you. These exercises are mainly recommended for people who have already mastered the traditional push-up but want to go one step further. However, we have also seen that people who are beginners and need to work on their upper body strength, can also find these exercises useful. Some of these exercises are good for beginners, others, however, can be a bit challenging. For the starters, you will have to focus on the forearm strength.
The first step is to work on your forelimbs. You must have seen that as a beginner your arms start shaking within a few seconds. This means that your upper body is heavy and your arms are not strong enough to hold your body weight for long. Similar is the case when you try to level up your skill from a traditional push-up to a Russian. We have seen so many people giving up in just a few seconds. To avoid this, you should formulate a simple upper body workout session. Here are a few of the exercises that can help you.
Plank Rotation
We all know about the plank. People love planks so much that they try to incorporate it everywhere. For this, you should start with a simple plank and then try to rotate to the side plank. You need to do this on both sides, so you can choose which one you want to try first. You can start with the right and the shift to left. This alternation of rotation is great for upper body strength.
Push Up Hold
One of the excellent upper body strength exercises is push-up hold. This means that you can start with the push-up position on your knee. Unlike plank where you need to hold body weight on the elbows, you need to change the game here. You will be in a push position but you need to hover over the mat. Try not to touch your belly down on the ground. You can do this for 30 seconds and then take a break. Keep repeating at least 5 to 6 times.
Negative Push Up
As a child, you must have never thought about a negative push-up. Most people even try to joke about the negative push-up when they see someone weak. The Obama joke “do you even lift bro” was also a negative push-up joke. However, with the help of a negative push-up, you will be able to give your upper body the strength it deserves. Start with the push-up position on your knee. Now you need to lower your body into a push-up position and then raise it back up. Technically, you will not perform the actual push-up. However, you have put your weight on your forearms and you know the way to handle your body weight as well.
What to Do When You Have Good Enough Body Strength
Now we know most people are not beginners and they want something more. So, if you have already mastered the traditional push-up, it is high time for you to bring it up a notch. All you need to do is set a basic target. This target will help you evaluate your progress. With the help of this target, you will see if your body has gained enough strength. Eventually, you can move forward once you feel that you are done with your target. Most people target the one hand push up because they think it is the hardest on the radar. So, for this exercise, we are going to help you reach from the traditional push-up level to the pro-one-hand push-up level.
Incline Push Up
Incline push is the easiest form of a push-up. For beginners who do not have enough upper body strength, this is a great variation. All you need is good enough support where you can lean your body weight. Some people take help from a push-up bench but mostly they are available in the gym. If you are a beginner and you are learning to work out at home, take help from a low table. Place your hands on the table or support of your choice. Now lean on it and bend your arms. Make sure your feet are not far apart and your arms are apart. Now use the bench as ground and practice again. You should be able to do at least 15 if you are good at traditional pushups. For a beginner, this can be a great start.
Single-Leg Push Up
We know that this can be quite challenging. This is the reason we have added this to help you reach your full potential. Start with the regular push-up position and then lift your one leg. Lifting both legs is not an option so you can choose which one you need to start with. You can just raise one leg off the ground, the main purpose is that your weight is not on both legs. Now start doing the push-ups. After five push-ups, you can switch your legs. Most people like to go up to ten but it’s better to switch after every five. This way you will be able to do multiple reps.
Clap Push Up
One of the fancy push-ups that most people like is clap push up. You can do your traditional push-up but every time you rise, you need to clap. This means that you are lifting your weight off your both arms and then trying to catch your body weight midair. This is an excellent technique and this will help you with full-body strength as well.
Chest Weight Push Up
Once you have mastered the traditional push-up, there is so much you can do. With the chest weight push up, you need to have your arms apart. Make sure your arms are wide apart, even more than standard shoulder length. Now try pressing on the floor and start your pushups. This is a great variation and this is ideal for people who are trying to bulk up in the chest region.
One Arm Push Up
Once you get familiar with all the other pushups, this will become easy for you. All you need to do is just get into a push-up position. Now lift your one arm and only rely on one arm fully for supporting your weight. Some people like to hang the arm midair, but it is better to tuck it on your back. This is known to be the hardest form of push-up and once you master this, you can consider yourself as a pro.