We’ve made it!
At last we get to have a chat with the almighty Push Up.
If Squats are the king of all leg exercises, push ups would definitely be considered the king of upper body exercises. Not trailing far behind, and occasionally wearing the crown, the Pull Up.
The term push-up is American and it’s been around for 100 years. The press-up is the English term and its been around 65 years. Nonetheless, the actual movement of the push up (or any variation of pushing) has always been around in humans.
Pushing is very functional in our lives because we use it for so many things. Whether it’s used with one arm, two arms or the entire body, we do it everyday for something. Just think about it.
Push Ups are at the top of the pushing exercise list. They cover all the basics; total body-weight pushing strength, core strength, chest, back, shoulders and arms strength. This combination you do not attain with a bench press. A bench press is great for isolating the pushing muscles but it neglects to use everything else in conjunction, which is what makes the push up so functional.
For you gym rats out there, superset your bench presses with push ups and you will be on your way to greater gains while maintaining some natural function in your upper body.
*A simple fact to remember; the less you weigh, the easier the push up will be because you are pushing less weight. So keep working on achieving your weight loss goals and you will be half way through the battle of mastering your push ups.
(Copyright 2011 by Javier Fleites/Mr. Workout. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcasted, rewritten or redistributed without permission.)
1 Response to “The Push Up”