Fitness Planner | Push-ups: How to do, benefits and who can do this basic but tough exercise

Push-ups can be performed anywhere. (Image: Monika Kabise via Unsplash)

When people first enter the gym, one exercise that greets them often is the push-up. Most beginners manage to perform two or three before their form starts to deteriorate and then they either complete the set with half push-ups or knee push-ups. The push-up has the distinction of being one of the most basic exercises yet one of the toughest.

Push-up as an exercise can be done anywhere, anytime. But it requires robust technique and good body strength to perform it correctly, says Cult.fit strength coach Rahul Huidrom. “This exercise...not only requires strength for the actual push from the arms but also the skill to maintain proper positioning throughout the range of motion,” says Huidrom.

The top benefit of this movement is building upper-body strength just by using your own bodyweight. This classic exercise ignites the muscles in your chest, back, arms, core, and legs simultaneously.

“Push-ups are a fast and effective exercise for building strength... You will likely notice gains in upper-body strength if you do push-ups regularly. When performed with the appropriate arm width, the primary muscles that this exercise targets are the chest, triceps and shoulders. This movement can also strengthen the lower back and core by engaging the abdominal muscles,” says Huidrom.

Push-ups also set the base for other pushing exercises such as chest press, push press, shoulder press and dumbbell press, among others. Only after one can do 12-15 push-ups unbroken should one progress to lifting weights for chest and shoulder workouts as the muscles need to be strong enough to bear the external load, says Gautam Dagar, former Indian rugby captain-turned-fitness coach.

Also read: Fitness planner | Pull-ups: how to do, benefits and who can do them

Push-ups are also great for health and may reduce risk of cardiovascular disease. A 2019 study of more than 1,100 occupationally active adult men found a significant negative association between baseline push-up capacity and incident cardiovascular disease risk across 10 years of follow-up. Participants able to complete more than 40 push-ups were associated with a significant reduction in incident cardiovascular disease event risk compared with those completing fewer than 10 push-ups.

There is no limit to the challenge that push-ups pose. Once you master the regular push-up, there is plenty of room to challenge yourself further with elevated push-ups, plyometric push-ups, clapping push-ups, Spiderman push-ups, pike push-ups, handstand push-ups... you could keep on trying harder and harder variations for higher and higher repetitions, says Dagar.

Another research published in 2014 found that ring or TRX push-ups that are done on unstable surfaces induce greater muscle activity in the triceps as well as the anterior trunk region.

Anecdotal evidence points to women struggling with push-ups in the beginning. This is because women, on average, have less upper-body muscle mass compared to men and proportionately carry less strength there, explains Huidrom. As a result, pushing movements tend to be more challenging for them. But with time, proper training and experience, push-ups become easier.

“With correct technique, core and glute engagement, women are more than capable of performing this exercise. It’s just a matter of building some upper-body and core strength,” adds Huidrom.

Push-ups can be added to any fitness routine, irrespective of the gender and fitness goal of the exerciser. However, pregnant women and people with a cervical condition or back injury should avoid push-ups, advises Dr Nupur Gupta, director at the department of obstetrics and gynaecology, Fortis Memorial Research Institute, Gurugram. “Push-up requires a lot of core strength to perform it with proper form. That creates a lot of pressure on the abdominal wall and the back. Instead of strict push-ups, pregnant women and people with back or cervical issues should try assisted incline chest press with moderate weights as this helps in working your chest muscles without engaging the abdomen and back,” she says.

Pregnant women should also stay away from exercises which involve laying on their stomach, or back as it can create pressure on the uterus. There is also a chance of falling on the stomach if their form is compromised, adds Dr Gupta.

How to perform the push-up

1. Start in the high plank position with your hands shoulder-width apart so that you can lower chest to the floor comfortably.

2. Ensure that your arms are not too wide. If they are too wide, muscle engagement would be low. A study published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning in 2005 found that push-ups performed with a narrow hand position base induce greater muscle activation than when you perform them with a wider hand base.

3. After engaging your core, lower yourself towards the floor till the chest is an inch above the floor. Ensure that no part of your body except your toes and palms go to the floor.

4. From this position, using your chest and triceps, push yourself back up to the high plank position.

5. Work your way up to perform 15 unbroken push-ups in a set.