We all know that doing push-ups is a great way to strengthen and tone your arms and upper back. I love them because they require no equipment, they're fast and effective. They really only take a few minutes to do each day, so you have no excuse for not fitting them in.
So here's a challenge for you. Start incorporating push-ups into your daily routine. Yes, I'm talking about doing them every day. You can do "classic" push-ups with straight legs in the plank position, or if you're just starting out, rest your knees on the floor. Make sure your form is correct and that you're not straining your lower back at all. If you're not sure if you're doing them right, ask a trainer for some tips.
Start with doing one, five, or as many push-ups as you can do today. Do that amount every day for the next week. Then next week, add one push-up to your routine and continue with that number for the week. Keep adding a push-up a week. Do have a goal in your mind, such as 50 push-ups, and gradually work your way up to your goal amount. You'll be amazed at the strength you build.
Fit's Tips: Once you reach your goal, don't quit there. Continue to do your push-ups every day and your arms will feel strong and toned just in time for tank top season. When I am cold, before turning up the heat, I drop to the floor and do some push-ups. They really get the blood flowing and warm me up!
Alexander McQueen
Marni
Marlies Dekkers
Great tip! I will do with with my crunches i do everyday at home
1Excellent idea.. I don't miss a day without doing them. They work all the major muscle groups fast and effectively. Everyone has 2-3 minutes a day for pushups.
2What about recovery time? Does it not matter with something like push ups? Seems similar to any other weight lifting except you're using your body weight.
3Oh lord...pushups
4Being able to do regular push ups is one of my goals. I can do a few on my knees but haven't been because we moved to a place with tile floor. Boy I'm full of excuses haha. I'll bust out my yoga mat and start doing them!
5As for recovery time, I usually can't do enough to constitute taking the next day off. While I can't push myself up one more time, I'm not at the end of my muscle if you know what I mean.
I am not a push up girl, but I would like to build upper arm strength. I will def work on push ups from now on.
6I do push ups daily.
7my arms got so much more toned within the 2 weeks after i changed to "real" pushups.
and when i'm in a boring meeting and about to fall asleep, i excuse myself and go do some pushups in my office. wakes me right up
8I have a question though: what about the day (or two or even three) that weight lifting instructors advise waiting between working out a muscle group? I've often wondered this because mostly I do lighter weights for toning instead of trying to build massive muscles. Maybe there's a difference between a guy who is pumping hundreds of pounds and a girl who is lifting 10-20lbs???
Does that make it okay to have shorter periods in between working out the same muscle groups or should you still wait? However for me, push ups are not really lighter weight exercises:o(
9great suggestion to add one every week!!
10On November 5th I made up my mind that I would start doing push ups. When I started I could barely do one on my knees
With a lot of persistence and some weight training to help me build those muscles, I can now do two sets of 20 real push ups (my husband calls them "big girl" push
ups).
11My next goal is pull-ups! I've never been able to do one but by golly I will!
push ups are probably my number one most disliked exercise...but i've tried to incorporate them into my workouts because my arms do need more toning, so i will try this.
12I definitely need to do push-ups. My arms are my weak spot, I do other arm exercises but not push-ups cause I can't do them very well. I'm in for the challenge.
13Great idea. Now I feel inspired to try to do 50 pushups!
14I hate pushups. Dear God, anything but those. I'm starting small with your 10 minutes a day suggestion. baby steps. baby steps.
15I wish I could do real push-ups!
I have wrist issues, and can't put my hands in a 90 degree angle on the floor. Instead, I have to use my stairs and wrap my hands around the front of the lowest step in a c-shape. (Like I am riding a motorcycle, except my grip doesn't close). It's the closest I can get, but I can tell it doesn't work all my muscles the way a real one would.
Are there any machines or free weight exercises that anyone knows of that would mimic the motion of a push-up without putting my hands on the ground?
16Love this idea! I will start this today!
17Prevention Magazine has a New Year's Push-Up Challenge - http://www.prevention.com/cda/article/new-year-s-push-up-challenge/7ab38...
I think it is really good for those that really need to get their core and arm strength started from scratch... It also reminded me to do more planks overall for my core!
18Your body gets used to pushups really quickly, it's facinating. I used to be able to do 20 after only one week, in which I started with only being able to do ONE! It was quick.
Just make sure to not rest your weight on your wrists... really use your fingers to stabalize yourself...it'll also give you MORE power.
19I could do pushups at one time..then I quit. I'm definitely up for the challenge because I've realized my upper body is very weak.
20I'm going to start doing pushups every day now. I do them sometimes when I remember, but I should seriously do them more often because they tone your upper body like nothing else can. I can definitely do a "real" pushup, but the modified knee pushups are a bit easier if you're a beginner. I sometimes do "extreme" pushups where you lift up on one side of your body after coming up off the ground...those are really tough and work your core.
21I didn't think I could do any "real" pushups with good form, but I tried it earlier today and did five. For now i'm gonna set my goal at 30.
22That's actually a really good idea to add one a week!! It's a good way to at least have a minimum goal in mind and not be discouraged and quit because you're trying to overdo it...(myself being the example)
I'm gonna try this!!! I have NNNNOOOOO muscle...
23I'm definitely up for the challenge, but one of my biggest unanswered questions is where do you put your hands for a push-up? I've heard of putting them directly under your shoulders, and then other times I've heard of people doing 'wide' push-ups. What's the best one to do?
24nslods, if you place your hands in different positions it works the muscles differently...if you bring your hands in close under your shoulder, it focuses more on your triceps. if you do wide-arm pushups, it works more of your chest muscles.
25A good way to do pushups (I think) is to alternate sets of wide-arm, regular, and close-hand (where your hands are almost together) pushups. That way you get the benefit of working out lots of muscle groups in your upper body. Plus when you start to get fatigued, if you reposition your arms you can often crank out a few more because it gives other muscles a chance to do more work.
I wanna try
26Count me in! I'm going to get my 9 year old son to do this with me every day.
27Totally starting today! Not sure how good I'm gonna do though....I have absolutely NO upper body strength! Cant hurt to try..right!?!
28push-ups are probably the greatest single exercise for your upper body second only to the pull-up. I read someone's comment about the body adapting to push-ups quickly and that is true, good thing there are so many variations! to quickly make things harder you can increase the distance from your hands to the floor so that you increase your range of motion or elevate your feet so make it more difficult. Lifting one foot off the floor will make it harder as well--removing any point of contact from the floor will force you to use other muscles for balance.
there's this 100 push-ups in 100 seconds challenge that some of you might be interested in. I would love to see a lady accomplish this feat because I'm sure a lot of bench pressing "manly" men can't do it.
the challenge: http://www.parttimepersonaltrainer.com/2008/09/05/100-push-ups-in-100-se...
29Yeah. From what I have learned, you MUST rest at least one day of the week. Your muscles grow from rest, not the initial workout.
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