Push ups are a great way to grow a broad, strong chest whilst sculpting defined arms at the same time. This form of muscle building exercise can be done anywhere, anytime and works your chest muscles, shoulders, deltoids and triceps. Push ups can also work to strengthen your entire core as you maintain a straight balanced line.
How to do the perfect push up
To see results, you need to know how to do a push up correctly. A good push up is more than just about speed and rep numbers, it is about engaging your core, pecs and delts in a slow and controlled form to effectively build muscle.
To achieve the perfect push up you need to do the following:
- Position your hands directly below your shoulders
- Extend your legs back so you put your weight on your toes
- Keep your hips down so your buttocks, head and back are in a straight line
- Engage your glutes and core
- Bring your shoulder blades down and pull them back
- Make sure your elbows are tucked in closely to your body and lower your body down in a slow and controlled technique until your elbows are bent and the top of your arms are parallel with the floor
- Slowly push yourself up to the starting position and repeat
Push up tips
- Don’t let yourself quickly drop to the floor, take your time and focus on controlling your pace.
- Don’t extend your hands out too far forward, keep them directly beneath your shoulders.
- Keep your elbows in tightly and squared with your body, don’t allow them to flare out in an effort to get more reps in.
- Take the correct supplements. By drinking something like a NitricPRO pre-workout supplement drink you can help aid increased performance levels and energy, as well as reduced fatigue post-workout.
Push up variations
There are a range of variations on the simple push up which means you will never run out of workout ideas to sculpt your chest. Below are the different variations on the standard push ups and how they can target different areas of your body.
Eccentric push up – This push up focuses on endurance and creating total muscle fatigue. It follows the same process as a regular push up, but when you are as low as you can get, you hold the position for 5 seconds before coming back up.
One-leg push up – For this variation you take the regular position and lift your left foot off of the ground, go down with the left foot still elevated and then push back up. Switch legs so the right foot is elevated and continue swapping feet on each rep. This helps with core activation as well as balance and stability.
Clap push up – Take the regular push up position, go down as normal, but push up with more power and extend, leaving room to clap before repositioning your hands. This helps with core control and balance.
Spiderman push up – As you do a regular push up, bring your right leg up to the side of the body to the right shoulder and hold it before putting your leg back and repeating on your left side of the body. This position improves stability and core strength.
