What types of push-ups are there to strengthen the chest?
There is no more complete exercise to strengthen the chest than performing different types of push-ups with your own weight. They are super-effective, because you are not only working the pectoral muscles: also the triceps and deltoids, the core,the buttocks, the quadriceps and the stabilizing muscles of the back. You just need the weight of your own body, a good technique and get to work, since you can do push-ups anywhere without having to go to a gym and still get incredible results.
Push-ups are the basic exercises to exercise the upper part of our body, but at the same time it is usually a difficult movement for beginners to do: therefore, many prefer not to include it in their exercise routine. They consist of turning upside down, bending and extending the arms, using the weight of the body and the strength of the arms to overcome the force of gravity. So, once you gain strength, you will undoubtedly be able to do more repetitions and with a higher level of difficulty.
Benefits of doing push-ups
- They help increase strength and musculature,improving performance in tasks that involve pushing actions.
- They activate all the upper muscles of the body in a coordinated way, enhancing much more any pushing action you perform.
- They stimulate metabolism and blood circulation.
- It is unlikely to be injured, since in most variants of this exercise, the limbs are fixed on a surface; therefore, the joints are stable.
- They serve to assess the physical state. By gaining strength, it will be less difficult to do this exercise and you will surely look for types of push-ups with a greater degree of difficulty.
Tips for doing push-ups
- As in all physical activity, it is very important to prepare your body with some warm-up to avoid injuries.
- The hands should always be placed at the level of the shoulders so as not to damage the back, and to get the pectoral muscles to really work.
- The posture should be maintained in a straight line from the head, so as not to strain your cervicals and avoid injury, to the rest of the body so that the muscles work to the maximum.
- You must keep your abdomen firm to gain more strength and achieve definition.
- The body descends in a controlled manner; thus, the muscles will be working effectively.
- When going down you should form an angle of 90 degrees with your elbows: try to keep them always close to the body to strengthen your biceps.
- It is important to perform the full range of motion to work the muscles effectively, this involves getting to touch the ground with the chest.
Types of push-ups
There are many types of push-ups, but the important thing is to progress gradually to prevent injuries and to prevent your body from getting used to the same movement,so that you get to do it without trying too hard. Therefore, we present different types of push-ups for beginner and advanced athletes, and how to progress from lower to higher difficulty so that they always represent a challenge.
Push-ups for beginners
Push-ups with your knees on the floor
If you've never done push-ups in your workouts, this is the right way to start. We put the body as we have previously advised, with the difference that we will support the knees on the ground. Since the points of support are closer to each other, it will be easier to do a repetition.
Traditional push-ups
We put our hands on the floor directly under our shoulders. We support the tips of the feet slightly apart and the legs stretched. The core must be active throughout the movement to maintain the straight line and stability of the body. We flex our arms and lower our bodies; when doing this the head should look slightly forward.
Inclined push-ups
It is an intermediate option between traditional flexion and flexion with the knees on the ground. We simply rest our arms on a bench and not on the floor. Doing a repeat will be easier because the points of support will be closer to each other.
Declined push-ups
We put our feet in an elevated position,for this you can use a bench. The rest of the body will be exactly the same as in traditional flexion. In this type of flexion we increase the work on the shoulders by the angle of inclination over the upper part of the body.
Deep or extended range push-ups
We're going to expand the range of motion further. We will put our hands on two steps to increase the route in each repetition. The chest will go down beyond the level of the hands by its elevated position.
Push-ups with one leg
We will raise one of the support legs, keeping it straight. Stability is lower by having fewer support points, therefore increasing your level of concentration and muscle strength.
Types of advanced level push-ups
Slap push-ups
It is an explosive movement in which the hands separate from the ground, we slap in front of the chest and return to the initial position. We must make sure to do so without forcing the wrists to fall. Keeping the core controlled is crucial to do the exercise correctly. You can start by resting your knees on the floor as in beginner push-ups.
Climbed or spartan plyometric push-ups
A type of exercise in which the position of the hands changes with each flexion,mimicking the movement of a climber. If you have difficulty doing them, we recommend changing your hands one at a time, without taking them off the ground at the same time.
Back-pat push-ups
This exercise requires a lot of mobility and flexibility in the shoulders. By pushing the body up and taking off the hands from the ground, we will give a pat from behind the back. It is advisable to start or warm up with other types of push-ups.
Superman Push-Ups
The explosive movement of this exercise aims to take your body off the surface entirely. Once this happens, we will carry our hands forward pretending that we fly like Superman. Do not forget to return your hands to their initial place to avoid accidents.
Archer push-ups
In this type of push-ups you will put your hands to the sides, beyond the shoulders, and you will only flex one arm at a time. On the other arm it may be slightly bent at the elbow, but in general it should be straight.
Push-ups with one arm
For this type of push-ups, the feet have to be far apart and keep one of the arms on the back. This exercise will help you work the balance of the whole body and muscle strength will be greater
What did you think of the different types of push-ups? You have no excuse anymore! We have given you a whole chair to start incorporating this exercise into your routine. If you want to know more types of push-ups, we leave you the following video with 30variations pushs up. Follow our advice and advance little by little in the level of difficulty and see how your body is defined and toned.
