Push-Ups

Once a very respected exercise, the Push-Up lost its respect from the hard core bodybuilder and earned a new reputation as part of Fitness, Crossfit or other hypes. This exercise was done by almost all Old School bodybuilders. Push-ups play an integral part in complete chest development.

The push-up, is basic, versatile and doesn’t require much more than good form and your body weight and you don’t need to spend anything to get in shape with them. The push-up has many variations and you don’t require the push up board to eye-ball where you need to place your hands in order to hit the desired muscles that you’re looking to work. The push-up allows you to sculpt your arms, shoulders, pecs and abs.

Weighted Push-ups

Weighted push-ups are a great way to build size, strength, and power in the upper body. If done correctly, they are also a lot safer on your joints than the bench press.

Of course, before progressing to a weighted variation of any exercise, you should have the bodyweight version mastered. Here are some great tips to get your pushup dialed in before making the progression.

If you need to make the pushup easier, try and elevate your arms instead of dropping to your knees. This allows you to keep your glutes activated and allows you to progress with proper form.

The best way to achieve this is to simply flex everything and not allow any movement from anywhere other than through the shoulders.

At the end of the day, the pushup should be working the pecs, anterior deltoids and triceps. If you feel something else other than these muscles burning at the end of a set, chances are you’re probably doing something wrong and need to change it up before I start face-palming your attempts to look cool in front of the figure competitor chicks by rocking out some no-neck pushups.

The Weighted Pushup vs. the Bench Press

Why is the weighted pushup a better exercise for upper body size and strength compared to the bench press? One, it is a lot more functional. You can still apply external resistance (more weight than just your body), but you are relying on core strength/stability throughout the movement. If your core is too weak, you won’t be able to complete the movement, whereas on the bench press, you can arch your back and find a way to complete the repetitions.

It is a great exercise to build and maintain scapular stability (great for posture and overall arm/shoulder health). Unless you have someone handing the bar off to you on the bench press, chances are you won’t be able to set your scapula in the proper position before (or during) the movement.

The beauty of weighted pushups is there are so many ways to increase the difficulty. If you don’t have a workout partner or trainer, you can use a weighted vest, or give this variation a try:

And if you do have a workout partner, you can use weight plates to provide the external load/force. This is what I tend to do, as it also forces you to squeeze your core/glutes. Rest the plates on your back/glute area and make sure to keep your back in alignment (again, having someone watch you helps with this a lot).

Using a resistance band or adding chains are also great variations as well. You can do drop sets (stripping the weight off and finishing your set with bodyweight pushups to failure) if you really want to get a good burn or pump.

If you don’t have access to a vest or you work out alone, you can make pushups harder by elevating your feet, too.

You can build a big and strong chest with pushups. At a certain point in time, you will get good enough at bodyweight pushups that you will need to find a way to make them more challenging. I hope you can take one or two of the above variations and add them to your workout arsenal.

There are lots of ways to make the classic pushup more difficult. You can elevate your feet, put your hands closer together, lift one leg, or place your hands on an unstable surface. But if you really want to hammer your chest, core, and arms, don't be afraid to add some weight.

Adding load recruits more muscle fibers and increases the intensity of the movement, making each repetition harder. You won't be able to bang out as many reps as you could sans load, but each rep will challenge your strength and endurance in a new way.

Begin with a weight plate, sandbag, a backpack with weights inside or weight vest that equals 10 percent of your body weight. As you progress, continue to add weight in increments of 5 to 10 percent. Since additional weight can exacerbate bad form, make sure you can do 30 perfect reps of the body-weight version before you start. A weight plate (or plates) on your back, seems hard to do and it could slide off. The best way is to do it with someone else, ask your buddy to stand over you and hold the plates across your back while you do the pushups

Can push- ups help to improve your bench press?

After all, when doing a typical push up, you are only pushing (at most), 70% of your body weight.

I love to bench. Without question, it’s my favorite lift. I mean it. If I could get away with it, I’d do it every day.

And I’m always looking for new ways to increase it. Always looking to get more reps at different weights.

But will doing push-ups help? Can such a simple bodyweight exercise make me stronger? The answer is yes. Push-ups can help you bench more. It doesn’t matter what level you’re at either.

Not only does this incredible exercise help expose weakness in the bench, but also many other weaknesses throughout your body come to light. Beyond the obvious. Shoulder dysfunction and triceps weakness are the first to show up. But it doesn’t take long for many other problems to become evident. And as you tire, even more reveal themselves.

The more common problems outside the shoulders and triceps, lie in the core. I’ve seen division 1 football players not able to do a proper push up. Their hips would sag. Their shoulders would be hunched over. You’d see a lack of strength in the core.

There are a few cool ways you can add push-ups to your workouts. And in doing so, you improve your bench press, your core gets stronger, many dysfunctions get addressed, and you may even pack on a little extra muscle mass.

Proper Push Up Form

If you’re looking to increase your bench press through the aid of push-ups. Form matters. Do them wrong and you don’t really get the benefit.

To correctly perform a push-up start by lying face down on the floor. Have your foot flexed so your toes are pointed and carrying your weight. Your core is tight. Hands are just outside your shoulders. Your head is in a neutral position looking straight down.

Use your upper back muscle to essentially pull you down into the bottom position.

As you press up, be sure to keep the everything tight. Your glutes, and stomach need to be flexed, along with the hands. Thinking about grabbing the floor with your hands and turning your hands out. They won’t move, but you still need to apply plenty of force.

Elbows will be about 45 degrees from your body. It’s common to see the elbows flair. But this is hard on your shoulders. Plus this is the same position you’ll want your elbows will be when you bench.

One aspect that needs stressing is that you go through a full range of motion. Go down all the way. Then at the top of your push up, go all the way up. Think about pushing your body as far away from the floor as possible.

Hand stand push-ups

In the beginning of this blog-post you saw a picture of Arnold doing push-ups. On the left a few pics of him doing handstand push-ups.

Although weighing 250 lb Arnold was capable of performing countless hand stand push-ups. The legs belong to Frank Zane.

Seeing all these pictures of the Golden Era of bodybuilding would make you believe it is an old fashioned exercise, but nothing is further from the truth.

It’s very much alive. And performed in many different ways. That’s why I post some recent pics of hand stand push-ups. Basic and single handed. All these pics a wall or hand supported push-ups but some are able to perform them without any support.

Some even perform this exercise with their hand on a few weight plates or small boxes to be able to to make a longer movement.

Many ways to perform the push-up

First of all, as with all kinds of exercises most of us know, that they can perform them with elevated feet (decline) and with elevated upper-body (decline). And it’s is possible to use weights – weight-vests – push up bars or other to create a push-up from hell.

1) Wide-grip pushup 

Target area: chest.

Start from a  normal pushup position but spread your hands wider than shoulder length. This will force your chest to pick up the brunt of the work from your triceps and shoulders.

2) Narrow-grip pushup

Target area: triceps.

Do normal a normal pushup with your hands just a few inches apart from each other underneath your chest. 

3) T-pushup

Target area: full-body workout.

Start from the pushup position. Take one hand off the ground and raise it straight up in the air (making a T-shape out of your body). Keep your eyes locked on your raised hand. Repeat for your other side. Add dumbbells to the routine to increase the intensity of the workout. "T-pushups hammer your entire upper body," says Yeung. "Not only are you targeting your chest, but you're also strengthening your shoulders, opening up your thoracic spine [midback], and building rotational power through your core." 

4) Single-leg pushup

Target area: intensifies work on upper body and core.

Lift one leg up off the ground and do a set. Switch legs on the next set. 

5) Feet-elevated pushups

Target area: intensifies work on upper body and core.

Do a normal pushup, but with your feet elevated on a stable platform like a box or bench. The higher the platform, the more you'll work your shoulders, chest, core, and scapular stabilizers (the muscles that connect your neck, midback, and shoulders). 

6) Single-arm medicine ball pushup

Target area: arms, pecs, and shoulders.

Using one arm, do a set on a small medicine ball. Do the next set with the other arm. This routine is a great stability challenge that forces you to rely on more than just brute strength.

7) Pushup with arm reach

Target area: arms

Using slideboards or Valslides, slide one arm out in front of you as you lower your body until your elbow is locked straight. Switch arms with each rep. 

8) Atomic pushup

Target area: chest and core. 

Place your feet in a suspension trainer so that they are elevated. Do a pushup and then bring your knees to your chest. "Atomic pushups hammer  your chest and core while slashing fat," says Yeung. "Your entire body is moving, which makes it a metabolically demanding exercise. Great for cardio days and as a finisher." 

9) One-arm pushup

Target area: arms and chest.

Keeping your feet in a wider than a normal pushup position, use just one arm to do a pushup. Keep your elbow close to your body. 

"Do one-arm pushups just to be a badass. Your upper-body strength and size will soar," says Yeung. "If you can't do them from the floor, do them from a bar in a Smith machine or power rack. Gradually lower the height of the bar as you get stronger." 

10) Clap pushup

Target area: chest.

At the peak of your pushup, push yourself up off the ground and quickly clap in midair. The fast jolting force of clap pushups will help you develop explosive power while also bulking up your pecs for a superhero chest. 

11) 1.5 pushup

Target area: chest.

From the bottom of a rep, push up halfway, then descend and push up again. "To build a bigger chest, you need longer 'time under tension' [TUT]— the length of time your muscles are working," says Yeung. "By adding an extra half of a pushup, you'll increase your TUT, build more size, and pump your muscles."

12) Spiderman pushup

Target area: core

Do a normal pushup but raise one knee toward the elbow of the same side as you rise (like Spiderman climbing a wall). Switch knees with each rep. 

13) Eccentric pushups

Do a normal pushup but descend slowly (4 to 5 seconds) and rise normally. "By slowly lowering yourself, you will skyrocket your TUT and flood your muscles with blood," says Yeung. 

14) Pike pushups

Target area: shoulders.

From the pushup position, lift your hips as high as they can go while keeping your legs and back straight with the top of your head pointing downward (you want to make a triangle shape out of your body). Push your body up and down, activating your shoulders.  

15) Band pushups

Target area: chest and arms.

Run a resistance band through each of the palms of your hands and wrap it around your back to create extra resistance and force to work against. Maintain normal pushup form as you do each set but focus on being as explosive as possible as you move up against the band. 

It’s impossible to show all aspects of the push-up, because there are so many and everyone can try to perform in a way they think improves the exercise. I kept it short and understandable with as main message that push-ups are not for babies and fitness girls, but it has a place in Hard Core Bodybuilding also.

Something you wouldn’t think of is also true, some of us own weights that make push-ups a nice spectacle.