Let's figure out whether it is possible to strengthen the muscular frame and pump up the abdominal muscles by doing push-ups alone.
It is believed that it is impossible to build a lot of muscle through exercise without any sports equipment or external load, solely under your own weight.
But research shows that this is not always the case. Building muscle mass naturally is only ineffective if the mass gain method is not properly developed in a complex manner.
How to truly build muscle with push-ups? Here we will talk about how muscles are structured, what foods effectively nourish your body, and what you need to do to get started.
Although results are not always achieved quickly, creating the right strength training regimen will show noticeable muscle gains within a few weeks. Push-ups are one of the best bodyweight exercises for the upper body. They can be done easily and almost anywhere.
Benefit
Push-ups are useful not only from the point of view of muscle training. They have a significant positive effect on the body. Before you start training, you should pay attention to this aspect.
Here are the main positive aspects of regularly doing push-ups:
- Training various muscle groups.
When performing push-ups, several muscle groups are used simultaneously. This approach to training and the choice in favor of the specified exercise allows you to quickly achieve the intended result. During training, the following areas are actively worked: the chest, shoulder apparatus, arms, and abs.
- Improved mental well-being.
In the process of doing push-ups, the active production of happiness hormones occurs, which is best reflected in a person’s perception of the world around him. In this regard, people who regularly do push-ups are less susceptible to stress and poor health.
- Prevention of respiratory diseases.
While performing push-ups, the chest is involved in the work, therefore, by forming proper breathing, it is possible to prevent the manifestation of various disorders in this area.
- Strengthening the heart muscle.
Due to the inclusion of the pectoral and intercostal muscles during push-ups, cardiovascular activity is activated. With this approach and daily push-ups, it is possible to increase resistance to diseases in this area.
- Development of endurance.
People who regularly do a set of push-ups become strong and resilient. This means that it becomes easier for them to endure both physical and moral hardships.
- Muscle building.
The complex is aimed at increasing muscle mass. Therefore, with regular training, the opportunity to build muscle in a relatively short time increases. If you additionally use weights during exercise, the results will not be long in coming.
These are the main advantages of regularly performing push-ups. To achieve the expected result, it is important not to miss classes, but if there are signs of deterioration in health, it is important to stop training.
How muscles grow
julian.com
Skeletal muscle is the most adaptable tissue in our body. When we engage in extreme exercise, such as weightlifting, muscle fibers undergo what is called muscle trauma and satellite cells outside the muscle fibers are activated. They attempt to repair damage by joining together and, as a result, increasing muscle fiber.
Certain hormones also help muscles grow. They control satellite cells and are responsible for the following important points:
- sending nutrients to muscles during and after exercise;
- formation of new blood capillaries;
- restoration of muscle cells;
- - muscle mass management.
For example, resistance exercise helps the body release growth hormone from the pituitary gland. How much will be released depends on the intensity of the exercise performed. HGH increases metabolism and helps convert amino acids into protein to increase and strengthen muscle mass.
builtlean.com
Push-ups directly activate the deltoids, triceps, and pecs. They also affect the abdominal and lower back sectors, upper back, buttocks and all parts of the legs.
Almost all major and minor muscles are used to maintain the plank position that must be maintained during a push-up.
However, you cannot expect that by doing push-ups you will be able to build muscle mass in your back - it is only used for stabilization. see also
12 Bodyweight Exercises That Will Help You Build Muscle
Kinds
Push-ups are an interesting and useful element of gymnastics, which is rich in various variations. Therefore, when performing these exercises, you should pay attention to their variety.
The following types of push-ups are distinguished:
- classic;
- from the knees;
- from the wall;
- with a wide grip;
- with a narrow grip and others.
Which option to choose depends on your level of physical fitness and personal capabilities. In the initial stages, you should pay attention to the classic version of push-ups.
Push-ups are also lifting weights
Many people believe that without some external load - iron plates or someone sitting on our back - we do not lift weights.
Pull-ups are often preferred because they lift more body weight, as opposed to about 60% for push-ups (percentage may vary depending on exercise style and body position - the higher the legs and lower the head, the greater the load on the arms and upper torso ).
gifer.com
Both of these complexes - push-ups and pull-ups - are good. Moreover, considering that we are talking about training at home. Another plus is the ability to diversify the style and add external weight.
Professional athletes and proud bodybuilders always include these exercises in their textbooks on natural and high-quality muscle building - both individually and in combination with exercise equipment.
You don't have to spend days in the gym to build muscle mass. Even home exercises for 20-30 minutes 2-3 times a week are enough to see results. And you don't have to overload your muscles with heavy loads: you can simply increase the number of repetitions.
freepik.com
Many old-school boxers trained exclusively with bodyweight exercises, believing that lifting weights could slow down their punching speed—Mike Tyson and Herschel Walker built their bodies that way.
Every day they did hundreds of push-ups, squats, jumping ropes and pull-ups. As you can see, they are quite muscular. True, this takes time and patience, so don’t expect radical changes in just a month.
see also
How to do pull-ups without a horizontal bar
How many push-ups can you do on the floor?
As they say, individually. It's the same story here. In view of this, we must proceed from our goals.
For example, to begin with, with all the correctness, you can do up to ten repetitions. Further more, but keeping it correct.
Don't chase quantity, quality and stability are more important.
Play sports, following the technique and rules for performing certain exercises.
The main thing in this matter is intensity, intensity and once again intensity.
Yes, push-ups stimulate the body and help build muscle.
bodybuilding.com
Your upper torso will become muscular even if you just do push-ups and pull-ups, but building a truly decent body requires a comprehensive approach.
It is also not necessary to visit the gym for this - at home, saving money and time, you can perform a lot of diverse strength exercises and even some complex gymnastic elements. There are bodybuilders who prefer this style of training. A great example is Austin Dunham.
A beautiful physique “from scratch” with proper training, nutrition and rest can be achieved in 5-12 months. But don't expect to look like Austin in such a short time - he spent years building his body to look like it does now.
Warning 1: You must eat properly and rest
Proper nutrition is important - if there is a lack of protein, our muscles, which we work so hard on, will begin to break down, and without fats and carbohydrates there will be no energy. Among other things, carbohydrates are essential because they are burned first, protecting protein stores.
You also need to sleep 7-8 hours a day and rest from training about 3 days a week, and during training take breaks between approaches.
Without giving yourself enough time to recover, you can get injured, which will harm your health and slow down your progress. The idea is to exercise regularly, but not continuously.
Warning 2: You will only grow the muscles you work on.
To maintain balance, you should additionally work your back, abs and legs. You don't want to look like the Hulk with skinny legs, do you? Then don't ignore the rest of the body.
Burpee helps with this - a multi-component exercise that involves knees, shoulders, elbows, wrists, feet, etc. This complex, developed on the basis of push-ups/squats, trains almost the entire body - from the arms and neck to the stomach and legs.
Warning 3: Adjust the load
It’s unlikely that anyone should be reminded that at the beginning they need to warm up for 5-10 minutes (this will help avoid injuries from exercises with cold muscles). But there are things that few beginners think about.
For example, that you can get injured if you concentrate on one muscle group every day. At a minimum, your muscles will begin to ache a lot (and we are not talking about pleasant fatigue).
The solution to this problem is to alternate exercises throughout the day and/or within the same workout - say, bicep curls to reduce pressure on the triceps. On the other hand, if muscles don't hurt or feel tight, they won't grow.
Verywell/Ben Goldstein
The body only builds muscle if it is subjected to overload. When a beginner does push-ups, his body senses the injury and responds by increasing muscle size, but soon gets used to it and stops changing.
The muscles do not receive adequate stimulation to continue to grow, and instead of gaining muscle mass, strength endurance begins to develop. The body becomes slimmer and physically stronger, but not more prominent.
If you do the same push-ups from scratch - say, 4-5 times a week for two months, you can see that muscle growth in the first half of the period was much greater than in the second. This is why progressive overload is so important - constantly challenging and stimulating the body to build strength and muscle size. There are many different programs, but whatever you choose, do not let your body become complacent.
Push-ups are great because they can be easily “progressed” with the help of a vest with inserted weights, kids on your back, or a backpack with water bottles. You can wrap yourself in chains and lean on one leg, change the position of your arms, the angle of inclination, shorten the rest time, perform more repetitions, speed up and slow down the pace - the variations are endless.
A good guideline is to choose a weight and routine that fatigues your muscles after 12-15 reps.
When you find that a workout is too easy, try gradually making it harder to the next level. Even one set of 12 repetitions with a fairly high tension develops muscles better than 3 sets with a low load.
Warning 4: Watch your posture
By doing frequent push-ups, you can get great chest, shoulders and triceps, but you should be wary of damaging your posture. Be sure to exercise your back muscles to keep it healthy and upright.
pixabay.com
Most people don't have the best posture to begin with, so push-ups as the only form of exercise aren't a good idea. You can counteract shoulder roundness by doing adequate back work, such as doing pull-ups.
see also
No dumbbells or barbells: build muscles and get stronger with bodyweight exercises
From the wall
This version of push-ups will appeal to those who are not fluent in the classic push-up technique. Therefore, in the initial stages, having firmly decided to make a choice in favor of this type of gymnastics, it is worth starting training by choosing the option not from the floor, but from the wall.
Here are the features of this type of push-up technique:
- First you need to stand against the wall, turning to face it.
- You need to rest your palms on the wall and lift your heels off the floor.
After this, you should do push-ups. When performing, you should pay attention to the fact that your hands work in the process, and the body remains in the same position. The main load falls on the joints. To make the task easier for yourself, you should keep your hands slightly wider than shoulder level.
You should also follow safety precautions. It is important that your hands do not slip off the wall during training. Therefore, in the process of performing gymnastics, it is important to firmly and securely press your palms to the surface.
Do women gain muscle at the same rate as men?
1upnutrition.com
Men and women “build” muscles differently. Testosterone plays a big role in their development, and although men have more of it, it is present in the body of both sexes - so both men and women respond almost equally to strength training.
Muscle growth is also affected by:
- body size;
- constitution;
- age;
- health status;
- hormone levels.
In general, changes in muscle mass tend to occur in people of all genders, but are more noticeable in those who have more to begin with. Set realistic expectations. If the Incredible Hulk doesn't look at you in the mirror after a month of training, don't get upset and don't quit. Increasing natural muscle mass requires patience and persistence.
see also
Arnold Schwarzenegger posted a home workout plan online
Classic
To perform this type of push-up, it is important to take the correct position and follow the recommendations in the description.
Here are the main features of this exercise:
- Take an emphasis lying on the floor. In this case, it is important to ensure that the support is on the toes and palms of the hands.
- It is important to place your hands wider on the floor, extending beyond shoulder level.
Now you should raise and lower your body, trying to keep it at floor level. This type of push-up has been known to almost everyone since school days, since it is an integral element of the physical education program.
Push-up table
The push-up program for a person with average physical fitness looks like this:
| Day of the week | Approaches, number of times |
| Monday | First approach: 30 Second approach: 25 Third approach: 20 Fourth approach: 15 Fifth approach: 10 |
| Tuesday | First approach: 32 Second approachod: 27 Third approach: 22 Fourth approach: 16 Fifth approach: 10 |
| Wednesday | First approach: 33 Second approach: 28 Third approach: 23 Fourth approach: 16 Fifth approach: 10 |
| Thursday | First approach: 35 Second approach: 30 Third approach: 23 Fourth approach: 17 Fifth approach: 12 |
| Friday | First approach: 35 Second approach: 32 Third approach: 23 Fourth approach: 18 Fifth approach: 13 |
| Saturday | First approach: 37 Second approach: 32 Third approach: 25 Fourth approach: 18 Fifth approach: 13 |
| Sunday | First approach: 40 Second approach: 35 Third approach: 25 Fourth approach: 20 Fifth approach: 15 |
To pump up the chest muscles
To perform this type of push-up, you should prepare in advance a reliable hill on which you can easily rest your feet while performing the exercise.
- It is important to take an emphasis while lying on the floor and raise your legs to a height.
- Hands, as in the previous case, are at the level of 2 distances from the shoulders.
Now you need to do push-ups. This approach increases the load using your own body weight.
What other exercises to add with your own weight to work the whole body?
- Pull-ups - an exercise aimed at strengthening the back muscles.
- Lunges and squats - to develop the muscles of the legs and buttocks.
- Crunches – develop the abdominal muscles.
- Hyperextension – trains the muscles of the lumbar region, gluteal muscles.
On one hand
This exercise is suitable for those who have already thoroughly improved their gymnastics technique. At the initial stages of development, it is better to choose the classic one or the version using bent knees.
- To perform this technique, you need to take an emphasis while lying down. Now it's all about the correct hand position. It is necessary not to place the supporting one behind your back, but to lean the other one on the surface.
- The legs are located approximately shoulder-width apart and rest the toes against the surface.
When the starting position is accepted, it is time to begin the exercise. It is necessary to lower and rise without touching the surface with your body. Your own weight puts a tremendous strain on the muscles, which allows you to quickly get the desired result. Only at the initial stages of mastering the technique should you not overload. A few repetitions in a couple of sets will be enough.
Rest between sets
The optimal daily load is calculated individually. The norm for a trained person is considered to be 25 times in one approach. In this case, you can confidently move towards a hundred push-ups per day. Without forgetting about a 60-second rest between 3 – 4 approaches.
Professionals advise performing push-ups as many times as possible in one approach. At the same time, the last repetitions should be difficult. With a gradual increase in repetitions and approaches, the time between them should increase, but not exceed 5 minutes. With proper distribution of the load, a result of 100 repetitions in 1 day will be achieved within 6 weeks.
100 push-ups program
This program will help you reach your desired goal of 100 push-ups. In addition to following the program, you need to eat right and engage in additional physical activity (running, stretching, team sports).
Be sure to warm up and stretch before each workout. Particular attention is paid to the shoulder girdle and joints. Don't quit what you started halfway.
If you feel that you don’t have the strength to train further, reduce the number of push-ups to the norm that will be comfortable for you and continue to increase it.
So, an approximate workout for a month:
| Day | Approaches, number of times |
| Monday | First approach: 20 Second approach: 17 Third approach: 15 Fourth approach: 13 Fifth approach: 10 |
| Tuesday | First approach: 22 Second approach: 18 Third approach: 15 Fourth approach: 13 Fifth approach: 11 |
| Wednesday | First approach: 24 Second approach: 18 Third approach: 17 Fourth approach: 14 Fifth approach: 11 |
| Thursday | First approach: 25 Second approach: 20 Third approach: 17 Fourth approach: 15 Fifth approach: 12 |
| Friday | First approach: 28 Second approach: 23 Third approach: 18 Fourth approach: 16 Fifth approach: 12 |
| Saturday | First approach: 30 Second approach: 25 Third approach: 19 Fourth approach: 17 Fifth approach: 14 |
| Sunday | First approach: 33 Second approach: 27 Third approach: 20 Fourth approach: 18 Fifth approach: 15 |
| Monday | First approach: 35 Second approach: 30 Third approach: 22 Fourth approach: 18 Fifth approach: 15 |
| Tuesday | First approach: 38 Second approach: 33 Third approach: 24 Fourth approach: 19 Fifth approach: 16 |
| Wednesday | First approach: 40 Second approach: 35 Third approach: 27 Fourth approach: 21 Fifth approach: 17 |
| Thursday | First approach: 43 Second approach: 38 Third approach: 30 Fourth approach: 23 Fifth approach: 18 |
| Friday | First approach: 45 Second approach: 40 Third approach: 32 Fourth approach: 25 Fifth approach: 18 |
| Saturday | First approach: 47 Second approach: 42 Third approach: 34 Fourth approach: 26 Fifth approach: 20 |
| Sunday | First approach: 49 Second approach: 45 Third approach: 37 Fourth approach: 28 Fifth approach: 21 |
| Monday | First approach: 51 Second approach: 48 Third approach: 40 Fourth approach: 29 Fifth approach: 21 |
| Tuesday | First approach: 53 Second approach: 50 Third approach: 43 Fourth approach: 33 Fifth approach: 23 |
| Wednesday | First approach: 55 Second approach: 50 Third approach: 44 Fourth approach: 34 Fifth approach: 24 |
| Thursday | First approach: 57 Second approach: 52 Third approach: 46 Fourth approach: 36 Fifth approach: 25 |
| Friday | First approach: 59 Second approach: 53 Third approach: 49 Fourth approach: 39 Fifth approach: 26 |
| Saturday | First approach: 62 Second approach: 55 Third approach: 49 Fourth approach: 43 Fifth approach: 28 |
| Sunday | First approach: 64 Second approach: 59 Third approach: 52 Fourth approach: 45 Fifth approach: 30 |
| Monday | First approach: 67 Second approach: 61 Third approach: 55 Fourth approach: 49 Fifth approach: 33 |
| Tuesday | First approach: 70 Second approach: 65 Third approach: 57 Fourth approach: 53 Fifth approach: 35 |
| Wednesday | First approach: 74 Second approach: 69 Third approach: 60 Fourth approach: 56 Fifth approach: 35 |
| Thursday | First approach: 78 Second approach: 72 Third approach: 63 Fourth approach: 59 Fifth approach: 37 |
| Friday | First approach: 82 Second approach: 77 Third approach: 67 Fourth approach: 62 Fifth approach: 39 |
| Saturday | First approach: 87 Second approach: 80 Third approach: 70 Fourth approach: 65 Fifth approach: 41 |
| Sunday | First approach: 90 Second approach: 85 Third approach: 74 Fourth approach: 69 Fifth approach: 43 |
| Monday | First approach: 94 Second approach: 88 Third approach: 78 Fourth approach: 72 Fifth approach: 45 |
| Tuesday | First approach: 98 Second approach: 93 Third approach: 80 Fourth approach: 74 Fifth approach: 48 |
| Wednesday | First approach: 100 Second approach: 93 Third approach: 84 Fourth approach: 76 Fifth approach: 50 |
With a narrow grip
This exercise is considered one of the most difficult, since its implementation requires excellent physical shape and developed arm muscles. To perform this type of push-up and pump up your deltoids, you should take the correct starting position.
- It is necessary to take an emphasis while lying on the floor. In this case, the hands are placed so close to the chest that adjacent fingers touch each other. If at the initial stages of doing push-ups it will be difficult to do gymnastics, then you can turn your palms inward, which will greatly facilitate the task.
- The toes of the legs are resting on the floor. But they are positioned slightly wider than shoulder width.
Now it's time to do push-ups. First, you should perform a small number of times so as not to overload the body. Five repetitions will be enough. After the first approach, you should rest a little by doing breathing exercises. And then do the exercise 2 more times.
