Few people know, but in Africa some women can use their breasts as a lasso because they don’t do a lot of push-ups. Therefore, today I will tell you about the benefits of push-ups for women and whether they exist at all.
I have already told you how to do push-ups correctly, including from your knees and from the wall, now let’s talk about why girls need push-ups at all.
Push-ups: benefits
This exercise is a basic one, that is, it involves several large muscle groups at once.
Due to this, it burns a lot of calories and at the same time strengthens the muscles, building muscle tissue. Therefore, push-ups are included in programs both for weight loss and for >. It is useful for both men, women, and children, as it develops the upper body very well and increases blood circulation to it. This is important for a modern person who sits a lot at the computer and in the car, where the shoulders, arms, neck and upper back are in a tight, tense state. During push-ups, the muscles of the chest (pectoral, serratus) and arms (triceps, biceps) actively work. The second most important load falls on the muscles of the shoulders (deltoid) and upper back, including the collar area. The abdominal and lower back muscles are also involved: they mainly work to keep the body in an even position. This is why it is so important to do push-ups using the correct technique, without lifting your pelvis up or arching your lower back.
How are they useful for girls?
Different ways of performing this exercise help to work out different muscle groups. Classic push-ups, which everyone did back in school, load the muscles of the chest, arms, shoulders, and forms a flat stomach. The main benefit of push-ups for women is that they burn calories.
When performing this exercise we use the following muscles:
- Press;
- Backs;
- Hips;
- Buttocks;
- Breasts;
- Biceps;
- Triceps;
- Deltoid.
The exercise is convenient to perform at home if you don’t have enough time for the gym and exercise equipment.
If you want to lose extra pounds and get a slim figure with defined muscles, push-ups are for you! You will be able to notice pleasant changes after just two months of regular training. Carefully! Perform an intense warm-up before exercise for at least five minutes to warm up your muscles. Neglecting to warm up can lead to injury.
How to start classes correctly
Often beginners, especially girls, do not do push-ups, because they do not have enough strength to do even one push-up. Such self-restraint impoverishes your fitness capabilities. And most importantly, you will never be able to complete this exercise!
If you want to learn how to do push-ups from scratch, move in this direction regularly. For half of the repetitions, simply take the basic position (lying down) and stay in it for 5-10 seconds, without doing push-ups at all or slightly bending your elbows. The other part is to perform the exercise in a lighter version: from your knees, from the wall (below we will talk about these options in detail).
In addition, it is useful to do lead-up exercises: pressing dumbbells while lying on your back or half-sitting. If you have the opportunity to go to the gym, use the gravitron simulator there. You can do push-ups in it like on uneven bars, but with compensation. When you can do the exercise with compensation of approximately half your own weight, you will be able to do push-ups from the floor while lying down.
Keep an eye on your technique. The pelvis should not rise up - this defeats the purpose of push-ups, since the target muscles will not work. It is better to do fewer repetitions or from the knees than more or in a prone position, but with an incorrect position of the pelvis.
Are there any harm from them?
Push-ups can only be harmful if you have problems with the shoulder or elbow joint .
In this case, you can only make the problem worse. If everything is in order with your health, then you have nothing to fear, there will be no harm, there will be one continuous benefit. Except for one thing.
As I already said, push-ups develop the pectoral muscles. Those, in turn, visually enlarge and lift the breasts.
But there is one caveat. If the pectoral muscles of girls are overdeveloped, then the breasts do not look very good, to put it mildly.
But I will reassure you that it is very difficult to pump up the pectoral muscles with push-ups, so you don’t have to worry.
Types of push-ups
The floor push-up pattern involves different positions of the arms and legs. This allows you to make the exercise easier or, conversely, more challenging, and distributes the work differently between different muscle groups and even between muscle bundles of the same group.
The principle is this: the closer your hands are to your shoulders, the easier it is. The higher your arms are relative to your legs, the easier it is. The higher the legs are relative to the arms, the heavier it is. Armed with these principles, you can use different types of push-ups to vary your workouts and balance muscle development.
From horizontal surface
The main and most common way to do push-ups. Here you can come up with many options, changing the position of the hands and feet. Below we will tell you about these options. Keep in mind that this is quite a stressful type. It is with this that difficulties arise for beginners who believe that they cannot do push-ups at all. Then you should postpone this subtype of exercise for a couple of months. And start with simpler ways.
From the wall
The easiest kind. This is where those who have never been able to do push-ups from a horizontal surface (even from their knees) should start. Stand about a step away from the wall or a little further away. Place your palms on it, placing them slightly wider than your shoulders. Bend your elbows as if you were doing push-ups, bringing your chest as close to the wall as possible. Make sure that your pelvis does not protrude; your back and hips should remain in a straight line. To do this, moving towards the wall, lift your heels off the floor.
Knee push-ups
This is a simplified variation of push-ups on a horizontal surface. They move on to them when you can do push-ups against the wall 15-20 times without a break. You can use an intermediate option: push-ups from a chair or bench (also from your knees). This is harder than from the wall, but easier than from your knees from the floor. Resting on the knees, the feet are kept elevated, squeezing and or hooking one behind the other. Don't forget that in all these options the hips and back are on the same line, there is no bend between them!
Classic
The most famous: lying position, palms slightly wider than shoulders, feet on toes. If your feet are together, it’s heavier; if your feet are hip-width apart, the position is more stable, it’s easier to do push-ups, and the load on the abs is lower. When training, > start doing such push-ups first in the set after 2-4 weeks of training.
Wide grip push-ups
In this case, the palms are placed as wide as possible, ideally there should be two shoulder widths between them. The narrower your legs, the more effective they are; the wider, the easier it is to do push-ups. With this positioning of the hands, the pectoral muscles are intensively worked and the latissimus dorsi muscle is used.
Wide-grip push-ups to pump up the upper chest
To increase the load on the upper chest, which for many is not strong enough, you need to put your feet on a stand in push-ups with a wide grip. It could be a bench on the street, a fitball in the hall, a chair at home. The higher the legs, the more difficult the exercise is. It will be useful to anyone who thinks that the area from the collarbone to the bust looks too flat.
Medium grip push-ups
In this case, the palms are placed strictly under the shoulders. When bending, the elbows are directed not to the sides, as in all previous cases, but along the body. This option facilitates the work of the pectoral muscles, loads the triceps and deltoid muscles. Since they are naturally weaker than the chest and back, don't be surprised if you can't do as many reps.
Close grip push-ups
The palms are placed close to each other under the chest or slightly above it. Legs spaced wider than shoulder width provide stability and relieve stress on the abdominal muscles. If you place your legs narrowly, it will be very difficult. This exercise mainly works the triceps. If you place your hands not under your chest, but under your head, your back muscles will come into play.
One-arm push-ups
One hand is placed under the chest, pointing the fingers to the side (left hand to the right, right hand to the left). The bent other hand is placed behind the lower back. The legs are spread as wide as possible. When doing a push-up, the elbow moves to the side. This is a powerful way to build your pectoral and shoulder muscles, triceps, and strengthen your abs and back. Do not forget that ideally the exercise should be done equally on both hands. Even if you have to rest more often when doing push-ups on your left hand, the number of repetitions should be the same. You can start from a rack in this position.
Push-ups on fingers or fists
This way you can do any of the push-ups described above if you need to further strengthen your hands and wrist joint. It's easier on your fists, it's hardest on your fingers. The exercise is especially popular among fans of boxing, karate, taekwondo, wushu and other martial arts that use punches.
Weighted push-ups
You can do any type of exercise this way if you want to noticeably build muscle. Also, for example, if you do push-ups from a wall or from your knees with weights, you will not increase your muscles much, but you will prepare them faster for push-ups from the floor. As weights, you need a special vest or belt with weight bars in the pockets. You can connect several Velcro weights for your legs and arms and attach them to your waist. They should fit tightly to the body and not slip.
Push-ups with cotton
The task is to push your body up, tear your hands away from the support, clap your palms in front of your chest and manage to return your palms to the support. The exercise is used mainly to develop explosive strength and sharpness. But it is popular among boxers, martial arts fans, and CrossFit.
Deep push-ups
These are the only push-ups that require equipment. Their meaning is to allow the chest to be lowered below the hands. To do this, place your palms on some supports. It could be just thick books, special push-up handles from a sports store, or 2 chairs. Lowering the chest low works the pectoral muscles more fully: they not only contract, but also stretch. The wider you spread your arms, the higher the load on your back muscles. If you place not only your palms on the support, but also your legs, all muscles will work even more actively.
The described options for positioning the limbs can and should be used when doing push-ups not only from a horizontal surface, but also from the wall and from the knees. Even if you don’t yet have the strength to do push-ups while lying down, such additional muscle training in different modes will help you quickly increase your level of fitness and burn more calories.
What happens if you do push-ups every day?
To recover after a full workout, muscles need 7-10 days.
BUT, if we are talking only about push-ups and there are no other exercises, then you can do push-ups every day .
But it is advisable to cycle the load, for example, vary the number of approaches or repetitions; you can also play with rest between approaches.
If you do everything correctly, then doing push-ups every day, a girl can increase the strength of her pectoral muscles and triceps and thereby increase the number of push-ups that she can do in one approach if she does push-ups every day.
Example of a push-up program for beginners
You need to train according to this table every other day. The numbers indicate the number of repetitions in the approach, the sign > rest between approaches. The rest time is arbitrary, but try not to rest longer than necessary to regain your breathing.
- You can start the approach with classic push-ups, and continue from your knees or from the wall. When the circuit ends, repeat the last day, performing more and more repetitions from the floor.
- You can go through the entire circuit against the wall, then the entire circuit from your knees, then the entire circuit from the floor.
| Day | Women's program |
| 1 | 2—2—2—2—3 |
| 2 | Rest |
| 3 | 4—3—2—2—4 |
| 4 | Rest |
| 5 | 5—4—4—3—5 |
| 6 | Rest |
| 7 | 4—5—4—4—5 |
| 8 | Rest |
| 9 | 6—5—3—4—6 |
| 10 | Rest |
| 11 | 5—6—4—5—6 |
| 12 | Rest |
| 13 | 9—8—10—8—10 |
| 14 | Rest |
| 15 | 13—10—11—11—10 |
| 16 | Rest |
| 17 | 15—11—14—10—11 |
| 18 | Rest |
| 19 | 20—14—14—12—15 |
| 20 | Rest |
| 21 | 14—12—12—10—13 |
| 22 | Rest |
| 23 | 18—11—13—12—13 |
| 24 | Rest |
| 25 | 21—18—14—13—19 |
| 26 | Rest |
| 27 | 18—11—13—12—13 |
| 28 | Rest |
| 29 | 14—11—11—9—13 |
Below we present a push-up program for men, it is also designed for a month.
| Day | Program for men |
| 1 | 6—6—5—4—5 |
| 2 | Rest |
| 3 | 8—8—6—5—7 |
| 4 | Rest |
| 5 | 9—8—8—5—9 |
| 6 | Rest |
| 7 | 8—7—5—4—6 |
| 8 | Rest |
| 9 | 10—8—6—7—9 |
| 10 | Rest |
| 11 | 9—9—7—7—9 |
| 12 | Rest |
| 13 | 13—10—9—12—10 |
| 14 | Rest |
| 15 | 15—15—13—13—10 |
| 16 | Rest |
| 17 | 20—14—14—12—15 |
| 18 | Rest |
| 19 | 14—12—14—12—15 |
| 20 | Rest |
| 21 | 20—12—14—13—16 |
| 22 | Rest |
| 23 | 20—17—14—15—18 |
| 24 | Rest |
| 25 | 22—21—16—20—22 |
| 26 | Rest |
| 27 | 13—12—10—8—25 |
| 28 | Rest |
| 29 | 10—10—8—7—28 |
Train regularly - and in a month you will be able to do 30-40 push-ups!
Classic push-ups
Classic push-ups are very easy to perform exercises. But before you start, you need to train by doing easier options. The correct push-up technique for girls:
- We rest our toes and palms on the floor. We place the body perpendicular to the floor;
- With our arms bent at the elbows, we lower ourselves until our chest touches the floor.
- Slowly, as you exhale, return the body to its original position.
Regular performance of this exercise contributes to the formation of raised, attractive breasts.
Important! We do all exercises for effort while exhaling, relaxation – while inhaling. When doing push-ups, inhale while lowering (relaxation), exhale while pushing up from the floor (force).
The benefits and necessity of push-ups for girls
Why are push-ups needed? Let's look at everything in order:
- The most basic and important thing for most is losing weight. Modern weight loss programs include push-ups.
- Push-ups increase strength and endurance. You may object: why does a girl need this? Well, at least for fitness or yoga. You won't enjoy feeling physically unprepared and having to take a break every couple of minutes. Well, you won’t be able to do any serious sport with serious loads at all.
- In addition to putting stress on your arms, this simple exercise will tone your figure, lift your chest and will be useful if you want a flat tummy or even a sculpted body. You will always be in good shape.
What are the benefits of exercise?
Push-ups belong to the category of basic exercises, with the use of which a girl can simultaneously work out a large number of muscles. They can be performed in several techniques, therefore, by choosing the appropriate level of difficulty, they can be included in the training programs of even beginning athletes. The exercises do not require any special equipment or exercise equipment, so they can be performed almost anywhere.
The benefits of exercise for girls are due to the following:
- the pectoral muscles are worked out, which allows you to give the breasts a beautiful shape;
- exercises always involve the abs, so the appearance of the abdominal area improves;
- all push-up techniques allow you to remove fat deposits on the hips and legs and improve the shape of your breasts;
- exercises strengthen the back, so a woman gets the opportunity not to get tired when walking in heels;
- push-ups from the floor solve the problem of “looseness” of the hands, and by working out various muscle groups, posture improves and the figure looks slimmer.
By using different exercise techniques, you can achieve greater benefits by targeting specific problem areas, improving the shape of your chest, buttocks, arms and legs.
The number of calories burned when doing them is 50% more compared to crunches or abdominal exercises, since they use a large number of muscles at the same time.
To obtain the desired result in the form of improving the shape of the breasts and the entire figure, systematic training is important and the first visible results will be visible after 2 months of regular training.
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