There is no doubt that 'Push-Ups' are one of the ultimate upper body exercise routines. They are easily adaptable into any type of sport or routine, can be performed by the majority of age groups, and best of all can be done at home for free without the use of any high tech or expensive equipment.
Push-Ups are the perfect exercise to build both upper body and core strength using your own body weight. Here some other basic Strength Training Exercises which everyone can do basically anywhere.
Push-Up Rhythm
| 2 different rhythms: |
|---|
| The beginner rhythm is to go ↓ Down Slow and then ↑ Up Fast.
You will lower yourself slowly to the ground and then push yourself back up quickly. |
| The advanced rhythm is to go ↓ Down Fast and then ↑ Up Fast.
You will lower yourself quickly to the ground and then push yourself back up quickly. |
When doing the the advance rhythm push-ups, don’t just rely on gravity, pull and push yourself as fast as you can. This may be fairly challenging for beginners but this is a good goal to work towards.
I find going down to be the harder part as you spend more energy stopping yourself just before you hit the ground rather than pushing yourself back up. Beginners might spend most of their energy going up, while the advanced pushers will spend the majority of energy going down. One of the advantages of going down fast is that it helps to build upper body strength (which can also help with explosive punching speed in the arms).
| Grade | Rhythm |
|---|---|
| Beginner | ↓ SLOW ↑ FAST |
| Advanced | ↓ FAST ↑ FAST |
Breathing Technique
Just as there are 2 different rhythms for doing push-ups, there are 2 different methods of breathing to accommodate each rhythm.
| 2 different methods: |
|---|
| The beginner method is to go ↓ Inhale Slow and then ↑ Exhale Fast.
The beginner style of breathing is to inhale while going down and then exhale while going up. |
| The advanced method is to go ↓ Exhale Fast.
The advanced style of breathing is to exhale when going down. Your exhalation will be a short quick breath that happens when your body is about to hit the ground. Use this quick exhalation to help bounce back off the ground. The advanced push-up will look like DOWN FAST – DOWN FAST – DOWN FAST. This is a quick exhalation every time you go down. Inhale only when needed (which could be once every 5 to 10 reps). It is hard to inhale when doing fast push-ups. Your breath will be explosive for explosive power. |
Resting Technique
When trying to rest, I have seen a lot of people dropping their body to the ground or sagging their hips. What I like to do is raise my hips high into the air and straighten my legs, back and arms. This position is known as the "downward dog" in Yoga. This position will temporarily give the muscles you use during push-ups a break, while simultaneously working other muscle groups.
From this position you can then take some deep breaths before quickly dropping back into push-up position for more reps.
Remember if you notice your veins popping out and your muscles burning, this is a good sign that you have pushed yourself into the next zone level of training.
Enjoying push-ups while admiring the view...
