Push-ups can build muscle as effectively as bench presses for beginners, according to research. The video covers four tips: pick the right variation for your goals, add weight or resistance bands to progress, push sets close to failure with lighter loads, and fit them into your training program properly.
Foreign is one of the best bodyweight exercises for the upper body and will primarily target the chest, triceps and the anterior deltoids as shown here. And not only is the push up extremely convenient to incorporate, but for untrained individuals at least, it's been shown in the literature to provide size and strength gains that are comparable to that of the barbell bench Press. With this 2017 paper showing similar chest and triceps growth and strength between push ups and the bench press over a period of eight weeks, simply meaning that push ups are an effective exercise, you should definitely be incorporating into either your bodyweight workout routine or to complement your existing weightlifting workouts, but it's vital that you do so correctly in order to maximize the effectiveness of this exercise. And in this video, that's exactly what I'll show you how to do. So to get started, let's dive into the first tip choose the right Variations Although there's countless push up variations out there, if your main goal is to add size, then it's best that you stick with the ones that both best activate the target muscles and are the easiest to progress. The standard push up is a great starting point that can easily be progressed over time. However, it's vital that you perform them optimally. Although most people are under the impression that wide grip push ups commonly performed with the elbows flared are best for the chest, whereas narrower grip push ups with the elbows tucked are best for the triceps, research indicates otherwise. For instance, this 2016 paper from the Journal of Physical Therapy Science compared narrow shoulder width and wide grip push ups. As shown here, the narrow grip push ups with the hands placed in a diamond shape elicited significantly higher triceps and chest activation than the other hand widths, which two other studies have confirmed as well, likely due to the greater horizontal adduction you can achieve with a narrow grip. Thus, the diamond pushup is a great variation to incorporate and progress, with the shoulder width push up being a great alternative as well. In the event that the narrow grip causes discomfort on your wrist or elbow. And if you wanted to prioritize the triceps more than as shown in this 2006 paper by Lehman et al. Performing the push up on a medicine ball or Swiss ball will significantly increase triceps activation due to the unstable surface and are therefore good options to do so. But regardless of what push ups you choose to incorporate, what's more important is that you apply the next tip, which is to progress them over time. In order to continuously build muscle with bodyweight movements like the push up. You need to progress them over time, just as you would by adding more weight to a bench press, for example. Otherwise you simply won't be providing your muscles with the adequate stimulus it needs to continue growing. And as for how to progress the pushup, there's endless options of doing so. Resistance banded push ups are a great option where you gradually use stronger bands over time as you progress. Adding weight to your back is another simple yet effective option, but it does have its limitations. When you start to work with heavy weight, shortening rest times, doing more reps, incorporating pause reps and slowing down the tempo are all great options as well. What I'd recommend you do, however, is if you're able to do more than around 20 reps per set, it's likely best that you then overload it with one or more of the methods I mentioned to increase the intensity and better stimulate growth. And just like any other exercise, keep track of how exactly you're progressing it over time. And then simply repeat this throughout the weeks. And next you want to make sure that you're putting enough effort into each of your sets. As I've mentioned in past videos, recent research has indicated that when volume is equated, similar muscle growth can be achieved with the use of light loads and heavier loads. However, with lighter loads, this only seems to apply if sets are taken to failure or very close to it, simply meaning that during your sets of push ups, since you'll be working with lighter loads when compared to something like the bench press, you'll want to push each set close to of failure rather than stopping well short of it. This way you'll ensure that despite using lighter weight, you'll still be able to fully activate the target muscles and provide enough stimulus for growth. Lastly, you want to ensure that you're properly implementing push ups into your current routine, but how you do this will depend on the situation. For example, if you're currently using bodyweight workouts, then you'll want to incorporate a few push up variations with high effort 2, 3 times per week in order to target your chest and triceps and focus on progressing these over time. If you're currently performing weightlifting workouts, then you can incorporate one or two push up variations towards the end of your workouts as a finishing movement. This will not only likely complement your bench press strength, since push ups allow the scapula to move through their normal range of motion, but it also adds more metabolic stress to your workout and enables you to effectively accumulate more volume for your chest and triceps. So for instance, simply adding in a few sets of diamond push ups or medicine ball push ups at the end of a push workout is a good way of doing this. But again, focus on progressing these sets over time using the methods I went through earlier. And finally, if you're away on holidays or for some reason your gym is closed on Monday, also known as International Chest Day, then you can rest assured that you won't lose any of your hard earned gains by incorporating various push up exercises as a substitute.
So to sum the video up, here are the main points to keep in mind. As I've said in the past, if you want to see the best results, then it's vital that you not only choose the right exercises and variations, but that you also implement them and progress them correctly within your routine. And for an all in one science based program that does just that, such that you can transform your body as efficiently as possible from where you're at right now, simply head over to builtwithscience.com and take my Starting Point Identification quiz which will determine what approach and what program is best for you. And in the meantime, for those of you who haven't yet done so, I'd really appreciate a follow on Instagram. I post a lot of informative content on there, as well as the daily meals that I have, which I think a lot of you will find really useful. And as always, if you enjoyed this video then please don't forget to give it a like leave a comment down below as to what topics you'd like to see me cover. Next, hit that subscribe button and please turn on notifications for my channel as well, as this all really does help me out. Anyways, thank you all so much for the continued support. I really do appreciate it and I'll see you next time.
