Push-ups have been familiar to all of us since gym class in school. It’s a universal exercise. Men’s Health has already written about where to start if you want to learn push-ups like a pro. Today, we’re going to talk about the (sometimes unobvious) benefits you can reap from incorporating push-ups into your fitness routine.
1. Physical and mental health benefits
Strength training in general has many physical and mental health and wellbeing benefits, such as improved strength and posture, increased energy, a sense of happiness and a positive outlook on life. As well as reducing the risk of depression and stress. While just a few push-ups won’t do much good, a good exercise programme that includes push-ups will help you keep fit.
2. Available anytime, anywhere
One of the most important benefits of push-ups is that they can be done anywhere and anytime. Although there is some equipment you can use to vary the difficulty of the exercise, in the end, it is a simple exercise with your own weight. If you decide to get out of bed and do an approach of 20 to 30 repetitions to start your day, or maybe you need a quick ‘workout’ in the middle of the day, all you need is enough room to take a knee thrust.
3. training different muscle groups
As a basic exercise, push-ups engage many different muscle groups to varying degrees, including: arms (triceps), shoulders (deltoids), chest (large and small pecs, anterior serratus), core (abs) and legs (glutes, rear thigh muscles, quadriceps).
4. Improved cardiovascular health
When major muscle groups work simultaneously, your heart is forced to work harder to deliver blood to your muscle tissues. Daily exercise can help reduce blood pressure, body weight and bad cholesterol levels in the blood. While push-ups alone won’t completely affect your cardiovascular endurance or health, they are a great addition to any exercise programme.
5. Lots of variations.
You can pick up different variations of push-ups, simplifying or complicating the exercise. From simple one-leg raises to more complex one-arm push-ups. Or to extremely complex explosive push-ups with clapping hands. The variations are almost limitless. With each variation and different arms, legs and depth of lowering, different muscle groups will be engaged. You can also use different equipment to complicate your push-up routine: bands, weights or dumbbells.
6. Help improve balance and stability.
By maintaining the correct posture during regular push-ups, your muscles are constantly working to keep your body in the right position. When you add an element of instability to push-ups, the stabiliser muscles help improve flexibility and mobility. Many people tend to forget this when they go to the gym.
7. Reduced risk of injury
Push-ups and other weight-bearing exercises help maintain bone strength. Since bone mass naturally depletes with age, bones become brittle and prone to injury. Push-ups help strengthen the whole body, so they are an excellent exercise to protect the rotator cuff of the shoulder and lower back.
8. Push-ups are a functional exercise
You push the shopping trolley, the wheelbarrow in the garden or your child on the swings every day. We do push-ups several times a day, often without even noticing it.
9. Push-ups are great for stretching different muscle groups
At the right pace, the downward push-up phase stretches the back muscles well, while the upward movement helps stretch the biceps.
10. You will look and feel great!
Everyone likes to look good in their favourite T-shirt on a sunny day or in a suit for a formal evening out. A powerful muscular chest against a taut tummy will give everyone confidence. The various push-up variations will do it for you.