The Benefits of Push-ups

Did you enjoy your med­ley of push-ups this morn­ing? Mil­i­tary, dia­mond, incline, decline and more… these exer­cises have an over­all pos­i­tive impact on your health — beyond just arm strength.

FROM ACTIVE​.COM

Push-upsBuild Strength
Push-ups are one of the old­est and most basic exer­cises and they are very effec­tive. They work out all the mus­cles in the upper body and build opti­mal strength in the fore­arms, wrists, upper arms, shoul­ders and chest. For­mer NFL star Her­schel Walker was one of the top run­ning backs in the game in the 1980s. He eschewed weightlift­ing but he did a reg­i­men of at least 100 push-ups every­day, some­thing he has con­tin­ued well into his retire­ment. “They helped me get in shape and stay in shape,” Walker said. “That’s why I have always done them. Every day.”

Increase Metab­o­lism
Push-ups push the body toward phys­i­cal exer­tion. In addi­tion to build­ing strength, they force the heart to work harder and the blood to pump faster. This increases metab­o­lism and helps you burn more calo­ries. The ben­e­fit of the push-up is still felt hours after the exer­cise is done.

Con­fi­dence
Doing push-ups on a reg­u­lar basis will make you stronger and improve your over­all con­di­tion­ing. How­ever, it will also increase your con­fi­dence. You will find that doing push-ups in sets of 25, 50 and 100 will build mas­sive arm and upper body strength. Do it reg­u­larly and you will build as much strength as the guys who spend hours in the gym. This will give you tremen­dous pride in your accom­plish­ment and the con­fi­dence that comes with achieve­ment. It is such a good exer­cise that the U.S. Army still uses the push-up as one of its pri­mary activ­i­ties to get sol­diers in shape.

Build Core Strength
In addi­tion to build­ing upper body strength and gain­ing more power in the arms, shoul­ders and hands, push-ups done with the proper form will help build the core mus­cles in the mid­dle of your body. To do push-ups prop­erly, your elbows must be fully extended at the start and end of a push-up, your toes should be on the floor and your legs, hips and back should be straight.

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