Many people don't realize that you can build muscle without using any fancy gym equipment -- in fact, standard bodyweight exercises like pushups can be used to build muscle up the old-fashioned way.
It's understandable that you might not realize how effective the grand-daddy of exercise moves is at building your chest and arms. At a glance, pushups are simple and repetitive. And that's true to an extent. But what you might not realize is that there are nearly endless opportunities for pushup variations that you never learned in high school gym class.
Build your workout using a variety of pushup variations that each focus on a specific muscle group. You'll get the overall chest, arms, and back benefit, but each variation will also isolate one muscle group more than the others. This also makes pushups a great part of any superset. We're going to review five variations in this article, but there are countless available, and these five should open your eyes to the possibilities available.
Military pushups: military pushups are a very close cousin to standard pushups, except that your goal with military pushups is to isolate your triceps. You do this by tucking your elbows to your sides and moving your hands directly underneath the outer part of your chest.
Diamond pushups: Diamond pushups, also referred to as "heart to heart" pushups, require you to place your index fingers and thumbs together in the shape of a diamond during your push up workout. While diamond push ups tend to work your triceps more than your chest muscles, the benefits of modifying your hand placement during pushups, even if only a tiny bit, are undeniable.
Yogi pushups: also referred to as "divebombers," you start the pushup in the yoga downward dog position, which is similar to a pike. On the down rep, you transition into the upward dog position in a motion that is similar to sliding under a fence, reversing this movement on the up rep. These pushups are brutal and really work your shoulders.
Incline pushups: Incline pushups are the exact opposite of decline pushups -- instead of placing your feet higher than your head, your head should be higher than your feet for this exercise. Any sturdy surface that will allow you to perform the pushups unencumbered can be used. Incline pushups work your lower pectoral muscles.
Deep pushups: If you are working out at home, you can perform raised pushups with the help of three sturdy chairs. By placing each of your hands on an opposite chair, and your feet on the third chair, you can increase the depth of your pushup and thereby increase the effectiveness of your workout routine. A similar, but less intense, movement can be performed with pushup stands. The "Perfect Pushup" bars work wonders.
Here is a more comprehensive list of pushup styles to achieve muscle weight gain: wide, fly, diamond, military, yogi, fist, decline, incline, stacked, deep, prison cell, and inchworm pushups.
To get the most out of your pushup workouts, remember to add some weight once the pushups begin to get easy. You don't want to push out 50 easy repetitions. Rather, struggle with 20 or 30. Also be sure to add variety by varying your hand position for each of the above types of pushups.
Push ups are a great way to strengthen your upper body and exercise, build muscle at the same time. If you keep it interesting by mixing up your hand positions and trying a few different styles of pushups you can increase the effectiveness of your at-home exercising and relieve the boredom! - 15255
It's understandable that you might not realize how effective the grand-daddy of exercise moves is at building your chest and arms. At a glance, pushups are simple and repetitive. And that's true to an extent. But what you might not realize is that there are nearly endless opportunities for pushup variations that you never learned in high school gym class.
Build your workout using a variety of pushup variations that each focus on a specific muscle group. You'll get the overall chest, arms, and back benefit, but each variation will also isolate one muscle group more than the others. This also makes pushups a great part of any superset. We're going to review five variations in this article, but there are countless available, and these five should open your eyes to the possibilities available.
Military pushups: military pushups are a very close cousin to standard pushups, except that your goal with military pushups is to isolate your triceps. You do this by tucking your elbows to your sides and moving your hands directly underneath the outer part of your chest.
Diamond pushups: Diamond pushups, also referred to as "heart to heart" pushups, require you to place your index fingers and thumbs together in the shape of a diamond during your push up workout. While diamond push ups tend to work your triceps more than your chest muscles, the benefits of modifying your hand placement during pushups, even if only a tiny bit, are undeniable.
Yogi pushups: also referred to as "divebombers," you start the pushup in the yoga downward dog position, which is similar to a pike. On the down rep, you transition into the upward dog position in a motion that is similar to sliding under a fence, reversing this movement on the up rep. These pushups are brutal and really work your shoulders.
Incline pushups: Incline pushups are the exact opposite of decline pushups -- instead of placing your feet higher than your head, your head should be higher than your feet for this exercise. Any sturdy surface that will allow you to perform the pushups unencumbered can be used. Incline pushups work your lower pectoral muscles.
Deep pushups: If you are working out at home, you can perform raised pushups with the help of three sturdy chairs. By placing each of your hands on an opposite chair, and your feet on the third chair, you can increase the depth of your pushup and thereby increase the effectiveness of your workout routine. A similar, but less intense, movement can be performed with pushup stands. The "Perfect Pushup" bars work wonders.
Here is a more comprehensive list of pushup styles to achieve muscle weight gain: wide, fly, diamond, military, yogi, fist, decline, incline, stacked, deep, prison cell, and inchworm pushups.
To get the most out of your pushup workouts, remember to add some weight once the pushups begin to get easy. You don't want to push out 50 easy repetitions. Rather, struggle with 20 or 30. Also be sure to add variety by varying your hand position for each of the above types of pushups.
Push ups are a great way to strengthen your upper body and exercise, build muscle at the same time. If you keep it interesting by mixing up your hand positions and trying a few different styles of pushups you can increase the effectiveness of your at-home exercising and relieve the boredom! - 15255
About the Author:
Jared is a time-strapped professional who is always looking to get better results in less time. Over the years, he has researched and experimented most of the popular build muscle up products available on the market. His objective product reviews and informative content are freely available to anyone looking to exercise, build muscle and strengthen their bodies.
