Most of us weren’t born with superhuman strength, so we need to make gradual progress to reach our training goals. This often means starting from scratch, even in the most basic exercises ever created, even push-ups.
However, even simple movements like push-ups can be too easy and not effective. If a novice trainer is working on the full version of a push-up, or doing it over and over failing, the first adjustment many trainers recommend is to work with your knees on the floor. is a bad phone. men’s health Fitness Director Ebenezer Samuel (CSCS) and Mathew Forzaglia (NFPT, CPT, Founder of Forzag Fitness).
Push-ups, when done properly, are a great base bodyweight exercise that engages more muscle groups than you did in gym class: your chest, shoulders, triceps, and even your core. Not so with kneeling push-ups. Here’s why:
Why you should stop doing kneeling push-ups
Kneeling push-ups are not a full-body exercise
Push-ups don’t just work your upper body muscles. The most basic form of the exercise (a powerful plank he position setup with shoulders and hips aligned and stabilized) also requires core responsibility. Once you’re down for the kneeling push-up, you’ll immediately take the work off your lower body by taking your hips out of the motion. Not only does this halve your movement, but it can also reduce your upper body mechanics.
“Push-ups are full-body exercises,” says Samuel. “That means tight abs, mid-back, glutes, quads, and hamstrings. And when you’re on your knees, your quads literally can’t be part of the movement.” It doesn’t prepare you for pushups in the way you need to.
Kneeling push-ups are too easy
Again, by eliminating core and lower body involvement, kneeling pushups eliminate half the challenge. It also greatly reduces the difficulty so you can perform multiple reps back and forth like a seesaw without putting enough strength-training stress on your muscles. Worse, the simplicity of kneeling push-ups avoids sloppy mechanics such as poor hand, wrist, and shoulder alignment.
Kneeling push-ups force a two-step progression
As Forzaglia puts it, no one walks into the gym, lifts 50 pounds one day, and immediately doubles the max the next day. The same philosophy applies to kneeling push-ups. Going from a bunch of simplified half-reps to standard push-ups right away can be difficult. Unfortunately, it’s not that easy for us humans. As with any exercise, a gradual progression must be made to progress to full push-up form.
“What I like to do with pushups is find some progression that offers multiple steps so that I don’t have to go straight from the knee to a full pushup,” says Samuel.
3 kneeling push-up alternatives to scale your workout
Elevated push-up
3 sets of 10 reps
This variation requires your hands to be on a stable elevated platform. For example, Smith’s machine, or if you’re at home, a box or a sofa. Because you start from a higher point, the exercise is less difficult, but unlike push-up variations, the higher push-up height helps maintain shoulder-to-foot tension, which is the foundation of a solid push-up. .
“Since the hand roll is higher, the load to move is still a little less,” says Samuel. By doing this, you can lower the elevation height. As you lower your height, you get closer and closer to a standard push-up. ”
●negative push ups
3 sets of 4-6 reps
When we think of pushups, we tend to think of the triceps and chest and forget the importance of core responsibilities. This involves body control from the top position to the floor. Strengthen this core foundation by forcing.
“One of the things you really need to focus on with any exercise is slowing down so you can focus on the position,” says Forzaglia. “Again, it might take longer, it might be a little bit harder, but you get a lot more out of 5-10 seconds, 15-20 seconds than you get by beating it. You can get a lot out of it: half the profit.”
●rest pose push up
As many reps as possible, then take a break before returning to reps
If you’re able to knock out a few serious push-ups, but aren’t getting close to piecing together a full set, the rest-and-pause method may be your best option. If 2-3 times is the maximum, work with that. Then take a few breaths, then return to the starting position and repeat 2-3 more times. Continue until you have the required number of reps per set. This not only helps build strength, but it also helps make the full pushup position more comfortable.
Jeff Tomko is a freelance fitness writer with articles for Muscle and Fitness, Men’s Fitness and Men’s Health.
