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Sports activities are beneficial at any age. They not only improve human health, but also give it beautiful shape. During the training process, working on the upper body plays an important role: arms, shoulders, back, pectoral muscles. The most accessible, effective complex is simple push-ups. They develop the natural strength of a person. For this reason, they are widely used in building muscle mass and strengthening strength. They have been common for training military personnel and athletes at all times.
But if you are not a soldier or an avid sports fan, but are just starting to exercise, doing push-ups on your hands is not so easy. People without sports experience are recommended to start with the first level t - wall push-ups. Let's look at the technique and nuances of performing this exercise.
Push-ups for beginner girls
Girls who decide to start leading a healthy lifestyle by playing sports should learn the classic version of the exercise. To do this, you should lie upright, place your hands with your palms down at shoulder level, straighten your legs and rest your toes on the floor. The back should remain straight throughout the entire exercise, the butt should be pulled in as much as possible.
Do not fully open your elbow joints; tension should remain in the pectoral muscles. The body should not remain in the upper position for more than a second. Proceed to bending your elbow joints. Make sure that your bent elbows are not directed towards your heels, but are spread out to the sides.
Full release of the body to the floor should be avoided even at the very beginning of the exercises. The very next day, when the muscles are restored, pain will appear where the tension was maximum:
- in the chest area;
- in the buttocks area;
- triceps;
- in the area of the transverse abdominal muscles.
The very first lesson should not exceed 25 push-ups. The load should constantly increase, not only from the total number of exercises performed, but also from increasing complexity and alternating types. First, you should develop a push-up pattern and then try to stick to it.
If your muscle development does not allow you to start with the classic version, you should simplify the task and start doing push-ups with your knees resting. This version of the exercise is also aimed at strengthening the muscles of the pectoral and back girdle, pumping up the arms and shoulders.
Watch a video about the technique of doing push-ups for girls.
Press into the floor on your palms and knees. The body should be kept straight, palms at shoulder level. Alternately bend and straighten the elbow joint, maintaining tension in the pectoral muscles while lifting and releasing the body.
Painful sensations the next day will help you figure out which muscles work when doing push-ups.
Knee push-ups. What, why and why
It is believed that push-ups are a purely masculine exercise. Nothing like this. According to our statistics, 6 out of 10 women want to learn how to do push-ups. And today we will look at an alternative option - push-ups from the knees, which will be your first step towards mastering full push-ups. Go!
Muscle atlas
The exercise belongs to the class of basic ones with a push force type and is aimed at working the pectoral muscles. The muscle ensemble includes the following units:
- targeted – pectoralis major (sternal head);
- synergists – pectoralis major (clavicular head), anterior delta, triceps;
- dynamic stabilizers – short head of the biceps;
- stabilizers – rectus and oblique abdominal muscles;
- antagonist stabilizers – back extensors.
A complete muscle atlas looks like this:
Advantages
By performing the knee push-up exercise, you can expect to receive the following benefits:
- development of pectoral muscles;
- increasing the strength of the muscles of the upper shoulder girdle;
- arm muscle toning;
- strengthening core muscles;
- strengthening shoulder joints, preventing injuries;
- the opportunity to move on to classic push-ups (relevant for women).
Execution technique
Knee push-ups are an exercise of medium difficulty level. The step-by-step execution technique is as follows:
Step #0.
Get into a plank position. Then lower your knees to the floor and cross your legs at the ankles or shins. Place your hands shoulder-width apart. Statically tighten your abs. Direct your gaze in front of you. This is your starting position.
Step #1.
As you inhale, bend your elbows and touch your chest to the floor. As you exhale, push up from the floor, return to IP. Repeat the specified number of times.
In the picture version it looks like this:
In motion like this:
Variations
In addition to the standard knee push-up, there are several variations of the exercise:
- with one leg suspended;
- with the leg laid back;
- from the platform.
Secrets and subtleties
To get the most out of the exercise, follow these guidelines:
- Keep your back straight throughout the entire movement;
- when lowering, do not spread your elbows to the sides, keep them close enough to the body;
- when lowering, do not touch the floor with your hips;
- when lowering, lightly touch the floor with your chest, hold for 1-2 counts and only then do a push-up;
- To prevent your legs from dangling, cross them at the shins or ankles;
- if necessary, place a fitness mat under your knees;
- breathing technique: inhale – when lowering down, exhale – when going up/push-off phase;
- numerical training parameters: number of approaches/repetitions – 3-4/12-15.
We're done with the theoretical side, now let's look at some practical points.
Knee push-ups VS toe push-ups: which is better?
Research published in the Journal of Applied Biomechanics (USA, 2018) suggests that in both versions of the exercise, the contribution of each muscle was the same. However, overall muscle activation was greater when performing toe push-ups due to the additional load on the upper body. This means that when you perform knee push-ups, you are training the target muscles in the same way, but without the extra stress.
Conclusion: Knee push-ups are not girly push-ups. They give a good workout to a large set of muscles. Therefore, women who want to learn full push-ups should first practice the kneeling version.
Why women are bad at push-ups
Most women have a pear-shaped figure: wide hips and an underdeveloped top. In push-ups, although this is an exercise for the pectoral muscles, the pushers - the arms - actively work. In pears, most often the hands are the Achilles heel, i.e. they cannot “pull” their bottom up. This is why push-ups and pull-ups are quite difficult for such women. For rectangular and sandy women, mastering push-ups and pull-ups is much better; these exercises are easier for them.
Actually, we’re done with the substantive part of the note, let’s move on to...
Afterword
Knee push-ups are the latest addition to our technical pantheon of notes. It is definitely worth including in your training program for women who love home exercises. Try it and you won't regret it!
That's all for now, see you soon!
PS: do you know how to do push-ups? How many can you do at a time?
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