In poking fun of the “Perfect Pushup” gadget, I promised to devote an entire post to the art of the push up. Here it is.  I present it in FAQ format. Do you have any questions that I haven’t answered? Do you have a favorite variation on the push up?

Why are you devoting a whole post to push ups?

The push up is the perfect minimalist exercise. The exercise requires absolutely no equipment, costs no money, and can be done almost anywhere.

What are the benefits of push ups?

Push ups are an excellent exercise for developing muscle in the chest and triceps.  Push ups also hit your shoulders secondarily. Depending on what variation of push up you are doing, you can shift the focus of the exercise, such as emphasizing the triceps and deemphasizing the chest.

When should I do push ups?

You should not do push ups the day after you have vigorously exercised your chest, shoulders, or triceps (done about 8 or more sets for these body parts).  If you do, you will most likely overwork the muscles.  I personally recommend not doing push ups within two days of heavily exercising these muscle.  In contrast, if you only do a couple of sets of chest exercises one day, you will be ready to go the next day.

How do I do a proper push up?

  • Lie on the ground face down.
  • Extend your legs and rest your body on the tips of your toes.
  • Press your hand on the ground beneath your shoulders.
  • Keeping your body straight (do not let your core sag), push yourself up.
  • Lower yourself so that your chest nearly touches the ground.  Do not lower your entire body to the ground, and absolutely do not rest or bounce from the ground.
  • Repeat.

Where can I do push ups?

The simple answer is anywhere. The better answer is anywhere outside. I find that staying at home doing push ups is not an effective way to exercise. Inevitably, you will do a few sets, and then get lazy and stop. On the other hand, if you leave the house to go to a park, for instance, you will likely complete your workout.  Parks and playgrounds also provide lots of opportunities to vary your push ups. For example, you can do angled push ups with your hands on a bench or a rock instead of the ground.

Push ups are too hard for me.  What can I do?

You can start with a push up variation in which your knees stay on the ground. You can also try doing angled pushups against a bench; depending on relative muscle strengths, this may be easier for you than standard push ups.  Always work towards being able to do a standard push up, even if you can only do three or four at a time at first.

How many push ups should I do?

I am not a proponent of doing as many push ups as you possibly can all at once (this approach is called going to “failure”). What will most likely happen is that you will go to failure, and then have great difficulty doing additional meaningful sets. Then, the next time you do push ups, your maximum number of push ups won’t increase much, if at all.  You will also almost certainly sacrifice good form at the end of set in which you go to failure.

Instead, I advocate doing approximately 30% to 40% of the maximum number of push ups you think you can do.  If you are a beginner and can only do a few push ups, you should increase this percentage to 50% to 60%.   Do up to 12 sets, resting 60 to 150 seconds between sets.

What are some good variations on the standard push up?

  • Incline or Decline Push ups:  Find a bench or rock. Place your hands on the bench instead of the ground. This is an incline push up, and it will target your upper chests.  Conversely, you can place your toes on the bench and place your hands on the ground. This is a decline push up, and it will target your lower chest.
  • Fingertip Push ups:  Instead of pushing with your palms, rest only your fingertips on the ground. This requires greater strength in the hands and forearms.
  • Diamond Push ups:  Put your hands close together, palm down.  Form a diamond shape by pressing the index finger and thumb of one hand against the index finger and the finger and thumb of the other.  This will emphasize your triceps more.
  • One-handed Push ups: This requires significant strength from your stabilizer muscles as well as from your chest and arms.
  • Weighted Push ups: Have your honey sit on your back as you do push ups for extra resistance.
  • Push ups with clap(s) in between: This emphasizes explosive power, because you have to push yourself up more quickly to have adequate time to complete the clap(s).

Do you have a sample workout plan?

Of course!  There are infinite variations, but give this one a try:

  • 3 sets of 15 standard push ups.  Rest 120 seconds between sets.
  • 2 sets of 15 incline push ups.  Rest 120 seconds between sets.
  • 2 sets of 15 decline push ups.  Rest 120 seconds between sets.
  • 2 sets of diamond push ups.  Reset 120 seconds between sets.
  • 1 set of standard push ups to failure.  Rest 30 seconds.  1 set of standard pushups to failure.
  • Pat yourself on the back.