I don’t hide the fact that push-ups are the bane of my
exercises. I avoid them as much as I can.
Being in the military made me hate them. The military…ok, Air Force
physical test includes a mile and a half run, push-ups, and sit-ups. At least
it did when I was in. Depending on your age bracket, you had to do a certain
number of push-ups and sit-ups in a minute to pass. They beat push-ups,
sit-ups, running, and weight measurements into our head so much that I just
started hating it. I look at push-ups with dread and bad memories.
Even a personal trainer’s fitness assessment for their
clients includes push-ups in the muscular endurance portion. Instead of being
timed, it’s to do as many as you can until you can’t do anymore.
It’s fascinating thinking of the many tests and assessments
that include push-ups. Don’t people know that push-ups are evil? How much sense
does it make to prop yourself on your hands and toes then repeatedly flex your
elbows to 90 degrees and extend them again. Up and down, up and down, over and
over until your arms give out.
So, why are
push-ups used in so many assessments?
That’s simple. Push-ups are the most basic, easiest exercise to build upper body strength. For females, we tend to have a stronger lower
body, thus we need to build upper body strength. I’m not talking about going
all She-Hulk and muscular. I’m talking about being able to lift anything more
than 20 pounds. You know, ‘cause groceries get heavy.
The key is doing push-ups properly to maximize the benefit
of them. More often than not, people
perform push-ups incorrectly. Whether it’s not getting the full rotation,
dropping or raising hips too far, or even dropping your head out of neutral
position.
How do you do a
proper push-up?
Well, as usual, a visual aid is provided below in the form
of a YouTube instructional video:
A proper push-up will work multiple upper body muscles, including
but not limited to: Pecs, Triceps, your back & core stabilizers, and
deltoids.
As much as I hate push-ups, I still do them. The good thing
is, once you can do a proper push-up comfortably and regularly, there are so
many variations that can keep your exercises interesting. A quick Google search
can make your head spin with how many different kinds of push-ups there are.
As always, take it slow and don’t jump in at 90 miles an
hour. The journey is a winding road, but worth the time, energy, and pain. You’re worth it.
I’m going to leave you with a push-up contest between Beauty
& the Beasts Gaston and a guy at Disney World. People say that
Gaston won, but proper form and full rotation kicked Gaston’s butt. By my
count, Gaston did zero pushups.
