Push-ups are a great exercise to strengthen your chest and triceps muscles.
Push-ups are one of the most popular and accessible exercises for strengthening the muscles of the body, especially the chest, triceps and front of the shoulders.
Many people wonder if it is possible to get good chest muscle development with simple push-up variations, without the need for gym equipment. The answer is yes, but with some important considerations.
How do push-ups work your chest muscles?
Traditional push-ups target the pectoralis major, triceps, and anterior deltoid (shoulders). When you lower your body during a push-up, you stretch these muscles, and when you push up, you contract them.
This movement is effective for recruiting muscle fibers and promoting hypertrophy, as long as there is progression in the number of repetitions and intensity of the exercise. Additionally, using exercise variations is an important way to recruit different muscle fibers in the region.
“In the open-arm push-up, the emphasis is clearly on the pectoralis major and deltoid (shoulder) muscles (anterior and medial part), while the triceps are the ‘least’ required muscle,” teaches Eliane Araújo, physical education expert at Les Cinq Gym.
“In the closed-arm push-up, the pectoralis major is utilized less and the deltoid (shoulders) (front) also participates less, with the medial and posterior portions getting more emphasis and the triceps being used more,” he adds.
To optimize the work on the chest and target different regions of the muscle, it is essential to include it push-up variations in your routine. We’ll talk about it later!
6 Push-Up Variations
Push-ups are a great exercise to develop muscles in areas such as the shoulders, chest and triceps. It is a free exercise that does not require the use of equipment, but some variations of the same arm flexion it can be done with tools.
See some variations to make!
1. Push-up with one leg hanging
This variation requires more balance and coordination during the push-up movement. It should be performed with only one leg on the floor, while the other is raised, in the three-legged position. Alternate the hanging leg between sets.
2. Inclined push-ups
With your feet resting on a chair or any fixed elevation, perform the push-up movement. The exercise mainly involves the upper pectoral muscles and triceps.
3. Refuse the push-up
Here you are in a position inclined to the floor, resting your arms on a fixed bar or even a table. Recruit the lower pectoral region.
4. Closed Push-up
With your arms closed and closer to your torso, this exercise requires more strength from your triceps and inner pectoral muscles.
5. Flexion Typewriter
Typewriterin Portuguese, it means typewriter. The name comes from the movement made with the arms, which alternate in the flexed position: while one is extended, the other is flexed.
6. Push-up with push-up
This is a more advanced push-up variation and requires practice. The push-up movement is the same as a regular push-up, however, in the part of the movement where the arms are extended, a push is given upwards so that the palms of the hands clap. Then return to the starting position and perform the push-up movement again.
Progression and Challenges for Hypertrophy
For continued muscle gain, progression is essential. This can be achieved by increasing the number of reps, sets, or making variations more difficult.
However, one of the challenges of relying solely on push-ups for chest hypertrophy is the limitation of progressive overload, which can be achieved more easily with free weights or machines.
Even so, people looking for resistance training and muscle definition can get satisfactory results using only push-ups. So the bottom line is that yes, You can effectively train your chest muscles using only push-up variations.especially if the goal is endurance, toning and muscle definition.
To get the most mass gains, however, it may be interesting to combine push-ups with other exercises that allow for a more significant progressive overload. However, for those who want to train at home or without equipment, push-ups are a great option.
Source: Terra
Ben Stock is a lifestyle journalist and author at Gossipify. He writes about topics such as health, wellness, travel, food and home decor. He provides practical advice and inspiration to improve well-being, keeps readers up to date with latest lifestyle news and trends, known for his engaging writing style, in-depth analysis and unique perspectives.
