Push-Upsvital to your caregiving futurePush-ups? You learned them in first grade or earlier. Seems we learned all the basics of life back then. What was the name of that popular book about learning everything I needed to know in kindergarten? I'm not sure that fitness was mentioned. what's a push up anyway?According to wikipedia a push-up is "a common strength training exercise performed in a prone position, lying horizontal and face down, raising and lowering the body using the arms."They are a basic exercise used in civilian athletic training or physical education and, especially, in military physical training and will develop the pectoral muscles and triceps, with ancillary benefits to the deltoids, serratus anterior, coracobrachialis and the midsection as a whole. Basics covered... now for some practicality in implementing this free upper body builder into your time crunched routine. Remember, it's about your health, your fitness and keeping fitness or getting you fit through your care giving process. Push-ups are the best upper body exercises you can do. Squatting, pushing and pulling are the three main areas of the world we live in. As we age, we squat less, and our spines curve so that our world now consist of a tiny 2-3 foot sphere in front of us...if we are lucky. Push-ups not only greatly enhance your ability to push and to maintain it, but it really builds your back muscles in a stabilizing fashion. In other words,you aren't building muscles by pulling but by them working to stabilize your body as you push. On a more advanced note, you are working concentrically on pushing, eccentrically on lowering, and somewhat isometrically on back and scapular muscles stabilizing through the process. Not to mention that your core trunk strength will sky rocket as your trunk works also to stabilize your body through the movement. It's for sure a win-win.
i can't do a push up.Not so fast! I knew you had only one picture in your mind but let me help you understand the process. Once you understand the basics of what you are trying to do, you can modify almost any exercise!Push-ups use your body weight as a weight stack. Any time muscles work perpendicular or opposite to the pull of gravity, they work hard! The task may seem impossible since your muscles are working opposite and perpendicular to the pull of gravity. So, if pushing against gravity sounds or is impossible at this time, we can still modify any exercise to meet your muscles where they are at yet give them room to get stronger. How? Stand at a wall and pretend that wall is the floor. Now proceed with the exercise. Hands slightly shoulder width apart, core (back and belly) tight. Keep your body stiff and inhale as you come towards the wall with your nose. Exhale as you push away. Are you wondering how many to do? Good question. There are many theories out there about how many sets and reps but I promised you better fitness in 5 minutes a day right? Interval training is on the forefront of the fitness industry for a reason.
How and Why Interval Training works - Click here.
interval training time formulaInterval training workout routines have been proven to show effectiveness in as little as 20 seconds! Yes, 20 seconds! With 20 seconds of work and 10 seconds of rest, our work out is easily blocked into 4 minute routines.Our 4 minute workout routine will follow this formula:
one exercise at a time.Plugging this one exercise alone into our interval training formula will look like this:
Your modified progression routine will look like this:
ramp it up for a challenge!Try these variations for a challenge and ramped up strength training!
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