Press Ups any Good?

amaru

amaru

amaru

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I was just wondering how effective Press ups are for working the chest and arm area? if so how many should i be doing and how many reps?
 
How often are you doing them? Are they part of a routine? What are you trying to achieve?

They can be made A LOT better by simply adding some weight on your back.
 
I have started doing them as part of a routine but it has been every other day for the last 10 days or so. Im doing 4 sets of 20 and have started to feel a difference in both my chest and arms. is this ok or to much? Are they different methods to press ups or is the standard way the best??
 
I'm far from an expert but there are quite a variety of different ways to do press-ups, this is a quick guide to a few and you can work slightly different muscles, simply put if you raise your legs to above the height of your head while in a position to do press-ups then you significantly increase the relative weight that you have to lift. Then there are the plyometric or 'explosive' variations so that you push up fast enough to clap your hands or you pivot round in a full circle etc.

Another way not highlighted in that link is to do them on your knuckles but I'd suggest you do it on some form of mat or carpet as otherwise it can hurt.
 
semi-pro waster said:
Another way not highlighted in that link is to do them on your knuckles but I'd suggest you do it on some form of mat or carpet as otherwise it can hurt.
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Doing them on your knuckles is great for strengthening your wrists!
 
Press ups are good, but not soley as a routine, i add them with chest press and incline chest press as a warm up and warm down. Its seems to work for me.
Get some free weights.
 
I done some press ups yesterday with the usual position but with one hand on an aerobics step 2 blocks high. Only done 2 sets of eight on each side and I'm in utter agony today. :p
 
MTA99 said:
Doing them on your knuckles is great for strengthening your wrists!
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No doubt but doing them on wooden floors(like in my flat) absolutely kills my knuckles. :)

Just to add a couple more variations, one handed which requires a fair bit of strength but is mainly about technique as far as I can see or for the real masochists here - 'commando press-ups' which basically involves press-ups while you are doing a handstand against a wall.
 
semi-pro waster said:
or for the real masochists here - 'commando press-ups' which basically involves press-ups while you are doing a handstand against a wall.
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thats not for your chest tho, its more a shoulder press.
 
Press ups are ok for a warm up but you're not going to gain significant mass from them, thats for sure.

I do them every day while on holiday if i can't get to the gym + other strange stuff like squatting with a girlie on my shoulders :D
 
semi-pro waster said:
'commando press-ups' which basically involves press-ups while you are doing a handstand against a wall.
Click to expand...
Can already do that, the real goal is to be able to balance in a handstand and then do them.
 
[ASSE]Hinchy said:
When I read that I thought it meant something else :p
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However you want to do your exercises is no business of mine. :p

Fair enough Morba, I did say I wasn't an expert but I just thought I'd list a couple of variations on press-ups anyway even if they weren't directly for chest or arms.
 
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