Many people don't realize that you can build muscle without using any fancy gym equipment -- in fact, standard bodyweight exercises like pushups can be used to build muscle up the old-fashioned way.
It's understandable that you might not realize how effective the grand-daddy of exercise moves is at building your chest and arms. At a glance, pushups are simple and repetitive. And that's true to an extent. But what you might not realize is that there are nearly endless opportunities for pushup variations that you never learned in high school gym class.
There are many kinds of pushups that you can use to focus on different muscle groups, but we're going to concentrate on five types in this article. These are not necessarily the best five for all people, but they will make you aware of the variety available in simple functional exercises.
Military pushups: military pushups are a very close cousin to standard pushups, except that your goal with military pushups is to isolate your triceps. You do this by tucking your elbows to your sides and moving your hands directly underneath the outer part of your chest.
Diamond pushups: Diamond pushups, also referred to as "heart to heart" pushups, require you to place your index fingers and thumbs together in the shape of a diamond during your push up workout. While diamond push ups tend to work your triceps more than your chest muscles, the benefits of modifying your hand placement during pushups, even if only a tiny bit, are undeniable.
Yogi pushups: also referred to as "divebombers," you start the pushup in the yoga downward dog position, which is similar to a pike. On the down rep, you transition into the upward dog position in a motion that is similar to sliding under a fence, reversing this movement on the up rep. These pushups are brutal and really work your shoulders.
Decline pushups: Instead of placing your feet on the floor, or using your knees, place your feet on a platform so that your head is lower than your feet. You can use a chair, a stepstool, or a bench -- pretty much anything that will allow you to raise your feet up so that they are higher than your head. These types of pushups work your upper chest muscles.
Deep pushups: If you are working out at home, you can perform raised pushups with the help of three sturdy chairs. By placing each of your hands on an opposite chair, and your feet on the third chair, you can increase the depth of your pushup and thereby increase the effectiveness of your workout routine. A similar, but less intense, movement can be performed with pushup stands. The "Perfect Pushup" bars work wonders.
Here is a more detailed listing of styles you can consider to achieve muscle weight gain: wide, fly, diamond, military, fist, yogi, incline, decline, stacked, deep, prison cell, and inchworm pushups.
To get the most out of your pushup workouts, remember to add some weight once the pushups begin to get easy. You don't want to push out 50 easy repetitions. Rather, struggle with 20 or 30. Also be sure to add variety by varying your hand position for each of the above types of pushups.
Push ups are a great way to strengthen your upper body and exercise, build muscle at the same time. If you keep it interesting by mixing up your hand positions and trying a few different styles of pushups you can increase the effectiveness of your at-home exercising and relieve the boredom! - 15438
It's understandable that you might not realize how effective the grand-daddy of exercise moves is at building your chest and arms. At a glance, pushups are simple and repetitive. And that's true to an extent. But what you might not realize is that there are nearly endless opportunities for pushup variations that you never learned in high school gym class.
There are many kinds of pushups that you can use to focus on different muscle groups, but we're going to concentrate on five types in this article. These are not necessarily the best five for all people, but they will make you aware of the variety available in simple functional exercises.
Military pushups: military pushups are a very close cousin to standard pushups, except that your goal with military pushups is to isolate your triceps. You do this by tucking your elbows to your sides and moving your hands directly underneath the outer part of your chest.
Diamond pushups: Diamond pushups, also referred to as "heart to heart" pushups, require you to place your index fingers and thumbs together in the shape of a diamond during your push up workout. While diamond push ups tend to work your triceps more than your chest muscles, the benefits of modifying your hand placement during pushups, even if only a tiny bit, are undeniable.
Yogi pushups: also referred to as "divebombers," you start the pushup in the yoga downward dog position, which is similar to a pike. On the down rep, you transition into the upward dog position in a motion that is similar to sliding under a fence, reversing this movement on the up rep. These pushups are brutal and really work your shoulders.
Decline pushups: Instead of placing your feet on the floor, or using your knees, place your feet on a platform so that your head is lower than your feet. You can use a chair, a stepstool, or a bench -- pretty much anything that will allow you to raise your feet up so that they are higher than your head. These types of pushups work your upper chest muscles.
Deep pushups: If you are working out at home, you can perform raised pushups with the help of three sturdy chairs. By placing each of your hands on an opposite chair, and your feet on the third chair, you can increase the depth of your pushup and thereby increase the effectiveness of your workout routine. A similar, but less intense, movement can be performed with pushup stands. The "Perfect Pushup" bars work wonders.
Here is a more detailed listing of styles you can consider to achieve muscle weight gain: wide, fly, diamond, military, fist, yogi, incline, decline, stacked, deep, prison cell, and inchworm pushups.
To get the most out of your pushup workouts, remember to add some weight once the pushups begin to get easy. You don't want to push out 50 easy repetitions. Rather, struggle with 20 or 30. Also be sure to add variety by varying your hand position for each of the above types of pushups.
Push ups are a great way to strengthen your upper body and exercise, build muscle at the same time. If you keep it interesting by mixing up your hand positions and trying a few different styles of pushups you can increase the effectiveness of your at-home exercising and relieve the boredom! - 15438
About the Author:
Jared is a fitness enthusiast who is always on the lookout for techniques to get better results in less time. Over the years, he has researched and experimented most of the popular build muscle up products available on the market. His objective product reviews and informative content are freely available to anyone looking to achieve muscle weight gain and strengthen their bodies.
