The Power Of Push-Ups
The push-up is a great barometer of your fitness and is one of the most important foundational movement patterns.
And now, a research study has shown a strong correlation between the number of push-ups you can do and your cardio-vascular health.
This study sponsored by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health showed the number of push-ups in a row achieved (40 for men, unfortunately this research study didn’t include women), was an amazingly accurate marker, that can predict a 96% lower risk of a future cardiovascular disease event (CDV).
According to the study, participants had to do the pushups "in time with a metronome set at 80 beats per minute”. Clinic staff counted the number of push-ups completed until the participant reached 80, missed 3 or more beats of the metronome, or stopped owing to exhaustion or other symptoms (dizziness, lightheadedness, chest pain, or shortness of breath).
Cardiovascular diseases ranks as the number cause of death worldwide, and while the exact link between heart disease and push-ups is not fully clear, it would make sense to throw in some push-ups into your routine.
Benefits of push-ups:
build up the triceps, pectoral muscles and shoulders
strengthen the shoulder stabilisers (serratus anterior), leading to less pressure on the neck
when done with proper form, they can also strengthen the lower back and core
can be done anywhere at any time, with no special equipment or gym membership
Particular benefits for older people:
Researchers who study the biomechanics of aging, for instance note that push-ups can provide the strength and muscle memory to reach out and break a fall.
When people fall forward, they typically reach out to catch themselves, ending in a move that mimics the push-up. The hands hit the ground, the wrists and arms absorb much of the impact, and the elbows bend slightly to reduce the force.
People lose as much as 30 percent of their strength between 20 and 70. But regular exercise enlarges muscle fibers and can help stave off the decline.
How to safely increase the number of push-ups you can do:
I thought I would give you a quick guide to incorporating push-ups into your routine safely.
Over the years I have seen many people get motivated and take part in a ‘push-up challenge’. Unfortunately, it all too often ends up leading to an overuse injury which can take some time fully recover from.
Firstly, it’s important to get your form right and this video gives some good tips:
Push-up tips
Try and avoid letting your elbows drop right out to the side (think of keeping your arms in an arrow formation).
keep the body in a straight line from the head to heels
keep the shoulder blades drawn together and down
don’t allow your lower back to arch
Push-up variations:
It really doesn’t matter what type of push-ups you do, as everyone has a different base to start from.
If pushups on your feet are too difficult at first, modify the exercise:
Do them against a wall or a bench.
You can also modify the distance your drop your chest to the ground. If you’re struggling to get right down, just go down half or a quarter of the way down to begin with. As you progress and build your strength, you can experiment with lowering down further.
Start your SAFE push-up journey here —>
As they say, ‘exercise is medicine’ and the most important factor in your success is getting the dose right.
The final part of this blog will show you how to safely and sustainably incorporate push-ups into your routine.
FIND YOUR CURRENT PUSH-UP CAPACITY:
Do as many push-ups as you can with good form until you feel the muscles shake, you feel pain or you simply cannot do another.
This will give you a base number to work with.
Out of interest you can compare your current push-up fitness to the guidelines shown in the graph below.
NEXT —>
One of the common training errors with push-ups is trying to max out every set to fatigue.
While this strategy can lead to quick muscle gains, it commonly leads to poor form, creating additional strain on the joints, increasing the chances of injury to the shoulder, neck and wrist.
Instead, take your maximum number of push-ups, and multiply it by 0.7
This will give you a number that is 70% of your current max. push-up number.
For example if your max was 10 pushups, 10 x 0.7 = 7
7 push-ups is now considered the optimal number to complete for each set - you should feel a mild strain but not too much.
The goal will be to complete 5 sets of 7 push-ups three times per week.
Take 1-2 minutes between sets. In this time, you could work on other muscle groups e.g. plank for the core.
In this way, we are going to safely build the number of push-ups you can do but never pushing you too far in terms of fatigue or risking injury with poor form.
Prioritizing volume over intensity will help build your form, confidence and strength.
After 2 weeks, re-test your maximum number of push-ups again.
Hopefully your number should be a little higher, and then you can repeat the same formula as above.
The beauty of this formula is that it allows you to build your strength safely, without risking strain or overload in your shoulders.
Keeping your RPE (Rate of Perceived Exertion) at or just below 7/10 will prevent injury and allow you to build your shoulder strength.
Gradually building up your low-intensity volume of push-ups is the goal, so when you attempt your max push-up number, you will have a solid base of support to achieve your goal.
Trouble-shooting
Shoulder or neck pain
If you do get shoulder or neck pain, it may be wise to reduce the depth of your push-ups initially to only a half or a quarter of the way down.
Wrist pain
Wrist pain is really common when first starting out with push-ups and it’s important to really listen to your body and not push through the pain.
If you have wrist pain or instability, gradually loading them up with push-ups will help in the long run, but you will need to build up slowly over time. It would be best to only do push-ups 2-3 x per week to allow your wrists to recover adequately between sessions.
To avoid wrist pain, your hands should be about shoulder width apart and close to your chest. At the top of the push up, your hands should be directly under your shoulders. Placing your hands in front of or behind the shoulder will increase pressure on your wrists.
Some options (shown below) to take pressure of your wrists:
using a closed fist
using push-up bars or some dumb bells
using a mat under your wrists to avoid the end of range extension position
If you’re sore, use ice on your wrist to decrease inflammation, and if it’s not settling, checking in with your physio would be a good idea.
Push-up Progressions:
If you are looking some variety in your push-ups, you can try the push-up plus that primarily activates the serratus anterior, an important shoulder stabiliser muscle.
Another option is doing push-ups with your feet resting on a swiss ball which can add a nice dynamic element:
Stretches to include after your push-ups:
Keep your upper body supple and aid recovery with these three stretches.
Pecs
Triceps
Lats
If you have any issues incorporating push-ups into your routine, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.
