Push-ups

 

Speaking of physical activity in general, few exercises have burst into the collective imagination like the push-up.

You could almost say that over time push-ups have become the yardstick of masculinity.

We've seen them in war movies, they were forced on us at school in PE class, and maybe we've challenged a friend to see who could do more before collapsing face-first on the floor.

Push-ups are a complete, healthy and effective exercise that involves a large number of muscles throughout our body.

The technique is fairly simple, it doesn't take an excessive amount of strength, and we can do them wherever we are, with no limits.

 

Let's now look at the benefits of this simple but fundamental exercise:

• They strengthen the upper body: the muscles involved are mainly the pecs, the front deltoids and the triceps
• They quickly boost the overall energy available to us: the movement from the exercise improves blood circulation and builds up heat in the body
• They involve all of the muscles: besides the muscles mentioned above, push-ups also recruit some of the back muscles, the core muscles and, to a lesser extent, the leg muscles
• They speed up metabolism: the increase in heart rate and blood flow has a positive impact on our body's metabolic capacity
• They extend life: in a study of over 1,000 male firefighters followed for 10 years, researchers at Harvard's T. H. Chan School of Public Health in Boston found that the risk of cardiovascular problems such as stroke and heart attacks was 96% lower in men who could do 40 or more push-ups in a timed test than in those who could do fewer than 10.
• They improve stability: albeit partially, push-ups help increase the ability to hold a position under effort thanks to the work of various stabilizing muscles

 

Let's move on to how to perform the exercise, which we'll cover in two variations: traditional push-ups and spider push-ups.

 

TRADITIONAL PUSH-UPS:

1. The starting position is on the floor with your hands just under your shoulders and a pronated grip that is not too wide. Your elbows should be at about 45 degrees. Your weight rests on the palms of your hands and the tips of your toes.
2. Squeeze your glutes and abs firmly to stabilize your body during the movement and to maintain correct posture.
3. Lower yourself in a controlled way, stopping a few millimeters from the floor.
4. Once down, push back up using only your arms and stay there for a moment before going down again.

 

BEGINNER VARIATION

If we're not very familiar with this exercise, we can still do it thanks to a small adjustment.

Instead of using the tips of our toes for support, we'll use our knees.
This way we reduce the percentage of body weight involved in the movement, lowering the load on the pecs and arms.

 

SPIDER PUSH-UPS:

1. Get into a push-up position, trying to keep your arms fully extended and wider than shoulder width
2. Bend your arms and lower yourself slowly without touching the floor
3. As you go down, bend one knee, rotating it outward, and try to bring it as far forward as you can toward your elbow
4. Return to the push-up position and repeat on the opposite side

 

To wrap up, let's always remember that exercise is important and necessary, but proper, balanced nutrition is essential.

Seasonal fruit is an excellent source of sugars to recover energy after a workout session. For a balanced diet based on the Mediterranean diet, Eathlon® is a valuable help. It's the digital nutritionist that's always with you. Download the app on App Store and Google Play.

And now... get down and do those push-ups!