How to Transform Your Physique by Doing Only Push-Ups

Push-ups are an excellent exercise for building upper body strength, enhancing shoulder stability, and improving overall physique. In this guide, we will explore three beginner-friendly goals that will help you master push-ups, strengthen your shoulders, and get shredded. The information here is largely based on a video uploaded by Trevor Hash.

Trevor Hash is a movement coach who co-founded Strength Side. He spent years in fitness from personal training to corrective exercise, to hand balancing. Strength Side’s YouTube Channel has over 1.6 million subscribers where videos are posted about different movement patterns to improve your athleticism, abs exercises and life-changing habits.

How to Transform Your Physique by Doing Only Push-Ups

Push-ups are a fundamental bodyweight exercise that offer numerous benefits, including building muscle, improving posture, and increasing core strength. However, many people struggle to perform push-ups with proper form, which can hinder their progress and increase the risk of injury. This article will guide you through three achievable goals to help you master the push-up, enhance your shoulder health, and improve your overall fitness level.

Goal #1: 10 Flawless Controlled Push-Ups

Before diving into the details, it’s essential to understand what a flawless push-up looks like. The push-up involves the most mobile joint in our body – the shoulder joint – along with the shoulder blade sitting on top of the rib cage. Proper push-up form ensures correct shoulder mechanics and strengthens the entire torso.

Key Elements of a Flawless Push-Up

Torso Stability: Keep your torso straight, ensuring the body line remains unchanged. Your sternum should touch the ground, not the chest or belly.
Shoulder Mechanics: Maintain neutral shoulder positioning, avoiding any shrugging. Let your shoulders glide back naturally as you descend and push forward during ascent.
Core Engagement: Engage your core muscles, especially the serratus anterior, to keep your body stable throughout the movement.

“One of the main things that creates this flawless push-up is staying connected through your shoulders so this takes a lot of core strength but more in particular this serratus muscle,” Hash explains.

The shoulder joint is highly mobile, making it complex and susceptible to injury if not properly engaged during exercises. Push-ups are a great way to teach your body proper shoulder mechanics while simultaneously strengthening your entire torso. Unlike exercises with dumbbells, push-ups provide a stable ground connection, allowing you to create force efficiently through your shoulders.

Achieving 10 Perfect Reps

Achieving 10 perfect push-ups is more challenging than it sounds. Most people tend to think of push-ups as an easy exercise, but maintaining proper form is crucial. The key is to perform as many perfect push-ups as possible without breaking form. Use a mirror or video to monitor your technique. When your form begins to break down, switch to easier variations like push-ups on your knees or hand-elevated push-ups.

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Practice Tips

Use a Mirror or Video: Regularly check your form to ensure your torso remains stable and your shoulders move correctly.
Gradual Progression: Start with as many perfect push-ups as you can, then switch to easier variations as needed.
Core Focus: Concentrate on keeping your core tight and engaged throughout the movement.

Goal #2: 20 Flawless Push-Ups

Once you’ve mastered 10 flawless push-ups, the next goal is to increase your endurance to 20 push-ups. However, the method to achieve that will be a little bit different than to achieve 10.

This involves building up your strength and stamina through a structured approach.

Training Strategy

Incremental Sets: Start with multiple sets of push-ups, aiming for five sets of 10 reps. Initially, you might manage only a couple of sets before fatigue sets in. Over time, gradually add more sets until you can complete five sets of 10.
Consistent Practice: Practice push-ups every other day to allow for recovery while building endurance.

To reach 20 perfect push-ups, you will need to accumulate a lot of reps. Start by working up to five sets of 10 push-ups. This method will help you build the necessary endurance and strength. You might find that you can only complete two sets initially before your form starts to break down. Each session, aim to add one more set until you can perform five sets of 10 flawless push-ups.

Incremental Improvement

Start with Your Max: Begin by performing as many perfect push-ups as possible. If you can do five perfect push-ups, then perform five perfect push-ups.
Switch to Easier Variations: After maxing out on full push-ups, switch to push-ups on your knees or hand-elevated push-ups to complete your set.
Increase Reps Gradually: Each session, try to add one or two more reps to your perfect push-up count until you reach 20 flawless push-ups.

Goal #3: Accumulate 100 Reps in One Workout

Maximizing Volume

The ultimate goal is to accumulate 100 push-ups in a single workout. This goal challenges your muscular endurance and mental toughness.

Approach

Multiple Sets: Break down the 100 reps into manageable sets, such as 10 sets of 10 or five sets of 20.
Focus on Form: Even with high volume, maintaining proper form is crucial to avoid injury and maximize benefits.

Once you can perform 20 perfect push-ups, the next challenge is to accumulate 100 push-ups in one workout. This goal focuses on increasing your overall volume and muscular endurance. You can achieve this by breaking the total number of reps into smaller, manageable sets.

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Training Strategy

Divide and Conquer: Split the 100 push-ups into sets that are comfortable for you. For example, you could do 10 sets of 10 push-ups or five sets of 20 push-ups.
Maintain Form: Ensure that even as you fatigue, your form remains perfect. This may mean taking longer rest periods between sets initially.

Frequency and Recovery

Perform this workout three times a week, allowing for rest days in between. This frequency strikes a balance between sufficient training stimulus and adequate recovery.

“When it comes to getting stronger and building muscle, it’s all about accumulating fatigue within those muscles.”

Common Questions and Concerns

How many days per week should I do this? Three times per week is ideal. This allows for optimal recovery and consistent progress.

Will I get an imbalanced physique from just doing push-ups? Incorporate pulling exercises like rows or pull-ups to maintain muscle balance and avoid imbalances.

What if I experience shoulder pain? Regress the movement to an easier variation and gradually build up strength. Check your form and reduce intensity if needed.

Mastering push-ups not only enhances your upper body strength but also improves your shoulder health and overall fitness. By setting and achieving these three goals, you can progressively build up to performing flawless push-ups with confidence and control. Remember, consistency and proper form are key to success.

This content is originated from https://www.boxrox.com your Online Magazine for Competitive Fitness.

How to Transform Your Physique by Doing Only Push-Ups