Feeling concerned about how to do more pushups just like another mate on the team? We’ve got you. Push-ups are like that skill, you keep practicing until you master it. Just like that, getting better at push-ups is a dream come true for any fitness conscious person. But they do question themselves like how to get better at push-ups? How to do more pushups in a short time? or can they get there in a week? Well, the answer lies in your current fitness level and pushup technique. If you are a beginner, you might take months before you get better at these, but if you are at an advanced level, you might step up your game to ace it in a week.
So, what you have to do to get close to your goal of getting better at pushups, this article will walk you through it.
Before doing push-ups, try building strength
Your level of fitness does not really matter if you are not well prepared for push-ups. Working out beforehand to build strength is always a good idea. You might want to try these simple exercises before jumping right to increasing pushup count.
Plank hold: Planks help in strengthening your muscles from head to toe. Try keeping yourself in plank position, while keeping your arms straight towards the ground and holding your body above the ground, while only your feet touch it. For how long you can hold your body in this position, will determine your core strength. You can try doing it in 3 sets of 30 seconds each to improve the timing.
Fore-arm Pushups: Position your forearms in place of hands while doing these planks. Start slowly, moving your body in the forward direction and then moving it back to the start position. It’ll strengthen the elbow extension and shoulder stabilization.
Negative Push-ups: This exercise requires you to concentrate on lowering your body position. Start by keeping your body in a push-up position and then slowly lower down your body, and then back to the starting position.
Bench press: Strengthening chest muscles can be achieved by following this exercise. Lay on the exercise mat, with raised knees and feet to the ground. Hold a dumbbell of a challenging weight in both hands and bring them down to your chest and then push up back.
Triceps Bench Dips: Triceps play an important part while doing push-ups. Grab a bench not too high from the ground, neither too low and place your palms facing down on the bench on both sides of your body. Bend your legs in a parallel manner and lean forward from the bench. Now try lowering down your body using your arms, until your arms get in a parallel position. Then go back up. Repeat the sets, as much as you can.
Ready to get better at push-ups? Let’s go!
After gaining enough strength to perform push-ups. Now you are all set to step up your game and be better at them. Here are some useful tips and tricks which will help you to do so.
1. Maintain your form: Keeping your body in the right alignment is what it takes to do push ups in a proper manner. Sagging body style will stiffen your muscles or you might experience muscle injury. Always take your time to set your body on the floor in a position that your back must be flat, arms at the same level with chest, and start bending at a 45-degree angle. After touching the ground, push your body back up while keeping your hands stable to involve maximum muscle engagement.
2. Keep adding variations to your push-ups: Trying to follow all those exercises on the internet blindly will get you nowhere. Tailoring your push-up technique according to your needs is what you need to do. If you cannot perform classical push-ups at the start, try doing modified versions like inclined and declined push-ups, pike push-ups and clapping push-ups. After gaining significant strength, you can now move on to the classical push-up routine.
3. Build intensity, but slowly: You are so close to your goal now, but you might ruin it if you try to do more in a little time. Try taking small steps, and keep adding one to five repeats in each set. Hold yourself 5 seconds going up and down for each push-up and increase your time under tension for the best muscle growth. And if you feel exhausted, take a break and try doing it another day. Gradual but effective change is the key.
4. Quality over quantity: So what if you can perform 30 sluggish push-ups in a minute? How good can it be? In experts’ opinion, very little. Target yourself to improve the quality of your push-ups, not the count. Doing less but better will build more muscle strength.
5. Rest before another set: Taking short breaks between each set is a good strategy. It will keep you fresh, motivated and you’ll regain your energy in those breaks. You can try having refreshing drinks and can also note down your performance meanwhile.
6. Be Consistent: Practicing your form and technique regularly without getting demotivated is what transforms average into excellence. That’s why you need to practice, practice and practice as much as you can, while not exhausting yourself too much.
Conclusion
Getting better at push-ups is a no-brainer, only if you do it properly. Try setting achievable goals, work towards them, do not exhaust yourself, keep these tricks we’ve told you in mind and keep practicing: you’ll see the results of your efforts in a short time. Even if you don’t observe the difference sooner, do not get disheartened. Keep in mind everyone is built up differently, what’s working for others in a jiff might not work for you that soon. In that case, believe in yourself, find the right exercise for you and keep doing it until you get there. YOU CAN DO THIS.
I look up to fitness as a lifestyle and love to pen down about it. I have 2 years of experience in content writing and I am here to share my research and knowledge on health and fitness.
