When you think of the execution of a push-up, there's more to it than pushing yourself up and down from the floor one hundred times. Your back needs to be straight, you need to breathe in on the way down and out on the way up and you should get your chest to at least a fist-width of the floor when you lower yourself down.
Uses Body Weight
Push-ups require nothing but the weight of the body to be performed. This means you can take the push-up with you wherever you travel and perform them in any area long enough to fit the entire length of your body.
Provides a Compound Exercise
The push-up is considered a compound exercise because more than one muscle is worked and more than one joint is in motion.The pectorals, pectoralis major and minor, are the main muscles that the push-up works. Push-ups also work other muscles, including the anterior deltoids on the front of the shoulders and the triceps on the back of the upper arms. The shoulder, elbow and wrist joints all get worked as well.
Has Variations
The conventional push-up is one of many variations that exist. Decline push-ups, performed by elevating your feet, place more emphasis on the upper chest. Incline push-ups, performed by elevating your hands, place more emphasis on the lower chest. Clap push-ups are performed in an explosive motion by pushing yourself off the floor with each rep and quickly clap your hands together. A handstand push-up places most of the intensity on the shoulders, and it is done by placing your hands on the floor, your heels on a wall and pushing yourself up and down.
Improves Muscular Endurance
Push-ups improve muscular endurance as well as strength. Muscle endurance is the ability to do repetitive muscle contractions for an extended time frame. Performing multiple reps of push-ups builds muscular endurance. This can lend handy to such sports as football, in which players constantly have to push themselves off the ground.
Enhances Core Strength
Although push-ups are known as chest exercises, they also strengthen the core muscles, which include the abs and lower erector spinae in the back. Whenever you do a push-up, you have to keep your core tight to maintain good form. According to MayoClinic.com, the push-up can be a great core stability exercise if performed properly.
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