Upper body strength is pivotal to perform daily tasks with efficiency and also to play sports at an optimal level. A key to maintaining your strength levels is by doing upper body training on a regular basis. Both lateral raises and pushups fit well into this game plan, and they require strict attention to detail.
Types of Exercises
Compound exercises work more than one muscle at time and lead to fast gains in size and strength. Pushups and lateral raises differ in this regard. Pushups fall into the category of compound exercises, while lateral raises zero in on one muscle group, making them isolation exercises. If you were to do both of these exercises in a workout, you are best served performing pushups first. Compound exercises should always come before isolation exercises. Otherwise, you will tire out the smaller muscle group and not have energy to do your compound exercises.
Specfic Muscles Worked
Lateral raises and pushups go hand in hand in a workout. Not because they are performed similarly, but because they both work like muscles. The pectoralis major and minor are the main muscles worked with pushups, but they also recruit the triceps and deltoids. The delts are the main muscles targeted with lateral raises. The triceps sit on the back of the upper arms and the delts surround the shoulders. The delts consist of three parts: the anterior, medial and posterior segment. Anterior means in the front, medial means in the middle and posterior means in the back. Lateral raises target all areas of the delts.
Execution of Each Exercise
Pushups require nothing but the weight of the body, whereas lateral raises require dumbbells. To perform pushups, lie on your stomach with your hands slightly wider than shoulder-width apart and place your feet together behind you. Keeping your back straight and abs tight, push yourself up until your arms are fully extended. Slowly lower yourself down by bending your elbows and stop when your chest is close to the floor. Push yourself back up steadily, and repeat. You have the option of doing lateral raises from a standing or seated position. To do them standing, position your feet about hip-width apart and hold the weights down in front of your thighs with your palms facing each other. Keeping your elbows slightly bent, raise the weights up to your sides in an arcing motion until your arms parallel the floor. Slowly lower the weights back down, and repeat.
Variations
Pushups allow you to do multiple variations. You have the option of placing your feet on a bench, hands on a bench or changing the width of your grip on the floor. This changes the focus on your muscles. By bringing your hands close together, you shift the emphasis to your triceps. Front raises are variations to lateral raises, and they are performed by lifting the dumbbells up in front of your body.
Tips with Resistance
If you are looking to increase resistance with pushups, you need to either wear a weighted vest, wear a weighted backpack or have a spotter hold a weight plate on your back. With lateral raises, you have plenty of weights to choose from. Dumbbells range from 1 lb. to well over 100 lbs.
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