You don’t have to satisfy a drill sergeant or set a world record to reap benefits from doing push-ups.
Before we get to those benefits, here’s how many push-ups you’d have to do (plus one) to earn global bragging rights as the push-up champion:
- Nonstop: 10,507 (Minoru Yoshida, Japan; 1980)
- One year: 1,500,230 (Paddy Doyle, Great Britain; 1988-89)
- 24 hours: 46,001 (Charles Servizio, U.S.; 1993)
- 1 hour: 3,877 (Bijender Singh, India; 1988)
- 5 minutes: 441 (Giuseppe Cusano, Great Britain; 2003)
- One finger: 124 (Paul Lynch, Great Britain; 1992)
- With hands on raw eggs: 112 (Johann Schneider, Austria)
OK, now that you know what your next goals are, let’s get back to the benefits you’ll experience by doing 1.5 million repetitions or so of the so-called “perfect exercise” in the next year (or not).
Personal trainer Jonathan Ross, a spokesman for the American Council on Exercise, pointed out reasons why push-ups have endured the test of time: They’re cheap, easy to do, don’t require equipment and work multiple parts of the body.
“(A)nd pretty much everyone, from beginners to athletes, can derive benefits,” Ross told WebMD.com.
The chest and triceps are the muscles that benefit most from push-ups. But every muscle between the toes and neck are put to work, personal trainer Jessica Bottesch added.
“A push-up is considered a resistance exercise,” she said, pointing out an added benefit for women. “So in addition to muscle strengthening, you also get bone-building effects. It can be as effective as working out with weights.”
Experts told WebMD how to get the most out of your push-ups:
- Use your shoulders, upper back and arms to lift your extended body off the floor, then slowly lower your body.
- Don’t use your lower body, stomach and behind included, to pull yourself up.
- Keep a straight line from your head to your ankles while lifted.
- Don’t allow your chest to touch the floor, keeping 2-3 inches of clearance.
- If regular push-ups are too difficult, put your knees on the floor.
- To minimize wrist tension, close your hands and push off of your knuckles. Use padding if needed.
- Beginners can prop arms on a bench to lighten the load even more.
- For less strain, do push-ups against the wall while standing up.
- Devices like the “Perfect Pushup” can be used to increase range of motion and get more benefits.
- Advanced push-ups can be done on one hand or by elevating your feet on a low bench behind you.
Five more tips:
- Angle hands and/or change distance between hands for continual improvement.
- Ask somebody to observe your technique, or watch in a mirror, to ensure proper form.
- Your chest should come down first, not your hips or legs.
- To tone muscles, do more repetitions with less body weight (on knees or against wall standing).
- To build muscles, do fewer reps with maximum weight (legs out and chest not touching ground).
And just think, if you use that knowledge 4,111 times a day for the next 365 days, you can be the proud owner of a world record, not to mention some buff muscles.