Hayden Saunders
If you are looking to buff up and get your ideal boy, you must include push-ups in your routine. They are the simplest and easiest way to make your upper body get an intense workout and rip up quickly. Pushups are also seen as the ultimate show of strength. If you can do 10, you are cool, but if you can do a hundred or more, you are perceived as an extremely strong man. Let’s dig deep into pushups, how to do them properly, and how many pushups to do in a day.
How do pushups help your body?
Pushups help in getting you the best upper body workout. It can help in creating a more chiseled chest, better shoulders, and bigger arms and even help you get rid of belly fat. Pushups help you in strength training. They help you use your body weight as resistance. Now, depending on your body weight and size, you could be lifting at least 50 percent of your weight at a time. While strength training is limited to the upper body, you will note some beneficial effects in the lower body as well.
Many people believe that pushups only help your arms get bigger. However, it is a compound exercise. The benefits work straight from your legs to your hips and go right up to your chest and arms. Even the shoulders get great training with this workout. You can even modify your workout to work on specific muscle groups.
How many pushups should you do in a day?
Pushups provide a great strength training option to people. However, many people are either doing too much or too less. A man between the ages of 17 to 29 years, can do 17 to 29 pushups with ease. He will have to work extra hard to do more. If you are doing less than 12 pushups consecutively, you still have the chance to improve your score.
Pushups can be very hard to do in the beginning, especially for people who carry extra weight around their middle or upper body. Even if you can do two pushups a day, you must do them.
There is no limit on the number of pushups you can do in a day. Many bodybuilders and fitness enthusiasts try to do more than 300 pushups a day. For an average man, doing 50 to 100 pushups should be enough to maintain a good upper body. However, there is a catch. Its called diminishing returns. Let’s learn what this means.
The law of diminishing returns and the number of pushups
Whenever you exercise to build muscle, you are essentially doing mild damage to your body. Such small damage leads to repair work from your body. Given ample rest and nutrition, your body will be able to repair the damage quickly and build stronger muscles in response. This is why putting some strain on the muscles is important. The more stress you put on your muscles, the better your results will be.
However, your muscles also have a ‘memory.’ If you keep doing 20 pushups each day for the next three months, you will see great results in the first week which can continue up to 5-6 weeks. However, after that, your muscles will become familiar with your 20 pushups a day routine. Hence, your muscles will stop growing.
Therefore, whenever you think about the number of pushups you can do in a day, never think in absolute terms.
If you do two pushups on the first day, try to do four on the second. Then keep increasing the number of pushups like this. It will help you in gaining muscle over time.
Take cues from Henry Cavill, who played the muscular superhero, Superman. He does strength training with pushups. A usual routine will look like this for an average person.
- 10 pushups, followed by 30 seconds rest
- 12 pushups, followed by 30 seconds rest
- 14 pushups, followed by 30 seconds rest
And so on and so forth.
This helps you in building some strength and also getting a toned upper body.
Ideally, you should be trying to 3 sets of 12 reps. This will help you build initial muscle and make credible gains. However, as you move on, start increasing the number of reps, and you will be able to get bigger muscles.
So, when should you start decreasing the reps? A little pain and fatigue are normal and essential when it comes to building muscle. However, when you feel a sharp pain in the muscles on doing pushups, stop immediately, and do not engage in any upper body workouts for the next 48 to 72 hours. This will help you in recovering fully before getting back to the gym.
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