Muscles worked: The anterior chain. Dynamic: Chest, triceps, anterior deltoids, rotator cuff, serratus anterior. Stationary: Entire abdominal wall, quadriceps, hip flexors. Stabilizing: Latissimus dorsi, upper back, biceps.
Why do pushups?: The pushup serves as equal part physical conditioning tool, punishment tool, and tired tradition. Contrary to popular belief, the pushup is not a superior upper body strengthening tool, even in its one armed form. The overhead press claims that title, in the opinion of this author. Rather, it is an intermediate movement ability which develops healthy shoulders and can be tailored to build muscle endurance which is especially useful for punching and blocking.
Also, completing the tedious ritual of pushups demonstrates will power and discipline in a student. Pushups represent an immediately accessible form of austerity training in addition to a decent strength maintainer. Regardless of how martial artists feel about this exercise, it is ubiquitous in training schools and can be successfully used as a sole strengthening tool in the absence of feasible alternatives, especially with beginners. They are free and they keep students busy.
Pushups can be performed numerous ways to reap a variety of rewards. Here, I will outline the use of the pushup as a rehabilitation tool, strength builder, and muscle builder.
Rehabilitation: Pushups can be used to gently rehabilitate the shoulders, elbows, upper back, and midsection after injuries both large and small, to the muscles, bones, and joints. The trick is to stimulate healing blood flow through those areas and create enough micro damage to elicit tissue repair. This requires the use of the easiest pushup variations with virtually no momentum and very high repetitions. This enables the trainee to maximize the "burn" associated with pushups while minimizing tissue damage, thus resulting in a healing stimulus without a high risk of further injury. An example of this training would be 3 sets of 50 wall pushups with metronome timing (3 seconds down, 2 seconds up). For best results, push 20 repetitions past the burn during each set. If the set does not burn intensely, no healing stimulus is occurring.
Another benefit of this method is that the stabilizers, which normally do not receive adequate stimulation during normal exercise, are able to reach the point of lactic acid burn and failure. This increases their strength relative to the main movers, which are mostly under-challenged by wall pushups. A trainee who performs only regular pushups might have never worked their stabilizers to near failure.
Strength: Pushups can be used for strength by working up to the one armed pushup with full range of motion. This movement will tax the midsection most of all, but will develop impressive pressing strength as well. This method is best with stringent form and low repetitions. For progression ideas, purchase a copy of Convict Conditioning by Paul Wade.
One way to augment strength development is to maximize the strictness of form. Hands free pushups are now part of the US Army's physical test, which require the trainee to rest on the ground with the hands removed, push up to a full lockout, then return to the ground and remove the hands before the next repetition. This method ensures that EVERY repetition is equally difficult and therefore lowers the maximum achievable repetitions and maximizes the strength benefit of the exercise.
Muscle: This is the most common function of pushups in martial arts schools. Without weights, martial arts schools have few other options for building muscle in trainees: partner drills, isometrics, and technical drills have little effect on the physique. Pushups are therefore the most accessible muscle builders possible. To most efficiently craft muscle from pushups, perform high repetitions with maximum speed. For example, try to perform 1,000 pushups in one day with as many repetitions per set as possible without reaching failure. Go for volume. This will guarantee muscle breakdown and stimulate hypertrophy of the entire upper body and midsection.
Likely Results of Pushups: To judge any exercise, observe the bodies of its masters. Google the world record setters in the pushup for an indication of results that can be attained through diligent practice.
Notice the shoulder hypertrophy and overall leanness of physique. Pushups will lean out fat trainees and thicken up skinny trainees. For martial application, the importance of lean muscle mass as an expression of one's strength is implicit. The body types above demonstrate martial capacity, which accounts for the inclusion of pushups in nearly every martial art in human society.
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