Learning how to do a real push-up is indeed very challenging for women, but holds the key to many general fitness goals at the same time. Although it might seem to be very painstaking initially, once you are given a proper understanding of how to do these with precision to tone your abs, with some obvious support from a good fitness trainer, you will slowly learn to do the push-ups which can then strengthen the entire upper part of your body along with your core.
Benefits of push-ups for women
Let’s look at some of the fundamental benefits of push-ups for women -
It helps to strengthen the upper body and the core, thereby blessing you with a strong chest and flexibility in the limbs.
Push-ups help to develop full-body strength in women because it engages numerous muscles at the same time.
It can also help to prevent certain conditions like arthritis as the bones get strengthened with regular push-ups.
With so many metabolically active tissues in the body due to the push-ups, weight management becomes very easy for women.
What to do if you are not strong enough to do a push-up
No need to fret or feel disappointed if you are unable to master those push-ups in the first go. Start with the wall push-ups first and then you may slowly move on to a tad lower surface. Try placing your hands on comparatively lower surfaces, such as a couch or a chair or even your bed. Once you’ve mastered that, you can then try kneeling push-ups and finally you will be ready to do full-fledged push-ups.
Preparations for your first push-up
To prepare for your first push-up you should start with having your chest and stomach flat on the floor. As you try to push your hands and heels away from the floor you need to exhale and slowly close on your torso, chest, and thighs as well. After that, you need to hold on to that plank position for a second keeping your core engaged the whole time. As you slowly inhale letting your body loose into the starting position you are already done with your first push-up.
Step by step process of a basic push-up for women
Step 1: Get into a plank position
Step 2: Lower your body and make your chest touch the floor
Step 3: Start tucking your elbows in and pulling them closer to your body as you form a 45-degree angle when your torso is held in a lower position during the move.
Step 4: Pause and hold on to your breath for a second and slowly let go to return to the first position.
Step 5: If you notice your hips are sagging during the whole process it means that the push-up was incomplete, and you need to repeat the set.
Other variations & modifications of push-ups for women
Wall push-ups: This is one of the easiest variations of push-ups that women can practice. All you need to do is place your hands on a wall instead of a floor and step back a few inches from the wall. Bend your elbows and come closer to the wall by positioning your body in a straight line. Keep repeating this motion and you will master the wall push-ups soon.
Kneeling push-ups: This is a very quick modification of a regular push-up where you need to drop down to make your knees touch the ground. You need to keep your back straight and your hips in line with the rest of your body.
Push-ups with forwarding raise: This modification of push-ups helps to develop your entire strength from the core. For that, you need to first hold it in a push-up position and complete one whole push. Before bending the elbows, you need to lift one hand from the ground and take it forward near your head and hold it straight so that it runs parallel to your face.
Decline push-ups: This kind of push-up requires to go to place your legs on a higher surface so that it may help strengthen your biceps and triceps.
Incline push-ups: It appears to be comparatively more difficult than the other forms of push-ups, but it tests mainly your muscular endurance, and once you ace it, you can feel the strength in your chest arms, and shoulders.
Diamond push-ups: These push-ups mainly improve the endurance of your upper body and help you to remove the side bulges from your upper arm. Since the posture of the body during this push-up forms the shape of a diamond, it works on an all-encompassing strength-building of the shoulder, triceps, chest, and core.
Spiderman push-ups: This is another modified version of a push-up, which is basically a combination of Spiderman moves and regular push-ups. They mainly help to strengthen the abdominal muscles and hamstrings, and most importantly help to get rid of those ugly love handles that you have hated for so long.
Pike push-ups: With that simple plank you have to elevate your body to a bike position, and undoubtedly it is quite difficult. But once you have excelled in the art of doing these bike push-ups, your upper backs and shoulders will show the results soon enough.
One arm push-up: Once you are assured of the strength you have gained in your core and upper body after trying all the other forms of push-ups, this modification will enable you further to test the strength and endurance of your wrists and arms.
Tricep push-ups: This is a slightly modified version of the regular push-ups that are mainly focused on the building of the triceps.
Common mistakes to avoid while doing push-ups
Mistake 1: Bringing your hips too low can break the position of the push-up.
Mistake 2: Taking your hands too far forwards which does not put the required stress on the abs and the court, thereby making the whole effort of doing the push-up futile.
Mistake 3: Let your elbows be pointed out without tucking them in.
Helpful tips to follow while doing push-ups for women
Always begin in a high plank position so that the body is in a straight line from the shoulders till the heels first stop
Try to experiment with different kinds of modifications and variations of the push-up instead of sticking to the same routine
While doing the push-ups, make sure to focus on the core as it can be your ultimate source of strength
Safety and precautions to be followed while doing push-ups for women
Do not drop your belly or hips while you are in a plank position in your attempt to pull off a push-up
Do not forget to breathe, and in fact, do make sure that you are adequately oxygenated while doing push-ups
Don’t be too hard on yourself about repeating the push-up sets while racing with the clock
Exercises to help women master push-ups
You can try the following strengthening exercises to master the art of doing perfect push-ups:
Put your toes down while starting a high plank to test the strength in your feet to support your body
Do some rounds of negative push-ups
Hold onto a push-up position for 30 seconds and repeat the sets to test your energy
Work on plank rotation from one side to another side
Push-ups for women, can not only improve their muscle endurance but also eliminate the myth that women cannot do push-ups. In fact, the more you can hold on to your breath while doing the push-up the better would be your form. So, do not hold yourself back anymore thinking that push-ups befit only men and start with your push-up regimen. Do not, however, forget to precede your workouts with a small session of regular warmups and you will be ready to flaunt those toned abs and strong biceps and triceps in no time!
FAQs
· Push-up exercises are amazing for women as they improve their overall fitness.
· A woman can go for 3 sets of push-up exercises every day.
· Push-ups do not require any equipment and can improve the posture of the body with regular practice.