Push-Up - Unlocking Series
| Parts | Exercises | Sets | Reps/Duration | Rest Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Warm-Up | Light Mobility - Joint # | 1 - 2 | 5 - 30 | none - 2 min |
| Warm-Up Set/s | 1 - 2 | 1 - 8 | 2 - 5 min | |
| Main Exercise | Push-Up Progression | 2 - 3 | 3 - 8 | 3 - 6 mins |
| Accessories | Limiting Factors | 1 - 2 | 5 - 20 / 5 secs - 1 min | 2 - 3 mins |
| Parts | Exercises | Sets | Reps/Duration | Rest Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Warm-Up | Light Mobility Drill | 1 | 10 - 20 | none - 2 min |
| Warm-Up Set | 1 | 1 - 8 | 2 - 5 mins | |
| Main Exercise | Wall Push-Ups | 2 | 3 - 8 | 3 - 6 mins |
| Accessories | High Plank | 1 | 5 - 40 secs | 2 - 3 mins |
| Parts | Exercises | Sets | Reps/Duration | Rest Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Warm-Up | Light Mobility Drill | 1 | 10 - 20 | none - 2 min |
| Warm-Up Set | 1 | 1 - 8 | 2 - 5 mins | |
| Main Exercise | Incline Push-Ups | 2 | 3 - 8 | 3 - 6 mins |
| Accessories | Scapular Push-Ups | 1 | 5 - 15 | 2 - 3 mins |
| High Plank | 1 | 5 - 40 secs | 2 - 3 mins |
Routine Information:
Description:
The standard push-up is a common and basic bodyweight pushing exercise, and yet it is great, especially for beginners, for building their foundation. It can even be used by more advanced athletes to supplement their training. This routine template is highly customizable for anyone trying to unlock their first standard push-up while removing unnecessary additional work to facilitate an optimal recovery rate.
Workouts 1 and 2:
Workout 1 - a tailored workout routine designed for individuals who may have minimal strength to push themselves up. This includes overweight individuals with limited muscle mass, those recovering from a prolonged illness resulting in strength loss, and individuals who have lived a sedentary lifestyle for an extended period and thus have little to no strength.
Workout 2 - designed for individuals who already possess some strength and are closer to performing standard push-ups. In terms of exercise selection, follow the template by choosing the most challenging variation manageable.
Warm-Up:
To properly warm up for the push-up, you simply need to warm up the muscles around the shoulder, elbow, and wrist joints by moving them around with intent or doing some named mobility movements. Then, do some warm-up sets for the main exercise. For example:
Light Mobility Drill: Shoulder Circles -> Shoulder Corkscrews -> Elbow Circles -> Wrist Rotations for a round or two with enough reps for you to feel them working.
Warm-Up Set/s: You can either increase the incline of your push-ups or do some other relatively easy pushing exercise and do some reps far from failure to use and warm up the same muscle groups.
Just make sure that whatever you do is just enough to work and warm up your muscles, not tire them, so you can perform your best in your working sets.
Push-Up Variation Selection:
Choose a pushing exercise that has a similar movement pattern to that of the standard push-up that you can do near failure within the specified rep range. It doesn't really matter where you currently are, as long as you can move around and don't have any health complications limiting you from doing so. You can even use the wall while standing almost straight up to train for it. The stronger you become, the easier it will be for you to perform push-ups with a more horizontal body alignment.
Alternatively, it's also possible to work with machines and freeweights instead to unlock the push-up if you like to do it that way. It may even be more efficient since you can easily adjust the intensity. You just gotta train the chest and triceps with some front delts and core stability, the main muscle groups/components used in push-ups.
You simply have to choose or modify an exercise for you to be able to do that within the specified rep range to build both strength and muscle mass on the main muscle groups involved.
Accessories:
Determine what your limiting factors are in your push-up training, then choose exercises for those. These typically include core stability, scapular control (depression and protraction), wrist mobility, and other lagging muscle group/s.
Proximity to Failure:
This routine is strength-specific for achieving your first push-ups, so managing fatigue is highly important to get a reasonably high frequency of training for it. While limiting your proximity to failure in like 1 - 2 RIR is better, it's still good to go until task failure (0 RIR), considering you likely won't know what that feels like just yet, to avoid undertraining.
With this, you should compensate for it by ensuring other training variables are optimized for recovery, like nutrition, sleep, stress management, and overall training volume. But then, after getting the hang of the feeling of going until failure, it's better to stay in 1 - 2 RIR and use going until failure sparingly.
Training Frequency:
For strength training, it's best to limit fatigue as much as possible so you can get a relatively high training frequency. It can be every other day or 2-3 times a week. This makes it possible for you to get in as much practice as possible to maximize neural and physiological (structural) adaptations.
Progression:
After some time of consistency, you will eventually feel like what you're doing is becoming a little easier or that you've gotten stronger. By that time, you can start trying a harder variation or decreasing the height of where you push yourself up so your body will lean to be more horizontal.
For example, if you're starting from wall push-ups, depending on your height, you can start doing push-ups on something lower than that where you put your hands on the wall, like a table or even a staircase. Keep doing that whenever you get stronger and you'll eventually be able to do standard push-ups on the floor.
When you can finally rep out a standard push-up quite easily, considering you do it with full ROM, you can start trying harder variations of the push-up. However, depending on how long you stay in a variation and gain strength there, you can skip a variation.
Generally, you can try doing so in such a manner:
Standard Push-Up -> Decline Push-Up -> Narrow Push-Up -> Wide Push-Up -> Staggered Push-Up -> Archer Push-Up -> Typewriter Push-Up -> Supported One Arm Push-Up -> One Arm Push-Up.
Some of you may notice and wonder why the Pseudo Planche Push-Up and Pike Push-Up are not included in the order; it is because they have different mechanics where the load is mostly on the shoulders, regardless of being called 'push-ups'.
Short Guide: Customize it depending on your goals and needs
In choosing exercises, it's crucial to align your selection with your specific fitness goals, current fitness level, and individual preferences. Consider principles such as specificity and the ease of applying progressive overload. The more specific your exercises are to your goals, the better. Additionally, pay attention to your body's response to different exercises and adjust your selection to accommodate your strengths and limitations/weaknesses.
For strength training with weights, it's best to use the specific exercise you want to get strong in. For example, if you want to get strong at deadlifts, then do deadlifts. When it comes to training for a particular movement or bodyweight skill, use an immediate regression of that movement that you can do or an easier exercise that has a similar element or pattern. You can also break down a movement into different components and train them separately.
In hypertrophy training, opt for simple exercises with a high capacity to load the desired muscle group. While most compound exercises are effective for building muscle, consider other exercises that offer a higher degree of capacity to load a specific muscle group and more efficient when it comes to energy expenditure whenever possible. For instance, while deadlifts are good for gaining strength and muscle, other exercises may be more suitable for focused mass building in areas like the lats and quads.
In general, it's advisable to prioritize complex movements before moving on to simpler ones, as the former generally demands more energy and a fresh CNS for optimal performance. This typically means starting with compound exercises and then moving on to isolation exercises.
However, there's no one-size-fits-all approach. You should tailor your exercise order based on your goals and preferences. The order in which you perform exercises significantly impacts your results, as optimal performance is crucial for generating sufficient stimulus. In addition to doing complex movements first, you should also consider doing exercises where you want to improve in the most early in your workout sessions. Therefore, you don't have to follow compounds before isolation approach all the time.
For example, in a hypertrophy-focused workout prioritizing triceps, consider doing triceps isolation or bias exercises first, regardless of whether they are compounds or isolations. In a full-body session, while compounds are usually performed first, take into account the movement patterns or muscle groups you want to prioritize. For instance, if pull movements are a weak area you want to improve, start with pulls followed by pushes and leg exercises for example, and then followed by additional exercises as needed.
There are several ranges of repititions you can explore, like the following:
- 1 - 5
- 5 - 8
- 8 - 12
- 12 - 15
- 15+
Note that these repetition ranges are relative to intensity. It won't make sense to focus on a particular rep range that is not challenging enough.
The same idea applies to the hold time for isometric/static exercises. The key goal is to give your muscles sufficient stimulus. You can pretty much choose whatever rep range or duration based on your preferences alone and improve both strength and induce hypertrophy. However, each rep range has its advantages; for instance, higher rep ranges are often more manageable for loading target muscles in some exercises compared to lower rep ranges with higher intensity.
In strength training, where intensity is paramount for continuous strength adaptations, a lower rep range of 1 - 5 suffices while offering relatively less fatigue. For hypertrophy-focused training, the specific rep range matters less as each set is taken to or near failure, and weekly volume is equated. Therefore, choose a rep range or hold time that aligns with your preferences, allowing sufficient loading of muscles without overcomplicating your routine while avoiding the risk of undertraining and overtraining.
There are various methods you can employ based on your needs and preferences. However, in our workout routines, we primarily use straight sets. This method involves performing a specific number of sets for an exercise, taking rest between each set before moving on to the next exercise. Straight sets allow for sufficient rest between sets, promoting optimal performance and providing an effective stimulus.
While straight sets are the primary focus, feel free to explore different methods based on your preferences. For example, you might incorporate drop sets, where you start with a heavier load and immediately reduce the weight for subsequent sets without rest, or other similar short-rested methods. These variations can be useful when time is limited or for those looking to add intensity to their workouts. Additionally, you can combine multiple methods, such as incorporating a drop set (w/ partials) right after straight sets.
For optimal results, it's crucial to strike a balance between high frequency, reasonable intensity, and sufficient recovery time between sessions. In general, this balance often falls within the range of 2 to 3 workout sessions per week.
When considering workout frequency, your schedule and time availability become key factors. Adjust your workouts accordingly. For instance, if you can only dedicate time for 2 sessions a week, you might opt for more challenging and comprehensive workouts during those sessions. On the other hand, if you have the availability to train 3 to 5 times or more per week, then you can distribute your training volume more evenly, reducing fatigue build up and promoting a better overall recovery rate.
Typically, when an exercise begins to feel too easy or lacks the desired challenge, it serves as a clear indicator that it's time to apply progressive overload. This principle can take various forms, such as increasing resistance or weight, attempting a more challenging exercise variation, adding repetitions, duration, and improving execution techniques.
However, it's essential to approach the addition of weight or the transition to more challenging exercise variations with a solid foundation. Rushing into these changes can lead to frustration and potential setbacks. Ensure a gradual implementation to avoid overwhelming yourself and to sustain steady progress.
For example, when you find that you can comfortably perform more repetitions within your preferred rep range without compromising form, it's a signal to intensify your workout. This approach allows for continual advancement, keeping your fitness journey both challenging and rewarding.
A warm-up is a crucial preparatory phase that precedes a workout or physical activity. It involves engaging in light aerobic exercise and dynamic movements to gradually increase the heart rate, warm up the muscles, and enhance joint flexibility. The primary purpose of a warm-up is to prepare the body for more intense physical exertion, reducing the risk of injury and optimizing performance.
This is as straightforward as it can be, just a phase to warm up your body. It doesn't need to be anything fancy. It is often in the form of light cardio, light to moderate mobility drills for the joints involved, and warm-up sets for your main exercises. In some cases, you can omit the light cardio and even the mobility drills and just go directly with the warm-up sets for your main exercises.
For the warm-up sets, this means doing an easier variation of your main exercise or with lighter loading and staying far from failure. Since this is just a warm-up, you don't want to tire yourself. You just have to perform some reps that is far from tiring yourself and just enough to get the feel of the movement to prepare your mind and muscles for it.
There's no need to warm up a muscle group that won't be used in your main workout. For instance, if what you're gonna train is your upper body, then there's no point in warming up the lower body. Just be specific in what you need to avoid wasting energy than necessary.