1,000 Health and Fitness Tips #0015: For the Push-up Studs
How to make push-ups harder and better for building muscle
For those of you who are push-up studs, regular push-ups may seem like an inferior exercise for growing muscle because you have to do 50+ reps in order to get close to failure.Â
If this is you, then try elevating your hands–two good ways are using Perfect Push-up handles or by placing weight plates under your hands–to increase the range of motion.Â
If you combine the deep stretch you get when elevating your hands with a slow and controlled eccentric (i.e. lowering yourself for 3-8 seconds with each repetition), you’ll find that reaching failure in less than 30 reps per set is not the issue. Rather, your issue will be the burning fatigue in your chest and shoulders–but it’s also the solution.
What I love about push ups is how versatile I can make them. I am able to reach failure more quickly by doing reps of a variety of push ups, such as plyometric push ups, close grip push ups and isometric hold push ups.
I agree, Adam, and I also like that they are essentially no cost and accessible almost anywhere.