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A 'press up', or 'push up', is a common strength training exercise performed in a prone position, lying horizontal and face down, raising and lowering the body using the arms. They develop the pectoral muscles and triceps, with ancillary benefits to the deltoids, serratus anterior, coracobrachialis and the midsection as a whole. Press ups are a basic exercise used in civilian athletic training or physical education and, especially, in military physical training.
The english term ''push-up'', used for the exercise, is recorded since 1905-10,[1] and the term ''press-up'' is recorded since 1945–50.[2]
In the ''full press up'', the back and legs are straight and off the floor. Several variations are seen, besides the common push up. These include bringing the thumbs and index fingers of both hands together (a ''diamond pushup'') as well as having the elbows point towards the knees. These two variations are intended to put greater emphasis on the triceps rather than the shoulder and chest muscles. When both hands are unbalanced or on uneven surfaces, this exercises also works the body core. Raising the feet or hands onto elevated surfaces during the exercise emphasize the upper and lower pectorals, respectively.
One relatively new, but extremely difficult variation is the Guillotine pushup. With hands on elevated points lower the chest, head and neck (thus the name) past the plane of the hands, getting a full stretch of the shoulders, then recover to the starting position.
Another extremely difficult variation is to perform a pushup using only hands, without resting the feet on the floor. These are known as planche pushups. To do this variation, the body's center of gravity must be kept over the hands while performing the push up by leaning forward while the legs are elevated in the air, which requires great strength and a high level of balance.
Another variation often used as part of boxing training involves doing the press up while wearing boxing gloves. The design of the gloves means that the person doing the press up must do so on their knuckles and without bending their wrists.
Hindu press ups are a form of exercise prevalent in Indian physical culture and Indian martial arts, particularly Pehlwani. Hindu squats are called ''dand'' and the exercise regimen in Indian wrestling often consists of doing the Indian ''jack knifing push-ups'', Indian club swinging and Hindu squats.[3] The Hindu jacknifing push ups are part of the core exercises for building up of strength, stamina, and flexibility of joints.[4] The ''dand'' was also a part of the exercise regimen of Bruce Lee.[5]
The simple set of exercises of ''dand-baithak'' (press up and squats) practiced in the villages of India has a beneficial effect on the spine. It takes off the strain from the spine and makes it fit to fight the other strains on the spine caused by the adoption of an erect posture.[6]
The American College of Sports Medicine (2000) recommends using a push up test to examine endurance on the upper-body musculature. For a male subject, assuming a ''dand'' position, with back straight, head up, and hands placed shoulder width apart, lowering his body with his chin touching the mat; the abdomen should not touch the mat.[7]
There are some less difficult versions, which reduce the effort by supporting some of the body weight in some way. One can move on to the standard press up after progress is made.
"Wall press ups" are performed by standing close to a wall and pushing away from the wall with the arms; to increase the difficulty, move your feet further from the wall.
"Girl" press ups are performed by supporting the lower body on the knees not the toes. A normal press up causes around 70% of the bodies weight to be placed on the arms, from the knees this lowers to around 50% significantly reducing the amount that needs to be lifted. Over time the muscles of the arm build up strength to the point where they can indeed support up to 70%. The reason for ''girl'' press ups generally being associated with women is that they are often used as a female alternative to normal press up in several military organisations, for example the British RAF.
There are also a number of plyometric versions of the press up that can be performed.
The aim of the 'clap press up' is to explosively push the body into the air for enough time to clap the hands together (once, or even more), then bring them back into position to cushion the fall.
In another type of plyometric press up, the ''drop push'', two platforms are placed on either side of the trainee. The exercise begins with the hands on either platform supporting the body, then the subject drops to the ground and explosively rebounds with a push up, extending the torso and arms completely off the ground and returning the hands to the platforms.
Another is simply an explosive press-up where a person attempts to push quickly and with enough force to raise their hands several centimeters off the ground, with the body completely suspended on the feet for a moment, a variation of the drop push.
With press-ups, many possibilities for customization and increased intensity are possible. Some examples are: One hand can be set on a higher platform than the other or be farther away from the other to give more weight to the opposite arm/side of the body and also exercise many diverse muscles. One can perform press ups by using only the tips of the fingers and thumb. This is known by some as "Marine-style". For increased difficulty, press ups can be performed on one arm or using weights. These forms may cause pain or lead to joint damage if performed incorrectly or excessively.
They are also rather commonly used as a fitness test or as a mild (somewhat embarrassing) physical punishment on the spot, to show off physically or as demonstration of submission (as in hazing, sometimes abusive)(British Army: "beasting").
In a competitive or disciplinary context especially, it is not rare to use 'nastier' variations, e.g. in mud, snow or dirt, divested, and/or to make it physically harder, as by putting one's foot or a weight on the performer's back (possibly with sanctions if equilibrium is lost, such as spilling a glass) or to do the exercise resting on the knuckles or not use all fingers (not counting the thumb).
The World Record for non-stop pushups is 10,507 by Minoru Yoshida of Japan on October, 1980.[8]. The Croatian Krunoslav Budiselić is stated as a Guinness World Record holder with 140 pushups in one minute.
The world record for most two-handed push back hand ups in one hour is 1781 by Doug Pruden of Canada, 2005[9], who also holds the world record for most back of hands one hand in one hour(677).[10]
Back of hands are a unique push-up exercise, but can lead to injury. They are generally practiced a few at a time and then gradually increased in number over days and weeks. The arms can not necessarily lock at the elbows due to the backwards positioning of the wrist. Most people cannot bend the wrist inwardly at 90 degrees from the arm. Back of hands push-ups with only one arm are also very difficult to do, and are not required in army fitness tests.[11]
See [1]
See [13]
See [14]
See [15]
USAF does not use this table, or anything similar. USAF uses a PT points system in which situps, pushups and a mile and a half run are used. There is no minimum, although points towards passing would be considerably affected by a low number of pushups.
1. push-up Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House
2. press-up Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House
3. Joseph Alter (1992). ''The Wrestler's Body: Identity and Ideology in North India''. Berkeley: University of California Press.
4. Sudhir Kakar (1996). ''The Colors of Violence: Cultural Identities, Religion, and Conflict'' pg 83. University of Chicago Press
5. Bruce Lee and John R. Little (1998). ''The Art of Expressing the Human Body'' pg 58. Tuttle Publishing
6. Dr. Krishna Murari Modi. ''Cure Aches And Pains Through Osteopathy: Adopting the Correct Posture.''
7. Vivian H. Heyward (2003
). ''Advanced fitness assessment & exercise prescription'' pg 125. Human Kinetics
8. Recordholders.org. World Records for Push-Ups (Press-Ups)
9. Guinnessworldrecords.com
10. http://www.recordholdersrepublic.co.uk
11. Recordholders.org World Records for Push ups (Press-ups)
★ Sit-up
★ Bench press
★ Calisthenics
★ Jumping Jack
★ Handstand pushup
★ EtymologyOnLine
★ Illustrations of how to do proper push ups
★ Bruce Lee demonstrates the two-finger push up
★ World records
★ Different types of Push Up
★ Animated (close) Triceps Pushups Instruction
★ Video of 19 push up variations
★ One Armed Pushups and the Normal Pushup
★ Pushups training program (contains 3 free books, but includes sales marketting)
History
The english term ''push-up'', used for the exercise, is recorded since 1905-10,[1] and the term ''press-up'' is recorded since 1945–50.[2]
Variations
Animation of a full press up. Note: The form could be better than in the above image. The pushup should be deep, the chest should near the floor, and the inner elbow should form a 90 degree angle or smaller. Also the feet should be together.
In the ''full press up'', the back and legs are straight and off the floor. Several variations are seen, besides the common push up. These include bringing the thumbs and index fingers of both hands together (a ''diamond pushup'') as well as having the elbows point towards the knees. These two variations are intended to put greater emphasis on the triceps rather than the shoulder and chest muscles. When both hands are unbalanced or on uneven surfaces, this exercises also works the body core. Raising the feet or hands onto elevated surfaces during the exercise emphasize the upper and lower pectorals, respectively.
One relatively new, but extremely difficult variation is the Guillotine pushup. With hands on elevated points lower the chest, head and neck (thus the name) past the plane of the hands, getting a full stretch of the shoulders, then recover to the starting position.
Another extremely difficult variation is to perform a pushup using only hands, without resting the feet on the floor. These are known as planche pushups. To do this variation, the body's center of gravity must be kept over the hands while performing the push up by leaning forward while the legs are elevated in the air, which requires great strength and a high level of balance.
Another variation often used as part of boxing training involves doing the press up while wearing boxing gloves. The design of the gloves means that the person doing the press up must do so on their knuckles and without bending their wrists.
Hindu press ups
Hindu press ups are a form of exercise prevalent in Indian physical culture and Indian martial arts, particularly Pehlwani. Hindu squats are called ''dand'' and the exercise regimen in Indian wrestling often consists of doing the Indian ''jack knifing push-ups'', Indian club swinging and Hindu squats.[3] The Hindu jacknifing push ups are part of the core exercises for building up of strength, stamina, and flexibility of joints.[4] The ''dand'' was also a part of the exercise regimen of Bruce Lee.[5]
The simple set of exercises of ''dand-baithak'' (press up and squats) practiced in the villages of India has a beneficial effect on the spine. It takes off the strain from the spine and makes it fit to fight the other strains on the spine caused by the adoption of an erect posture.[6]
The American College of Sports Medicine (2000) recommends using a push up test to examine endurance on the upper-body musculature. For a male subject, assuming a ''dand'' position, with back straight, head up, and hands placed shoulder width apart, lowering his body with his chin touching the mat; the abdomen should not touch the mat.[7]
Less difficult versions
There are some less difficult versions, which reduce the effort by supporting some of the body weight in some way. One can move on to the standard press up after progress is made.
"Wall press ups" are performed by standing close to a wall and pushing away from the wall with the arms; to increase the difficulty, move your feet further from the wall.
"Girl" press ups are performed by supporting the lower body on the knees not the toes. A normal press up causes around 70% of the bodies weight to be placed on the arms, from the knees this lowers to around 50% significantly reducing the amount that needs to be lifted. Over time the muscles of the arm build up strength to the point where they can indeed support up to 70%. The reason for ''girl'' press ups generally being associated with women is that they are often used as a female alternative to normal press up in several military organisations, for example the British RAF.
Plyometrics
There are also a number of plyometric versions of the press up that can be performed.
The aim of the 'clap press up' is to explosively push the body into the air for enough time to clap the hands together (once, or even more), then bring them back into position to cushion the fall.
In another type of plyometric press up, the ''drop push'', two platforms are placed on either side of the trainee. The exercise begins with the hands on either platform supporting the body, then the subject drops to the ground and explosively rebounds with a push up, extending the torso and arms completely off the ground and returning the hands to the platforms.
Another is simply an explosive press-up where a person attempts to push quickly and with enough force to raise their hands several centimeters off the ground, with the body completely suspended on the feet for a moment, a variation of the drop push.
With press-ups, many possibilities for customization and increased intensity are possible. Some examples are: One hand can be set on a higher platform than the other or be farther away from the other to give more weight to the opposite arm/side of the body and also exercise many diverse muscles. One can perform press ups by using only the tips of the fingers and thumb. This is known by some as "Marine-style". For increased difficulty, press ups can be performed on one arm or using weights. These forms may cause pain or lead to joint damage if performed incorrectly or excessively.
Non-training purposes
They are also rather commonly used as a fitness test or as a mild (somewhat embarrassing) physical punishment on the spot, to show off physically or as demonstration of submission (as in hazing, sometimes abusive)(British Army: "beasting").
In a competitive or disciplinary context especially, it is not rare to use 'nastier' variations, e.g. in mud, snow or dirt, divested, and/or to make it physically harder, as by putting one's foot or a weight on the performer's back (possibly with sanctions if equilibrium is lost, such as spilling a glass) or to do the exercise resting on the knuckles or not use all fingers (not counting the thumb).
Record Breakers/Attempts
The World Record for non-stop pushups is 10,507 by Minoru Yoshida of Japan on October, 1980.[8]. The Croatian Krunoslav Budiselić is stated as a Guinness World Record holder with 140 pushups in one minute.
The world record for most two-handed push back hand ups in one hour is 1781 by Doug Pruden of Canada, 2005[9], who also holds the world record for most back of hands one hand in one hour(677).[10]
Back of hands are a unique push-up exercise, but can lead to injury. They are generally practiced a few at a time and then gradually increased in number over days and weeks. The arms can not necessarily lock at the elbows due to the backwards positioning of the wrist. Most people cannot bend the wrist inwardly at 90 degrees from the arm. Back of hands push-ups with only one arm are also very difficult to do, and are not required in army fitness tests.[11]
Doug Pruden holds two push up world records, he performed 677 one arm back of hand push ups in one hour and 1781 back of hand push ups in one hour in 2005
Fitness Levels
Men's United States Armed Forces Fitness Levels
US Army
See [1]
| Number of pushups in two minutes | ||
|---|---|---|
| Age | Pass basic training | 99th Percentile |
| 16-21 | 42 | 71 |
| 22-26 | 40 | 75 |
| 27-31 | 39 | 76 |
| 32-36 | 36 | 75 |
| 37-41 | 34 | 73 |
US Navy
| Number of pushups in two minutes | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age | Probationary | Satisfactory (Post-Boot Camp) | Good (Boot Camp grad) | Excellent | Outstanding |
| 17-19 [2] | 42 | 46-49 | 51-68 | 76-82 | 86-92 |
| 20-24 [3] | 37 | 42-45 | 47-64 | 71-77 | 81-87 |
| 25-29 [4] | 34 | 38-41 | 44-60 | 67-73 | 77-84 |
| 30-34 [5] | 31 | 35-38 | 41-57 | 64-69 | 74-80 |
| 35-39 [6] | 27 | 33-35 | 37-53 | 60-65 | 70-76 |
| 40-44 [7] | 24 | 29-32 | 34-50 | 56-61 | 67-79 |
| 45-49 [8] | 21 | 25-28 | 32-46 | 52-57 | 63-68 |
| 50-54 [9] | 19 | 23-25 | 30-43 | 49-53 | 59-64 |
| 55-59 [10] | 10 | 12-14 | 16-38 | 46-52 | 56-60 |
| 60-64 [11] | 8 | 10-12 | 14-32 | 44-48 | 52-57 |
| 65+ [12] | 4 | 6-8 | 10-25 | 36-41 | 44-48 |
US Air Force
See [13]
| Number of pushups in one minute | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Age | Marginal | Good | Excellent |
| 17-24 | 19 | 33 | 57 |
| 25-29 | 17 | 30 | 52 |
| 30-34 | 15 | 27 | 46 |
| 35-39 | 13 | 24 | 41 |
| 40-44 | 10 | 21 | 36 |
| 45-49 | 9 | 18 | 33 |
| 50-54 | 7 | 15 | 30 |
| 55- | 6 | 15 | 28 |
Women's US Armed Forces Fitness Levels
US Army
See [14]
| Number of pushups | ||
|---|---|---|
| Age | Pass basic training | 99th Percentil |
| 17-21 | 8-9 | 42 |
| 22-26 | 11 | 46 |
| 27-31 | 10 | 50 |
| 32-36 | 9 | 45 |
| 37-41 | 6 | 40 |
US Air Force
See [15]
| Number of pushups in one minute | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Age | Marginal | Good | Excellent |
| 17-24 | 9 | 18 | 37 |
| 25-29 | 8 | 16 | 35 |
| 30-34 | 7 | ||
| 40-44 | 5 | 11 | 18 |
| 45-49 | 4 | 9 | 16 |
| 50-54 | 3 | 8 | 14 |
| 55- | 2 | 7 | 12 |
References
USAF does not use this table, or anything similar. USAF uses a PT points system in which situps, pushups and a mile and a half run are used. There is no minimum, although points towards passing would be considerably affected by a low number of pushups.
1. push-up Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House
2. press-up Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House
3. Joseph Alter (1992). ''The Wrestler's Body: Identity and Ideology in North India''. Berkeley: University of California Press.
4. Sudhir Kakar (1996). ''The Colors of Violence: Cultural Identities, Religion, and Conflict'' pg 83. University of Chicago Press
5. Bruce Lee and John R. Little (1998). ''The Art of Expressing the Human Body'' pg 58. Tuttle Publishing
6. Dr. Krishna Murari Modi. ''Cure Aches And Pains Through Osteopathy: Adopting the Correct Posture.''
7. Vivian H. Heyward (2003
). ''Advanced fitness assessment & exercise prescription'' pg 125. Human Kinetics
8. Recordholders.org. World Records for Push-Ups (Press-Ups)
9. Guinnessworldrecords.com
10. http://www.recordholdersrepublic.co.uk
11. Recordholders.org World Records for Push ups (Press-ups)
See also
★ Sit-up
★ Bench press
★ Calisthenics
★ Jumping Jack
★ Handstand pushup
Sources and external links
★ EtymologyOnLine
★ Illustrations of how to do proper push ups
★ Bruce Lee demonstrates the two-finger push up
★ World records
★ Different types of Push Up
★ Animated (close) Triceps Pushups Instruction
★ Video of 19 push up variations
★ One Armed Pushups and the Normal Pushup
★ Pushups training program (contains 3 free books, but includes sales marketting)
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