The different types of push-ups and their benefits

Push-ups are one of the most famous sports exercises. Used to strengthen your triceps, your pectorals as well as your deltoids, I will list here different types of pumps and their specificities so that you can integrate into your sports routine the push-ups best suited to your profile.

What are the benefits of push-ups?

Doing push-ups regularly can be good for your physical condition and your general well-being. This simple but effective exercise involves several muscle groups and offers numerous benefits.

Push-ups are great for building strength in your arms, shoulders, pectorals and abdominal muscles.

Additionally, doing push-ups involves maintaining good posture, which can help correct muscle imbalances and improve your overall posture. Push-ups work the stabilizer muscles, which helps improve your body balance. This can also be very beneficial for the practice of other sports.

One of the other major advantages of pumps is that they can be done anywhere, at any time, without the need for any special equipment. You can do them at home, outside or even when travelling.

To take full advantage of the benefits of push-ups, you should incorporate them into a training routine complete with other exercises!

Push-ups for beginners

If you’ve never done this exercise before, or only done a few, don’t go in blind and follow my advice!

You should start by practising easy, classic push-ups so that your muscles get used to them before moving on to the next stage.

Wall push-ups

If you’re afraid of taking the plunge, you can start with a little magic trick!

Here’s how to do wall push-ups:

Face a wall and place your palms against it, feet together about 70 cm from the wall. Now bend your elbows while keeping your body aligned. Gently bring your nose close to the wall until it brushes against it. Then push yourself back to your starting position. Make sure your head, back and legs are aligned. Contract your abdominal muscles and squeeze your buttocks to lock your body in place.

You can start with 3 sets of 40 push-ups, with an interval of 1 minute 30 between sets.

Once the exercise seems too easy, you can take it to the next level.

Knee push-ups

Here’s how to do it:

To begin, kneel on the floor with your feet together. Place your palms flat on the floor, a little wider than shoulder-width apart, with your arms outstretched. Make sure you contract your abdominals and buttocks, while keeping your thighs, hips, back and head aligned. Then bend your elbows and gently bring your chest down to the floor until it touches it, then back up.

Perform 3 sets of 20 repetitions, pausing for one minute and 30 seconds between sets.

Once you feel completely at ease, you can move on to the next stage. Contrary to popular belief, wall push-ups and knee push-ups are very effective!

Classic push-ups

Here’s how to make THE original push-up:

To begin, kneel on the floor. Place your hands on the floor, about shoulder-width apart. Then extend your feet and move them backwards, one after the other. The closer your feet are together, the more tension you’ll feel in your back and buttocks. Now slowly flex your arms, pull your shoulders back and lower your chest towards the ground in a controlled manner. Make sure your elbows point slightly backwards. Finally, push yourself upwards in a controlled manner, starting from the lowest point.

You can perform 3 sets of 8 repetitions, always pausing for 1 minute 30 seconds between sets.

Now that push-ups are part of your part of your daily routine, it’s time to think about what exactly you want from them.

Push-ups for intermediate level

You’ve become a professional of easy pumps, and now you’re going to specify or combine different types of push-ups to work different parts of your body.

If your aim is to build up the triceps in your arms, here’s a suitable type of pump.

Diamond push-ups

The diamond push-up is similar to a classic one except that you must place your hands very close to each other.

You can do 4 sets of 20 push-ups, with your usual break of 1 minute 30 between each set.

Would you rather work on your pectorals? This exercise is for you!

The archer push-ups

This type of push-up resembles a classic push-up, only you have to flex your left arm and move down to the left until your chest is close to the ground. Keep your left elbow close to your body. At the same time, fully extend your right arm so that it forms a 90° angle with your body. Push on your left arm to return to the starting position. Alternate arms.

You can do 4 sets of 20 push-ups, with your usual break of 1 minute 30 between each set.

Finally, if you want to work on your deltoids, discover a new type of push-up:

Elevated push-ups

To begin with, position yourself as if you were going to do classic push-ups: your feet are on the ground and your hands are raised on a step. Make sure your body is slightly inclined, with your feet lower than your head.

You can do 4 sets of 20 push-ups, with your usual break of one minute 30 between each set.

Here you are at the intermediate level, with different push-ups to perform depending on the parts of the body you want to work on. Before moving on to the advanced level, make sure you’re physically ready!

Push-ups for an experienced profile

Once you feel physically ready, you can move on to the advanced level. Take care not to injure yourself, and start gently.

Spiderman push-ups

Here’s an ultra-efficient type of push-up:

To begin, position yourself in classic push-ups. As you lower your torso, lift your right foot and bend your leg to bring it towards your elbow. Return to the initial position, then repeat the same movement on the other side. This type of exercise target the glutes, abdominals, triceps, pectorals and deltoids.

You can do 3 sets of 10 push-ups, with your usual break of one minute 30 between each set.

Slammed push-ups

Put yourself in the classic pump position, with arms straight, back straight and abdominals contracted. Bend your elbows down towards the floor, keeping your arms close to your body, until your elbows reach a 90-degree angle. Push hard on your hands to propel yourself upwards, trying to lift slightly off the ground. While you’re in the air, bring your hands together quickly and clap them together before falling back to the ground.