There is no need to invest in expensive equipment or free weights to begin your fitness journey. Mobility is the bedrock of a healthy fitness routine. Mastering the necessary motions for every exercise starts with your body weight.
It's probably not worth your time (or risk of injury) to bench press your way to a better body if you can't do a pushup (or many of them).
Doing pushups is neither impressive nor sexual. You don't have to lift a tonne of weight to be considered vital, but you will learn this the hard way if you spend little time with some incredibly fit people.
It's important to note that some of the most impressive displays of strength don't even involve lifting any weight. (While others undoubtedly do, regardless of your opinion of powerlifting, it is incredible to see someone lift 700 or 800 pounds.)
To develop upper-body strength, muscle, and definition, it helps to perform a wide variety of pushups.
Why PushupsPushups Are So Good For You
We developed the pushup test together with Martin Rooney many years ago. If you need to become more familiar with Martin, you should know that he is a top-tier trainer who has coached countless professional and Olympic competitors. When I train with Martin, I'm on the verge of setting a new personal best.
Martin was not only an excellent trainer but also a great coach. The three-minute pushup challenge was one of them.
The challenge was intended to help you increase the number of pushups you can do, but it had one major drawback: only those with an exceptionally high level of strength and endurance could hope to benefit from it.
Most people I know cannot do three minutes of continuous pushups. Still, it was a great challenge because it highlighted the significance of relative body strength.
Too often, we use the amount of weight you can lift as a proxy for a person's strength, when in fact, one of the best measures of fitness and a key component of strength training is how well you can move your body. In addition, identifying and fixing form flaws that will only become a problem when you start lifting heavier can be aided by bodyweight tests.
How To Do More Pushups: The Assessment
Determine whether you need to work on your strength or endurance to increase the number of pushups you can do. The first step in improving your number of pushups is to take a quick assessment that will take less than a minute of your time.
The following test is one I've used with clients for years; it will help you become a better user of bodyweight exercises. (There are countless permutations possible with other workouts.) I've used several forms of this test to gauge starting fitness levels.