Few exercises can have a more dramatic impact on a mom’s body than push-ups. It’s an easy, convenient exercise that gives you a lot in exchange for a little. Here’s why:
The push-up is a total body, compound exercise that stimulates every major muscle group with either a dynamic or static muscle contraction. Few exercises can claim this much contractile bang for the buck.
Push-ups build functional strength useful to everyday life. Ever push open a door, open a jar, get up from the ground, hold a baby or push a stroller? Push-ups can make your everyday activities easier.
Do you want firmer, higher breasts? Push-ups got their name for a reason. The exercise is great for increasing the tonus of the pectoralis major muscle that lies beneath breast tissue, reducing sag and complementing shape.
I could go on listing more benefits, like sculpted arms, a more defined jaw line (yes, push-ups will firm your neck musculature, resulting in a sharper jaw line) and more defined abs, but you’ll just have to trust me.
Here are the greatest advantages of push-ups:
- You can do them anywhere!
- Your progress is easy to measure (you can either do them or you can’t)
- No equipment is needed. So, there are zero excuses not to do them. You can get thrown into a Turkish prison and still not have an excuse to not do push-ups. It doesn’t get any better than that.
MY MOMMY MUSCLE PUSH-UP PREDICTION
Here’s what I believe. If every mom (and dad) set a workout goal to “do their age in push-ups” (one push-up for each year of life) on three non-consecutive days each week they would be amazed at how their world continuously changes for the better – year after year. The exercise is that powerful.
I Digress
As a personal trainer, I worked with a 50-year-old woman who couldn’t do one full push-up. She told me I was insane (literally) when I suggested it would be possible for her to do 50 or more in one set. We established a clear plan, took it one workout at a time and in less than 8 months, to the amazment of several bystanders and her family, she did 51 full push-ups from the ground (lowering her chest slightly below her elbows, like the picture above, on each rep).
This was a mother of two college kids and she could do more push-ups than her sons and husband did combined. She was thrilled with the physical results she achieved. She was lean and defined. But her greatest result was mental – she accomplished something she thought was impossible.
There is magic in doing things that are physically impossible for you to do. The bridge from the impossible to the possible is a simple plan, executed one day and, one 7 minute push-up workout at a time.
Curt Conrad, CSCS, is Founder and President of StrollerFit Inc. an international product and franchise company that helps parents exercise with their babies. He is author of The StrollerFit ExerBook. His companies have helped thousands of clients enjoy better life through better fitness. http://www.strollerfit.com