

 Nutrition

7 Unsavory Side Effects Of Table Salt You Should Know

Don’t Miss Out On These Calcium-Rich Fruits

Health Benefits Of Himalayan Salt Lamp: Fact Or Fad?

4 Reasons Why Edamame May Not Be All That Healthy

Are Lemons Good For Diabetes? 5 Impressive Benefits

 11 High-Protein Vegetables That May Surprise You!

 Cure

Tips For Tackling Bacteremia Or Bacteria In Your Blood

Signs And Symptoms Of A Vitamin E Deficiency

7 Tips For Treating Fibroids The Natural Way

9 Natural Ways To Tackle Lupus Symptoms And Prevent Flare-Ups

9 Foods Rich In Vanadium: A Micronutrient To Manage Diabetes

8 Health Problems And Diseases Caused By Vitamin D Deficiency

 Fitness

How To Maintain Good Posture While Sitting, Standing and Lying Down

The Best Stretches For Your Psoas Muscle

7 Natural Treatment Options For Rotator Cuff Pain

A Foolproof Workout Routine For Muscle Growth In Men

9 Natural Remedies To Get Rid Of Butt Acne

Yoga For Bone Health: 9 Poses To Try For Flexibility And Strength
 Beauty

11 Reasons Your Hair Stops Growing And Becomes Thin

10 Natural Remedies To Reduce Melanin Production And Fix Uneven Skin

9 Causes Of Body Odor: From Genes To Foods

 Can Dandruff Cause Hair Loss? What You Need To Know

5 Amazing Benefits Of Glycerin For Your Skin

A Natural Hair-Care Routine: 10 Steps To Keep Your Tresses In Top Shape!

 General Health
o

12 Iron-Rich Foods That You Should Tank Up On

9 Health Benefits Of Shankhpushpi, A Herbal Remedy

10 Health Benefits Of Licorice (Yashtimadhu) That You Should Know About

 Having Mint During Pregnancy: Pros And Cons You Should Be Aware Of

5 Reasons Babies Sleep So Much And Why You Should Let Them!

Is Alcohol Making You Fat? Things To Consider Before You Drink Up!

 MOMS
o

Having Mint During Pregnancy: Pros And Cons You Should Be Aware Of

8 Home Remedies For Tackling Indigestion During Pregnancy

Swimming During Pregnancy: Different Strokes For Different Moms

 11 Factors That Influence Your Chances Of Having Twins

Breastfeeding In Public: Why You Shouldn’t Shy Away And How To Do It Right

12 Home Remedies To Beat Morning Sickness

 CJ Communities
o

BEAUTY

INSPIRATIONS

PETS

RECIPES

YOGA
 MOMS

 Nutrition

7 Unsavory Side Effects Of Table Salt You Should Know

Don’t Miss Out On These Calcium-Rich Fruits

Health Benefits Of Himalayan Salt Lamp: Fact Or Fad?

4 Reasons Why Edamame May Not Be All That Healthy

Are Lemons Good For Diabetes? 5 Impressive Benefits

 11 High-Protein Vegetables That May Surprise You!

 Cure

Tips For Tackling Bacteremia Or Bacteria In Your Blood

Signs And Symptoms Of A Vitamin E Deficiency

7 Tips For Treating Fibroids The Natural Way

9 Natural Ways To Tackle Lupus Symptoms And Prevent Flare-Ups

9 Foods Rich In Vanadium: A Micronutrient To Manage Diabetes

 8 Health Problems And Diseases Caused By Vitamin D Deficiency

 Fitness

How To Maintain Good Posture While Sitting, Standing and Lying Down

The Best Stretches For Your Psoas Muscle

7 Natural Treatment Options For Rotator Cuff Pain

A Foolproof Workout Routine For Muscle Growth In Men

9 Natural Remedies To Get Rid Of Butt Acne

 Yoga For Bone Health: 9 Poses To Try For Flexibility And Strength

 Beauty

11 Reasons Your Hair Stops Growing And Becomes Thin

10 Natural Remedies To Reduce Melanin Production And Fix Uneven Skin

9 Causes Of Body Odor: From Genes To Foods

Can Dandruff Cause Hair Loss? What You Need To Know

5 Amazing Benefits Of Glycerin For Your Skin

 A Natural Hair-Care Routine: 10 Steps To Keep Your Tresses In Top Shape!

 General Health

12 Iron-Rich Foods That You Should Tank Up On

9 Health Benefits Of Shankhpushpi, A Herbal Remedy

10 Health Benefits Of Licorice (Yashtimadhu) That You Should Know About

Having Mint During Pregnancy: Pros And Cons You Should Be Aware Of

5 Reasons Babies Sleep So Much And Why You Should Let Them!
 Is Alcohol Making You Fat? Things To Consider Before You Drink Up!

 MOMS

Having Mint During Pregnancy: Pros And Cons You Should Be Aware Of

8 Home Remedies For Tackling Indigestion During Pregnancy

Swimming During Pregnancy: Different Strokes For Different Moms

11 Factors That Influence Your Chances Of Having Twins

Breastfeeding In Public: Why You Shouldn’t Shy Away And How To Do It Right
 12 Home Remedies To Beat Morning Sickness

 CJ Communities

BEAUTY

INSPIRATIONS

PETS
 RECIPES

YOGA

MOMS

 SUBSCRIBE US
 ABOUT US
 ADVERTISE WITH US
 PRIVACY POLICY

© 2017 CureJoy Inc. All Rights Reserved

Fitness Exercise Push up

Can Push-Ups Help You Build Muscle Mass?

CureJoy Editorial Mar 2, 2018
3.2kSHARES

 Share
 Tweet
 Pin It

Can Push-Ups Help Build Muscle Mass?

 Push-ups can help build muscles

 Follow the right push-up technique
 Make your workout more challenging
 Try push-up variations for better results
 Combine push-ups with the right diet

Push-ups are body-weight exercises that specifically target the shoulders, triceps, and chest
muscles. Maintain a good form while doing a push-up and keep a tab on your muscle mass gain.
Don't get too comfortable with your routine. Keep challenging your body by combining
variations like the weighted, one-hand, or plyometric (jumping) push-ups to avoid plateauing.
Also eat a protein-rich diet for muscle repair and regrowth.
There’s so much fitness advice around these days – barbell training, dumbbells, kettlebells, and
circuits, to name a few, that it may be tough for you to figure out what works best for you. But
the funny truth about fitness is that there’s no one size fits all (pun intended).

When it comes to muscle building, resistance machines and free weights like dumbbells or
barbells are great. However, using your own body weight by doing push-ups can be just as
effective, especially if you cannot afford expensive gym memberships.

Push-Ups Can Help Build Muscles

Push-ups are body-weight exercises that specifically target the shoulders, triceps, and chest
muscles. Your core, glutes, and legs also do plenty of work while they provide stability to your
body during the workout.

What makes push-ups so great is that there are so many variations you can try out to keep your
workout challenging enough to build your muscles. Even if you’re on a tight budget or have
limited space and no equipment, just doing push-ups can help you transform your body.

Advertisement

Follow The Right Push-Up Technique

5 Yoga Poses For Slim Hips And Thighs

7 Mins Read

Beat Urinary Incontinence With 7 Amazing Exercises And Asanas

7 Mins Read

How Many Push-ups Should You Do In A Day?

7 Mins Read

How Many Push-Ups Should You Do A Day To Build Muscle?

7 Mins Read

6 Breathing Exercises And Yoga Poses To Raise Hemoglobin

7 Mins Read

5 Best Daily Exercises You Can Do At Home

7 Mins Read

5 Yoga Poses For Slim Hips And Thighs

7 Mins Read

Beat Urinary Incontinence With 7 Amazing Exercises And Asanas

7 Mins Read

Whether you’ve been unsuccessful at performing push-ups in the past or just want to better your
form, here is a lowdown on the basics so you can master a perfect push-up.

1. Get Into A High Plank Position

 Put your hands firmly on the ground, right under your shoulders.
 Push your toes firmly into the floor so as to stabilize the lower half of your body.
 Tighten your core, engage your hamstrings and glutes, and flatten your back properly so
that your entire body is neutral and aligned with the floor.

2. Lower Yourself

 Start lowering your body slowly, keeping your back straight and flat until your chest just
about grazes the floor.
 Focus your eyes at a point in front to maintain a neutral neck position.
 Don’t let your bottom dip or stick out while doing this move; your body should stay in a
straight line right from your head to toe.
 Draw your shoulder blades back and down, keeping your elbows close to your body.
Don’t make a T shape with your arms.

3. Push Yourself Upward

Now once again, keeping your core engaged, exhale powerfully as you push your body back to
the starting position.

Do about 10 to 20 reps or as many as can be performed by maintaining a good form.

Make Your Muscle Workouts More Challenging

It’s not very easy to gain muscle mass. Not only does this involve stressing the muscle enough
the right way, it also involves eating the right nutrients to help it grow. This seems easy enough
at first, but over time, your body adapts itself to the workout and makes it harder for you to grow
your muscles. This is why it is important to progressively make your muscle workouts more
challenging.

Advertisement

You can perform your push-ups from a standard plank, from the knees, with a weight placed on
your back, or by raising yourself with just one arm. The best way to pick the right type of push-
up is to judge it by the number of repetitions that you can do. The fewer you can manage, the
more challenging it is for you.

You can also change the intensity of your push-ups by using different surfaces for your workout.

Push-Up Variations Can Give Better Results

Each push-up exercise will engage different muscle groups in your upper body; some may focus
more on your shoulders or arms as opposed to your chest, while others may do the opposite.
Choose a variety of push-up exercises depending on what muscle group you’d like to target, to
make your workout more exciting.

Advertisement

Here are 5 push-up variations to spice up your push-up workout when you think you’re
plateauing or just getting a little bored.

1. Decline Push-Up
For this push-up, all you need is something higher up than the floor for you to rest your feet
on. You may use a chair or a sofa. Place your feet on the elevated area, align yourself to the
floor, and perform the push-ups as you would, normally.

This push-up applies most of your body weight on your arms, thereby effectively increasing the
amount of weight that your chest needs to push up. This means that you are really lifting
something much heavier.
2. Weighted Push-Up
For this, you need to have a weight on your back. Fill a backpack with anything that’s heavy,
like textbooks, bags of rice, or free-weights, and wear it on your back. Do your push-ups as
usual. This way, you will have a heavier weight to push up with your chest.

Ensure that the shoulder straps of your bag are tight, and the objects are not loose in the bag. Try
using extra padding around these objects by using some clothes or a towel so that the weight
doesn’t shift around. This way, it will be much more comfortable for you to do weighted push-
ups.

Advertisement

A weight vest is also a good alternative for a backpack, as it is more secure.

3. One-Hand Push-Up
This one is a little more advanced that the variations mentioned above and also effectively
doubles the weight for your chest to push. In this way, it also strengthens your core.

Move your feet slightly little further apart than how you’d normally place them during a regular
push-up. Now move the hand that you will be using to push yourself more toward the center of
your body and fold the other hand behind against your back. Carry on with your push-ups as
usual.

4. Plyometric Push-Up
The term “Plyometric” means an exercise involving jumps. In this type of a push-up, you apply
explosive energy to push up from the floor, so that your hands “jump” or leave the ground. Once
you do this, you have a number of options to choose from depending on how high you can jump.
You can:

 Simply lower yourself back to the ground and repeat (if you don’t get too high)
 Keep a slightly raised platform on either side of your arms which you can jump to,
perform a push-up, and then jump back onto the floor
 Jump up, clap your hands, and land your body back on the ground.
 Push your entire body off the ground or try to bring your hands to clap your hands behind
your back.

5. Free Style
If you’re tired of being bound by too many guides, feel free to combine any two of the above
push-ups – for instance a plyometric push-up with a weight on your back – or experiment with
different objects for weights or surfaces around your house.
Measure The Gain In Muscle Mass

If you’re a beginner, start your push-up workouts by making your muscles do as little work as
possible while still generating decent results. Measure and maintain a record of how much
muscle mass you body is gaining by using a tape to get a concrete number for the size of your
shoulders, arms, and chest.

After a few weeks, you may realize that you aren’t gaining any more muscle. This means you
need to either of these 3 options:

 Increase the number of reps that you do each workout

 Increase the number of days in a week that you work out
 Increase the intensity of your push-ups workout.

Don’t get frustrated if you don’t see immediate results, for increasing muscle mass can take up to
3 weeks of training.

Combine Push-Ups With The Right Nutrition

It’s not just enough to do the right exercises for muscle mass building. You will also need to
consume good amounts of protein to repair and rebuild the muscles that you wear out while
working out. Your body needs about 12 to 15 percent of your daily calories to come from protein
in order to get the most out of your muscle-building workout. Combining your push-up workout
with the right kind of nutrition will help you build strong, powerful muscles in the main areas of
your push-ups, the shoulders, triceps, or chest.

Disclaimer: The content is purely informative and educational in nature and should not be
construed as medical advice. Please use the content only in consultation with an appropriate
certified medical or healthcare professional.

CureJoy Recommends

Beat Urinary Incontinence With 7 Amazing Exercises And Asanas

How Many Push-ups Should You Do In A Day?

How Many Push-Ups Should You Do A Day To Build Muscle?

6 Breathing Exercises And Yoga Poses To Raise Hemoglobin

5 Best Daily Exercises You Can Do At Home

5 Yoga Poses For Slim Hips And Thighs
Best Yoga Poses For Beginners

Fitness Exercise Push up

How Many Push-Ups Should You Do A Day
To Build Muscle?
CureJoy Editorial Nov 29, 2017
3 Min Read

 Share
 Tweet
 Pin It


How Many Push-Ups A Day To Build Muscle

 Do 2–4 sets with 8–16 repetitions

  Repeat for 2 or 3 days a week
 Maximize your push-ups with variations

Push-ups are simple and easy to do. They’re great for strengthening the muscles in your chest,
upper arm, and shoulders. To build muscles, do 2–4 sets of 8–15 repetitions. This is equal to 16–
60 push-ups each day. Do this 2 to 3 times a week, with at least 48 hours of rest in between. For
even greater benefits, challenge yourself with an exercise ball or by lifting your leg.

When it comes to basic workouts, you can’t go wrong with push-ups. They’re easy enough for
beginners to learn. In fact, they were probably some of the first exercises you did as a child. As a
resistance exercise, push-ups increase your muscle strength. This will protect your joints from
injury and make it easier to do everyday tasks. Plus, having more muscle means that you’ll burn
more calories at rest. It doubles as a crucial part of losing weight.1

Push-ups target the chest, upper arm, and shoulders. They also engage the abs and the back.
Depending on the type of push-up, even your legs and glutes can get toned.2

The number of push-ups you should do to build muscle will depend on your age, fitness level,
and body type. It will also change as you get stronger. However, there are guidelines that you can
use as a baseline.

Start With 2–4 Sets With 8–15 Repetitions

According to the American College of Sports Medicine, 2 to 4 sets of an exercise will boost
strength and power. And 8 to 15 repetitions within the same set will strengthen the muscle.

Thigh Exercise For Perfect Toning In 7 Days

3 Mins Read

A Foolproof Workout Routine For Muscle Growth In Men

3 Mins Read

Pulled A Hamstring? Symptoms Of Mild, Moderate, And Severe Hamstring Injury

3 Mins Read

How Many Push-ups Should You Do In A Day?

3 Mins Read

Can Push-Ups Help You Build Muscle Mass?

3 Mins Read

5 Best Daily Exercises You Can Do At Home

3 Mins Read

Thigh Exercise For Perfect Toning In 7 Days

3 Mins Read

A Foolproof Workout Routine For Muscle Growth In Men

3 Mins Read

Given these recommendations, you should do anywhere from 16 to 60 push-ups each day to gain
muscle. Doing even more will improve your muscular endurance.

Repeat For 2 Or 3 Days A Week

These guidelines are for a single workout. It should be repeated 2 or 3 days each week, with at
least 48 hours of rest in between.3

Are you just beginning to exercise? Start small. Aim for 2 sets of 8 push-ups. Then, you can
gradually increase the number of repetitions and sets. This will allow your muscles to build up in
a healthy way.

Maximize Your Push-Ups With Variations

Standard push-ups can get boring, especially when you’ve mastered 60 or more. Challenge your
body by doing different versions. These exercises will benefit other muscle groups while keeping
your routine interesting.

 Exercise ball: Place your hands or feet on an exercise ball. Both variations will test your
balance and put your abdominal muscles to work.
 Single hand: Place one hand on your back. As you hold yourself up with the other arm,
you’ll give it an intense workout. Switch arms and repeat.
 Clap push-up: Every time you rise, clap and return your hands to the floor. You’ll need
extra balance and focus to go back to starting position.
 Leg lift: Extend one leg behind you. As you hold it up, your thigh and butt will tone up.
Switch legs halfway through.

Get The Form Right To Avoid Injuries

 Push-ups can stress out your wrists. To prevent unnecessary pain, keep your hands
shoulder-width apart. They should be right under your shoulders with your fingers facing
forward or slightly inward.
 This exercise can also strain your shoulders. Double check that your elbows are
positioned close to your body. If you flare them out, your shoulders may hurt.
  Avoid arching your back. Keep your spine straight and strong by engaging your core and
glutes.
 Don’t do more push-ups than you can handle. It will increase your chances of injury and
pain! Instead, slowly increase the number of reps so you can build up muscle in a healthy
way.

View Article References (+)

1. ↑ Resistance training – health benefits. BetterHealth Channel.

Chulvi‐Medrano, Iván, Esteban Martínez‐Ballester, and Laura Masiá‐Tortosa.
“COMPARISON OF THE EFFECTS OF AN EIGHT‐WEEK PUSH‐UP PROGRAM
2. ↑
USING STABLE VERSUS UNSTABLE SURFACES.” International journal of sports
physical therapy 7, no. 6 (2012): 586.
American College of Sports Medicine. “ACSM issues new recommendations on quantity
3. ↑
and quality of exercise.” (2011).

Disclaimer: The content is purely informative and educational in nature and should not be
construed as medical advice. Please use the content only in consultation with an appropriate
certified medical or healthcare professional.

©2017 CureJoy Inc. All rights reserved

 About US
 Write For US
 Advertise with US
 Careers
 Contact US

 Disclaimer
 Terms of use
 Privacy Policy

Newsletter

Get Latest CureJoy News