There is a popular fitness challenge where you have to complete 100 push ups a day for 30 days. In this video Jeremy Ethier explores the concept, shows you how to do it better and stronger, and analyzes the challenge itself.
Find out if it’s right for you.
Push ups are a type of strength training exercise that mainly targets the muscles of the chest, triceps and shoulders. They are performed by starting in a plank position with your hands shoulder-width apart on the ground, fingers in front and feet together. The body should be in a straight line from the head to the heels.
To do a push up, lower your body toward the ground by bending your elbows while keeping your body straight. Then push back to the starting position by extending your arms. This completes a repetition. Push-ups can be modified by changing the positions of the hands and feet, such as extending or narrowing the hands or performing them on the knees instead of the feet.
Push ups are a popular exercise because they require no equipment and can be done almost anywhere. They are also effective for building upper body strength, improving core stability, and increasing overall fitness.
Jeremy Ethier is a certified strength and conditioning specialist, kinesiologist and fitness influencer. He is known for his evidence-based approach to fitness and nutrition, and his popular YouTube channel, Jeremy Ethier, where he provides informative videos on topics such as strength training, nutrition and fat loss.
Ethier’s approach to fitness emphasizes the importance of scientific research and evidence-based practices. It advocates a balanced approach to exercise and nutrition, focusing on progressive overload and proper form in strength training, and emphasizing whole foods and nutrient-dense eating habits for optimal health and a weight management.
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Why are body weight exercises effective?
Bodyweight exercises are effective for a variety of reasons:
- Convenience: Body weight exercises can be performed anywhere, anytime, without the need for special equipment. This convenience makes it an easy way to incorporate exercise into your daily routine.
- Accessibility: Everyone has a body, and bodyweight exercises use your own body as resistance, making them accessible to people of all fitness levels.
- Functional Strength: Body weight exercises train the body to work as a whole, improving functional strength and flexibility in a way that can transfer to daily activities and sports.
- Variety: There is a wide variety of body weight exercises to choose from, allowing you to target different muscle groups and keep your workouts interesting and challenging.
- Progressive Overload: By increasing the difficulty of the exercise or adding repetitions or sets, you can progressively overload the muscles and continue to see gains in strength and endurance over time.
- Reduced risk of injury: Bodyweight exercises are generally safer than exercises using heavy weights, as there is less risk of injury from dropped weights or improper form.
What are the advantages of home training?
Home training has many advantages, including:
Convenience: Training at home allows you to exercise when you want, without having to travel to a gym or fitness room. This can save time and money on transportation.
Flexibility: Home workouts offer the flexibility to customize your workout routine to fit your schedule and preferences. You can choose the exercises you want to do and set your own pace.
Privacy: Working at home provides privacy and the freedom to exercise in comfortable clothes without worrying about what others might think. This can be especially beneficial for beginners or those who feel self-conscious in a gym environment.
Effective cost: Home training eliminates the need for memberships or expensive gym equipment. You can use body weight exercises or invest in a few basic pieces of equipment to create an effective training space.
Reduced distractions: At home, you can avoid distractions from other gym athletes or loud music. This can help you focus on your workout and get the most out of your training session.
Reduced exposure to germs: Working out at home can reduce your exposure to germs and illnesses commonly found in public places like gyms, especially during flu or pandemic seasons.
What is progressive overload in training?
Progressive overload is a strength training principle that involves gradually increasing the demands on the body during exercise in order to continuously gain strength, endurance, or muscle size. The concept is based on the idea that the body will adapt to the demands placed on it, and to continue making progress, it must always challenge itself to work harder.
The goal of progressive overload is to gradually increase the workload on the body over time. This can be accomplished in a number of ways, including:
- Increase the weight: This is the most common way to apply progressive overload. By adding more weight to an exercise, you increase the resistance to the muscles, forcing them to adapt and become stronger.
- Increase reps: Another way to apply progressive overload is to increase the number of repetitions performed for an exercise. This can help increase muscle endurance.
- Increase sets: Adding more sets to an exercise can also help increase the workload and intensity of a workout, promoting muscle growth and gaining strength.
- Reduction of rest time: Shortening rest periods between sets can increase the intensity of a workout, leading to increased cardiovascular endurance and calorie burning.
- Change the exercise: Varying the exercises performed can help to challenge the muscles in different ways, promoting the growth of general strength and preventing fatigue.
The key to progressive overload is to gradually increase the workload over time, rather than making sudden, drastic changes. This allows the body to adapt and continue to progress while minimizing the risk of injury or burnout.
Chest muscles
The chest muscles, or pectoral muscles, are a group of muscles located in the front of the chest. They are responsible for many important movements of the arms and shoulders, including pushing, pulling, and lifting.
The two main muscles that make up the chest muscles are:
Pectoralis major: The pectoralis major is the larger of the two chest muscles and is located in the upper chest. It has two heads, the clavicular head, which originates from the clavicle, and the sternocostal head, which originates from the sternum and ribs. The pectoralis major is responsible for arm adduction (moving the arm toward the body), arm flexion (bringing the arm toward the chest), and medial rotation of the arm (turning the arm inward ).
Pectoralis minor: The pectoralis minor is a smaller muscle located below the pectoralis major. It originates from the third, fourth and fifth ribs and inserts into the scapula. The pectoralis minor is responsible for scapular protraction (moving the shoulder blade away from the spine) and downward rotation.
Together, the pectoral muscles are important for many upper body movements, such as pushing a heavy object, performing a push-up, or throwing a ball. Building strength and endurance in the chest muscles can improve overall upper body strength and help prevent shoulder and shoulder injuries.
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