Push Ups and Pull Ups – What Can They Do For You?
by Dr Chen Tai Ho | Feb 24, 2015
Hey guys, hope you are all having a fantastic week and staying healthy as always. For today’s topic, let me revert back to the general subject of exercising. More specifically, push ups and pull ups. These two exercises are a standard in any workout routine as they help to tone and condition your body, especially your arms. But what are the benefits behind them? Are they actually worth all that pain and effort?
Push Ups – What Do I Gain?
The main muscles involved in push ups are your pectorals in the chest, deltoids in front of the shoulders and your triceps behind your arms. Other upper body muscles are worked and involved in push ups but these are less significant than the three aforementioned groups, and not as large as them. If you do push ups regularly, you can expect these muscles to increase in strength and tone, as well as building up in size. This can have a positive impact on day to day activities that require some form of physical labour, and performance in sports.
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| Push ups help to strengthen and tone many muscles in the upper body (pic from foxnews.com) |
It also increases your core strength; these are the muscles surrounding the spine which also keeps it aligned correctly. Your bone mass will also increase as you continue doing push ups as it strengthens your wrists, shoulders, forearms and elbows. As the bones become more dense, bone loss will also decrease, which is extremely beneficial especially since bone mass tends to decline as you get older, approximately after your mid or late 30s.
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| Push ups can help to increase bone density, especially among the middle aged and elderly (pic from healthblog.ivlproducts.com) |
Many muscles are utilised when performing a push up, including those in your legs. This means your heart rate increases accordingly to pump blood to these muscles, which also raises your breathing rate. A set will also raise your metabolism during and after push ups, which can ultimately result in weight loss.
Are Pull Ups Really that Beneficial?
It’s not the easiest exercise in the world, but it’s certainly one of the most convenient! You just need a bar that can support your weight – there are many affordable options available – and you’re good to go. Like push ups, pull ups target a large group of muscles, meaning that the workout will help your upper body grow quicker than many other exercises. Your back and biceps will benefit the most, but other muscle groups will also reap the rewards.
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| Pull ups are one of the most convenient exercises around (pic from popsugar.com) |
As pull ups also get your heart pumping, this is similar to the effect that push ups have in that your breathing rate will drastically increase. This is because your heart needs to up its work rate to get oxygen to the muscles that are used. Over time, you’ll notice that you begin to lose fat and appear leaner or more toned than before. If you want to increase its effects, all you need to do is step up the intensity, maybe by increasing repetitions per set or reducing your rest time in between sets.
All in all, both exercises are extremely simple but have great benefits for your body if you are disciplined enough and stick to it. The first sets or sessions won’t be a walk in the park but dedication will ensure that you will see the benefits of it in no time at all.
Till next time, stay healthy!
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