If you’re looking for an incredible chest and upper body workout, P90X® is one of the most effective programs you’ll ever find.
In Part I of the good push up workout series, I covered 9 different ways to do push ups using nothing but your body weight. Here in Part II, I will be adding in one dumbbell exercise, and also cranking up the intensity.
Here are each of the 4 push up exercises that will be used during this workout, and the workout itself is below.
Push Ups with Elevated Feet
This movement was also in the previous workout, but I wanted to include it here as well in order to enhance the shoulder strengthening aspects of this workout. Whenever you do a push up with your feet elevated, it puts even more strain on the shoulders than a standard push up.
Given the high frequency of shoulder injuries, strengthening the shoulder muscles and connective tissues is not only a good idea, but it makes your upper body physique more aesthetically pleasing as well.
Other than having your feet elevated on a chair, foot stool, or other surface, this push up is done just like a standard push up, with the hands approximately shoulder-width apart, and in horizontal alignment with the upper chest area.
Dive Bomber Push Ups
This exercise was also featured as the exercise of the day, and is an incredible movement not just for upper body strength, but for core stabilization as well. It is one of the many push-up variations that are included in the P90X program.
In order to do the Dive Bomber Push Up correctly, be sure to have a very controlled rate of speed during the exercise, and also follow the same upward and downward arch throughout the repetition.
Also, get as much of your body as close as possible to the floor without actually coming into contact with the floor, and be sure to return all the way up to the fully extended position when you ascend back to the top of the movement.
Dumbbell Push Up and Row
If this exercise looks hard, believe me when I say that it’s even harder than it looks!
Basically all you do is put your hands some some light-to-moderately heavy dumbbells which are resting on the floor in the same position that your hands would be in for a standard push up.
Go down into a standard push up and back up again, and then immediately follow up that movement by picking one of the dumbbells up and pulling it back into a 1-arm row.
Done perfectly, your back will neither sag, bow, nor sway to one side as you try to keep your core immobile during the rowing movement. Alternate back and forth between the left and right hands for the 1-arm row.
Explosive Push Ups
Another exercise that looks hard, and lives up to its appearance.
It is absolutely imperative that you use proper body mechanics during this exercise, or else you risk a shoulder, wrist, or elbow injury. This exercise has great benefits, so it is worth the risk, but be sure to do it the right way.
As your palms come back into contact with the floor, immediately bend your elbows in order to absorb the shock of your body rapidly descending from the top position.
Once you understand the rhythm of the movement, you will know the precise fraction of a second when you need to switch gears. You will go from absorbing the shock by bending your elbows to reversing the movement and explosively pushing your upper body back off of the floor for the next repetition.
There is no rest period during this exercise! Once you start your set of repetitions, you will not stop moving again until that set is complete, or until you reach momentary muscle failure.
The Workout
These 4 exercises will totally exhaust your upper body muscles, and will likely fatigue or exhaust your abdominal muscles and other core stabilization muscles as well. As you can probably guess, using that much raw muscular power is going to scream through both oxygen and calories at an alarming rate, thus making this a great workout for weight loss as well as muscular and strength gains.
In order, the exercises are:
- Push Ups with Feet Elevated
- Dive Bomber Push Ups
- Dumbbell Push Up and Row
- Explosive Push Ups
At the beginning of the set, you will still be fairly fresh, so go for a standard number of repetitions with the elevated push ups. Shoot for 15, or 20 at the most. Anything more than that and you will use up so much energy that you won’t be able to finish the other exercises.
Next, the Dive Bomber Push Ups are not as intense in the “pushing-sense” as the elevated push ups, but if you do them correctly, they will still burn the shoulders and abs, and possibly the triceps as well. Go for 10 slow, complete repetitions, remembering that you need to go all the way down and all the way back up to count 1 repetition. Also, do not rest even for a second at the top of the movement.
By this point your heart rate should be racing along and your shoulders and triceps will really be starting to feel the strain. For the Dumbbell Push Up and Row, you will still be using those muscles, but you will be adding in the increased energy and oxygen needs of the core stabilization muscles as well. When you first do this exercise, if you get 6 good push ups and 3 good rows done on each arm, you’ll have done better than most when they first tried it. Work your way up to 16 push ups, with 8 rows on each arm.
For the last exercise, the Explosive Push Up, it is simply time to give it all you’ve got! You will likely be at or near exhaustion by this point if you really put forth the effort during the first 3 push up exercises, so for this last movement, just go for as many repetitions as it takes to get you to muscle failure. Remember: Focus on proper form even though you are tired. No exercise is worth getting injured over.
So, that’s it!
Once you have survived completed your first set, take a well-deserved 2-minute break during which time you will catch your breath and drink some water.
Go for a 2nd set the first time around, and the next time you do this same workout, do 3 complete sets, adjusting the number of repetitions as needed to keep it challenging.
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[...] sure to check out Part II of the Good Push Up Workout [...]
How often should I do this routine?
Al,
That depends on what other activities you are doing, what your goals are, your present level of fitness, etc.
However, that being said, I personally incorporate push-ups into my workout at least once each week, and sometimes more often than that.
Once caveat: Push ups and other bodyweight exercises should be done with moderate to high intensity, just like any other exercises. Push yourself to achieve great results!
I am in my late 40′s and have MS. would doing push ups 3 times a week cause any undue mucsle strain?
As is always the case, the type of exercise routine that you get involved with should include – but not exceed – your individual physical abilities.
I wouldn’t recommend any type of activity 3 times per week except for cardiovascular training, and even then it should be divided up amongst many different types of cardiovascular activities.
When it comes to resistance training – such as push ups – your body needs time to recover from previous workouts. I would recommend only twice per week for any given muscle group.
However, that doesn’t mean that you can’t work other muscle groups on other days during the week. Check out the sections here on the site for core training exercises and lower body exercises.
Thank you very much for your reply that is exactly the information I was seeking. Great site thanks again.
Al,
You are very welcome! Glad I could help!
when will u see results
Dwight,
As with all fitness programs, there are many things that go into the mix. They include factors such as: proper technique, intensity, nutrient support, nutrient timing, rest periods, physiological response, mental focus, etc.
In short, you can start to see results almost immediately just in the way that you feel. The physical results will come soon afterwards based on a combination of factors including the things listed above.
hey i play basketball and some football what workout
should i be doing please write back
thanks matt
Matt,
Football and Basketball are 2 radically different sports to specifically train for. However, both require cardiovascular endurance, agility, leg strength, and stamina.
Specific to football, the type of workout that you do largely depends on the position that you play.
I would recommend that you search Google for “football workouts” or “basketball workouts,” or check out the sport-specific section of the Workout Pass Network.
i ve been doing these pushup workouts now for about 3 weeks 3 times a week and im seeing improvements.
should i be resting more?
what diet should i be on to see the best results?
Alex,
That’s great! Way to stick with the program!
As long as you are getting plenty of protein, you should be fine doing this type of workout. Carbs are always necessary as well, but it is more often that people do not get enough quality protein to promote muscle repair.
As far as resting, make sure that you are resting at least one full day in between the workouts, and that you don’t over do it, especially on your shoulders. If you start to experience consistent pain, if you never feel like you are fully recovered, or if you are excessively tired, then those are all warning signs that you might be over-training. Take 4 or 5 days off and then get back to it.
hello, i am 14 years old, im not too skiny but im not exactly “bulky”. I reely want to gain muscle, i only do about 60 pushups a day, and eat about 2 ommletes and sum meat straight after, is this enough protein, and is this enough pushups? i dnt want to get too toned, just build as much muscle as i can. (i do elevated feet push ups). And do you have any websights or tips? thanks
I wouldn’t worry too much about getting too toned. Professional bodybuilders follow very specific nutritional/exercise/rest guidelines in order to put on a pound of muscle mass, so it is unlikely that you can “accidentally” get bigger than you want to get.
Best advice for someone your age is to modify your routine so that you don’t overtrain, eat plenty of protein throughout the day (not just for breakfast), and get at least 8 hours of sleep per night.
Don’t kill yourself with intense workouts, because you can – literally – stunt your bone growth by doing that before you are fully grown. Work hard, but not TOO hard, and change up your routine very frequently.
i work out with weights,and have recently incorporated push ups into my routine. Also , I’ll do 50 pushups inf the morning and also at night before bedtime including on my rest daywould that be a detrament on making any gains.
Push ups are a great exercise, even if you are already working out with weights. The human body moves in the ways that it moves, and no weight training routine will ever take the place of the coordinated strength that we can get from challenging ourselves with bodyweight exercises.
Weights are great, too, but I would never completely rule out bodyweight exercises.
I recently had a foream injury at work while lifting a patient i guess i wasnt using proper form, however i wanted to ask how long do i wait until i can get real intense with my workouts. By the way, do you have a website on fitness and workouts that i can checkout.
As a general rule – and this is JUST a general rule, not actual medical advice – you should wait until an injured area is no longer sore or tender in any way, then wait another week, then work yourself up to full intensity workouts very slowly.
It may seem like a pain to wait that long, but a permanent injury that is a result of rushing the process will put you out of the game for a lot longer!
“…do you have a website on fitness and workouts that i can checkout…” < ~~~~ You’re reading it!
Check out the category listings above.
I’m 16 years old. 115 pounds. 5″6-7. 100 regular pushups is my max. Average is 80. I really want to grow taller. Apparantly I hear that doing pushups/weights won’t stunt your growth and that it will. I want to play this safe. What advice would you give to me? And how many reps should I do for each one (I noticed you put 15-20)?
Ryan,
As with all exercise modalities, the number of reps to do is subjective to the goal of the individual, their level of fitness, their endurance, etc.
As a general rule, you can do bodyweight exercises to the point of muscle failure and get A LOT out of it – and no, it won’t stunt your growth. At your age, you need to stay away from maximal resistance training – meaning heavy squats, bench presses, etc. Maxing out on resistance exercises is what closes the presently open growth centers in your bones, and that is what stunts growth.
Doing a push up routine is just like most other workouts in that you just go from one exercise to the next rather than just doing the max for that one exercise over and over again.
You could do these 4 exercises all the way through – going for max reps each time – and I guarantee that after 3 sets or so, you’ll be wiped out. Also, you could add in variety by changing the speed at which you do the exercises, and that would give you an overall higher level of results.
Nice article , I especially like the animated visual aides you included
The cool thing is that I can do this at home , with my heavy work schedule I tend to have difficulty going to the gym ( travel time , psyching myself up etc…). At least with these exercises I can burn some calories at the comfort of my own house.
Hi,
Ive been doing something along the lines of 500 pushups every other day, in one sit, in sets containing 30+ reps. I was wondering if it was necessary for me to hit the weight machines or if I could simply continue escalating my pushup workout to increase my chest and arm size?
Thanks
Nick,
There is no ONE exercise that is the end all, be all of getting bigger muscles. Yes, push ups are one of the most effective exercises for arms/shoulders/triceps, but cross-training is critical to ensure that you continue to get results, and that you don’t get an overuse injury.
im a senior in high school and highly competitive track athlete and august is my rest month and i havnt been liftin weights but ive been doin push ups up to 250 and 300 sit ups nd abs workouts day and night..i came across this site and this work out caught my eye.. will it build my chest muscles nd should i drink milk after i do it?
Bayan,
Yes, this workout will do wonders for your chest muscles. Be sure to check out Part I of this post as well to see some other chest exercises.
As far as milk, quality protein should ALWAYS be a part of a muscle-building routine, especially directly after a workout.
Be sure to change up the way that you workout on a regular basis, and to also allow plenty of time for your muscles to recuperate from any resistance training. If you over train, you’ll do more harm than good.
Thank you for the response.
I have one more question.
How long should one rest after an intense (2-3 hour, 1 minute rest) workout with heavy weight lifting? Ive been told that after 1 day of rest, your muscles automatically begin deteriorating, and needs to be followed up with another workout… thought I might get a professional opinion.
Nick,
The advice you got is WAY off the mark! After 1 day of rest, you haven’t even fully RECOVERED yet from an intense workout, let alone started having to worry about your muscles atrophying.
Most pro bodybuilders work every body part once or twice a week at the most, and work other body parts while the originally worked muscles are recuperating.
If you are working out for 2 to 3 hours at an intense pace, 1 workout per week per body part will be plenty. Back that up with plenty of high quality protein at EVERY meal, and you’ll be golden.
I like the push up workout, it helps to have workouts that can be done away from the gym! Most people fall out of routine when they travel and this can help a lot!
which part of the muscle does push up train ?
Jiarong – Push ups work the entire chest area, and different types of push ups emphasize certain areas more than others. Incline push ups work the upper chest and shoulders more, while decline push ups work the lower part of the pectoral muscle. Close-grip push ups work the triceps more than standard-width push ups, while wide-grip push ups use the muscles on the outside of the chest more than in the center of the chest.
P90X has all of these types of push ups, and they are done in a way that you get the max benefit from them.
Hi, i was wondering if its okay to do both part one and part two in the same day or the same week or if i/we should only stick to one until x amount of reps are able to be accomplished with either one. also, I read in a book by fred hatfield that post workout soreness is actually not a good thing. he says that the micro tears can actually cause scar tissue in the muscle and therefore would not be able to grow to its potential. I was wondering what your thoughts were on that statement. I’ve been doing this pushup workout and haven’t been sore and it makes me unsure if i’m getting a good workout or not.
thanks
-A
Ashton,
Post workout soreness is fine, within reason. You’re goal should not be to totally obliterate your muscles every time you workout, but at the same time, if you don’t challenge yourself past your earlier limits, you won’t grow.
As for this particular workout, sure you could combine Part I and Part II into one “monster” chest workout.