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Pumping Your Upper Body With Elevated Push-Ups |
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Written by Stephen E. Alway, PhD, FACSM
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Wednesday, 25 April 2007 |
Traveling can be a bear for a bodybuilder. Guilt drips from a serious
bodybuilder like fat from a fast food burger every time a scheduled
workout is missed. Even if it is a weeklong excursion to the beach, or
a short sales trip, it's just hard to get away from the fact that your
muscles grow by resting, but only after having first been stimulated to
grow. Some of the larger hotel chains are now coming up to speed a bit
and have installed a bike, or a few pieces of chrome resistance
equipment, but if you want a good workout, it's really up to you to
break out the Yellow Pages and track down a gym. However, if the Yellow
Pages are coming up empty, or you simply do not have the time for a
decent workout, you should consider doing elevated push-ups for a
quick, but very effective, upper body workout.
Of course, you
might not want to replace bench presses with elevated push-ups on a
regular basis, but this form of an old callisthenic exercise can allow
you to get an outstanding upper body pump while fatiguing your muscles
almost to the same point as if you had been to the gym. Sure, push-ups
are generally discarded by middle school for most serious bodybuilders,
in favor of more directed upper body exercises. But push-ups provide a
quick, fatiguing pump for your upper body if you're traveling or
perhaps, before heading to the beach or the hotel pool.
Muscles Activated
Doing
push-ups with your feet elevated is far superior to a doing a regular
push-up. Elevated push-ups recruit the pectoralis, triceps brachii,
serratus anterior, upper trapezius, deltoid and several rotator cuff
muscles. The large fan-shaped pectoralis major muscle has two heads.
The clavicular head of the pectoralis major begins on the anterior
(front) surface of the clavicle (collarbone), whereas the sternocostal
head attaches along the lateral edge of the sternum and the upper six
ribs. Both heads of the pectoralis major muscle come together and
attach on the head of the humerus bone of the upper arm near the
shoulder joint. The heads of the pectoralis major work together to
adduct the humerus (move the arm toward the midline of the body) and
rotate the humerus bone medially. In push-ups, these heads flex the
humerus (move the humerus bone of the upper arm anteriorly).
The
triceps brachii muscle and especially the long head of the triceps is
strongly activated in the elevated push-up exercise. The long head of
the triceps, or the "inner head," achieves the greatest activation of
this three-headed muscle because it both extends the arm at the
shoulder joint (pulls the upper arm backward during the controlled
descent) and extends the forearm at the elbow joint (straightens the
elbow) during the upward movement. The long head of the triceps runs
from the scapula (shoulder blade) just below the shoulder joint and it
joins the medial and lateral heads of the triceps brachii. The tendon
of the triceps brachii crosses the elbow to attach to the ulnar bone in
the forearm. The lateral head begins high on the humerus bone, but it
does not cross the shoulder joint. The medial head begins in the middle
of the humerus and is covered by the other two heads, but part of it
can be seen above the elbow. The medial and lateral heads also
contribute strongly to elbow extension by helping the long head raise
the body from the floor during each repetition of elevated push-ups.
The
serratus anterior is a large muscle that overlays the lateral part of
the rib cage. Its fibers look like ropes hovering above the latissimus
muscle fibers on the lateral side of the ribs. The fibers of the
serratus anterior muscle attach to the first eight ribs and then run
posterior along the lateral side of the thorax. The other end is
attached along the medial border of the scapula (shoulder blade). This
muscle pulls the scapula forward (protraction) and holds it against the
thoracic wall as an anchor, so other muscles can use the scapula as if
it were a fixed bone (even though it is a free-floating bone).
The
superior (upper) portion of the trapezius muscle is strongly activated
by push-ups with the feet elevated. The trapezius is diamond-shaped
with sides like a "trapezoid," which is Greek for an irregular
four-sided figure. The superior part of the trapezius muscle (the top
of the diamond) begins along the base of the skull and the 7th cervical
(neck) vertebrae. The fibers angle downward and laterally to attach on
the lateral part of the clavicle and along the scapula. The superior
fibers lift the scapula and shoulder structures toward the ears
(shrugging).
The anterior fibers from the deltoid muscle
are activated by pulling the humerus bone forward with each push upward
in this exercise. These muscle fibers begin along the lateral part of
the clavicle bone and attach to the head and upper (front) region of
the humerus bone. Elevated push-ups also activate a deep rotator cuff
muscle, the subscapularis muscle, especially when the humerus bone is
moved further away from the body (i.e., wide hand position). The
subscapularis muscle is a thick triangular-shaped muscle that begins
and lies on the anterior surface of the scapula (closest to the ribs).
It crosses the anterior part of the shoulder joint and it attaches to
the humerus near its head. This muscle is a strong medial rotator of
the humerus. It also helps to hold the humeral head in the glenoid
cavity.
Push-Ups with Elevated Heels
1. Position
your body face down (prone) with your feet on a high, elevated bench.
Your bed in the hotel room is about the right height and it will serve
the purpose well. Place your hands shoulder-width apart and begin with
your elbows flexed and chest on the floor.
2. Push upward by straightening your elbows. Do this quickly (about one second).
3.
Slowly lower your chest toward the floor (in about three seconds). When
your chest touches the floor, start the upward thrust. Continue until
your set is done (e.g., 30 reps), rest 30 seconds, then start again for
a great pump.
4. On your next set, place your hands far
enough apart that when your thumbs are stretched out they just barely
contact each other. Complete as many full repetitions on this set as
possible for a great triceps burn.
5. Rest 30-45 seconds and
shake your arms to get as much blood back into them as possible. Then
place your hands in a wide position for the next set. Do this by moving
your upper arms (humerus bone) backward to a position as if you were to
do a bench press. You should be able to draw a straight line from the
humerus of the left arm across the clavicles of your chest to your
right elbow.
6. If you have anything left after your third
set, you can go for a fourth in the shoulder-width position, but you
should be just about spent after the third set if you have worked to
the wall on the previous sets.
Training Tips
A wider hand
placement will place more activation and stretch on the
sternoclavicular portion of the pectoralis muscle. If your hands are
closer together (especially if they are touching), you will activate
the inner fibers next to the sternum and especially the triceps
brachii. The exercise is much harder to do with closer hand positions
(as is a close-grip bench press) because the triceps are required to
take most of the load and the forces at the elbow increase to more than
75 percent of your bodyweight. When your hands are shoulder-width
apart, the force at the elbow that the triceps need to overcome is
about 45 percent of your bodyweight.
In addition to being more
difficult, elevation of the feet activates the lower portion of the
pectoralis and the upper fibers of the trapezius more strongly than
normal push-ups. In contrast, the biceps brachii and the lower
trapezius muscle fibers do not get much activation in this exercise. As
a side benefit, push-ups with elevated feet increase wrist flexibility.
This forced stretching of the wrists will lower the ligament loads at
the wrist, thereby reducing the likelihood of traumatic ligamentous
injury during participation in strenuous activity (lifting when you get
back to the gym) or even racquet and contact sports.
Sure, you
cannot impress your gym buddies by hoisting heavy loads with this
exercise, but you will be surprised how great an upper body pump you
can achieve with only a small investment in time. Since time is usually
a problem when you're traveling, elevated push-ups provide an optimal
means of preventing the deterioration of your hard-earned muscle mass
while you're out of the gym for a few days. Don't think because it's a
simply-designed exercise that it will be simple to perform, because you
will experience inferno flames flaring across your chest, shoulders and
triceps. This fire will be quickly quenched with the all-encompassing
rush from one of the greatest pumps you have ever had, inside or
outside of the gym.
References
An,K.N., Chao,E.Y.,
Morrey,B.F., and Donkers,M.J. (1992). Intersegmental elbow joint load
during pushup. Biomed Sci Instrum, 28: 69-74.
An,K.N., Korinek,S.L.,
Kilpela,T., and Edis,S. (1990). Kinematic and kinetic analysis of
push-up exercise. Biomed Sci Instrum, 26: 53-57.
Crisco,J.J.,
Chelikani,S., Brown,R.K., and Wolfe,S.W. (1997). The effects of
exercise on ligamentous stiffness in the wrist. J Hand Surg, [Am. ] 22:
44-48.
Decker,M.J., Hintermeister,R.A., Faber,K.J., and Hawkins,R.J.
(1999). Serratus anterior muscle activity during selected
rehabilitation exercises. Am J Sports Med, 27: 784-791.
Decker,M.J.,
Tokish,J.M., Ellis,H.B., Torry,M.R., and Hawkins,R.J. (2003).
Subscapularis muscle activity during selected rehabilitation exercises.
Am J Sports Med, 31: 126-134.
Donkers,M.J., An,K.N., Chao,E.Y., and
Morrey,B.F. (1993). Hand position affects elbow joint load during
push-up exercise. J Biomech, 26: 625-632.
Lear,L.J. and Gross,M.T.
(1998). An electromyographical analysis of the scapular stabilizing
synergists during a push-up progression. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther, 28:
146-157.
Ludewig,P.M., Hoff,M.S., Osowski,E.E., Meschke,S.A., and
Rundquist,P.J. (2004). Relative balance of serratus anterior and upper
trapezius muscle activity during push-up exercises. Am J Sports Med,
32: 484-493.
Terbizan,D.J. and Seljevold,P.J. (1996). Physiological profile of age-group wrestlers. J Sports Med Phys Fitness, 36: 178-185.
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