Push-ups are a man's thing? Oh nonsense! We women can do them too! With a little practice and perseverance, you'll soon succeed in your first push-up. Your guide to learning push-ups.
Before I started doing my first push-ups, I had no strength in my upper arms at all.
Pull myself up on a pull-up bar? Yes, I would have liked to do that - but it was impossible.
Push-ups and me - that seemed to be an incessant battle. And above all, a hopeless endeavor.
But: anything goes! Learning push-ups has awakened my fighting spirit. I just didn't stop. I started with half a push-up. That lasted for a whole week. A bit of desperation was also involved - I confess.
If you want to start doing push-ups, you need a lot of stamina and you need to build up arm muscles first.
In the first month, it was already a whole. You can imagine how happy and proud I was of my achievement. Now, 3 months later, I manage 5 in a row. Ok, that's not a masterpiece yet. But I'm not at the end of the training yet :)
What I'm trying to say: Anyone can learn push-ups! You don't have to be a muscle man or very heavily trained to do this. Doing push ups is easier than you think. Especially if you approach the project with a lot of motivation and system.
By the way, very few women can do push-ups without training. So you are not alone :)
Before I tell you my pushup workout plan, I'll give you some general info first.
Table of contents
So you finally manage your first pull-up!
What muscles use pushups
Push-ups are among the best upper body exercises available. With Push-ups you train triceps, chest and shoulders.
In addition, your core muscles will also get stronger. My tip: Include push-ups in your workout.
In a full-body workout, therefore, push-ups must not be missing at all. The great thing about it: upper body muscles are formed very quickly when learning push-ups.
You'll get a really nice figure relatively quickly with strong - but not too muscular arms.
In order for the first push ups to succeed, a certain amount of strength should already be present. If you've never done sports before and then start with push-ups, you'll quickly become disenchanted. Either you don't succeed at all, only a few work out, or you hurt yourself. Why is that? Well, this exercise involves a lot of muscles at the same time.
In addition to the arms, the torso provides stability. Without a regular trunk workout will not succeed in bringing up the Stabi. Classic effect for the untrained: abdomen and back sag.
Why anyone can do pushups
Anyone can do it. Unless you suffer from a slipped disc or other physical ailment. No strength in your arms is no excuse - you can practice and improve that.
When it comes to push-ups, men have a clear advantage. They simply have more muscle mass than women.
If you put an untrained man and an untrained woman face to face and have them do push-ups, the man will most likely manage a few. Most women, on the other hand, will fail at this task.
But do not worry! The situation is not hopeless :). There are very many push-ups professionals who are female. One of the World record holder is Alicia Weber. She shall 180 pushups in 10 minutes create, and with one arm!
Well, if Alicia can do it, then so can we. Our physical conditions are a little worse, but that's not a problem. Because learning to do push-ups is no magic.
Why are push ups harder for women?
There are two reasons for this. On the one hand, women usually have a low muscle percentage. The fact that we have difficulty building muscle is due to female hormones.
On the other hand, our physique is not particularly conducive to push-ups.
Especially women with a large pelvis have a hard time. Because of pronounced hips, the center of gravity for push-ups is right here. Men and women with very narrow hip bones find push-ups much easier. But no need to worry. It still works - it just takes a little more effort.
How push ups will become easier for you
Besides the lack of body tension, beginners have one main problem: pain in the wrists. Every time you try to learn push-ups, you put a lot of pressure on your wrists. The problem with this is the very unnatural angle that our joints have to assume.
Often the heels of the hands also start to hurt. In principle, you would still have power to continue practicing, but the hands do not want to participate.
Push-up grips can help. Instead of placing your hands on the mat or floor, grip the push-up handles. This keeps your hand from bending too much and reduces the pressure. So you can focus on what is very important: body tension.
This makes sense not only for beginners, but also for advanced users. If you can already do a few push-ups without any problems, you can do them much deeper.
We recommend you to take high-quality push-up grips. Forget about models made of plastic. The problem with them is that you can slip off and injure yourself through sweating. Often cheap models wobble, which feels anything but safe.
Our Tip: Push-up grips from Edel-Kraft. Made in Germany of beech or walnut wood, available in two colors. Rubber is attached to the bottom of the handles, so the support is guaranteed not to slip. The feet are extra wide, so you can not tip over.
The handles are handmade and processed very high quality. But you can do much more than just push-ups with it: Also handstands or a whole series of yoga exercises work wonderfully with it.
Get smart about push-up grips here!
How to learn pushups
Many women have a hard time with push-ups in the beginning. Instead of performing the push-ups on their toes, many start with knees.
Some leave these pushups out of their workout plan altogether because they don't think they can do it. Don't do it!
It really pays to persevere. A trained upper body and toned arms are the thanks.
To really succeed in learning push-ups and not skip the workout, just make yourself a little workout plan.
That is: Enter into your cell phone every 2nd or 3rd day an fixed time one. There are no excuses like going for coffee, watching TV or other distractions.
Just take the 15 minutes you need to learn push-ups.
Bouldering can help you build muscles in your upper body!
Do push ups correctly
Look carefully how to do push-ups correctly. Stretch your legs fully, hands parallel to your shoulders. Fingertips point forward. And your body forms a straight line.
Attention: Let your butt Do not sag and do not stretch it too high. Maybe you have a mirror nearby, that can help especially in the beginning.
You need to tighten your abdomen very tightly so as not to form a hollow back.
Start slowly with pushups
It took me a long time until I managed to do push-ups. If you want to learn push-ups, you first need a large amount of Patience. Nothing works from one day to the next. But from today to the next month a great progress can be seen.
What you need in addition to patience is Perseverance. Because you should at least every 2nd day ran and practice push ups.
In the beginning, it will be more like every 3 days. Because I can guarantee you one thing: The muscle soreness will be huge.
Purely visually, you can see almost nothing in the first month. But your strength will grow quickly. Soon you will be able to do your first push up.
Strengthen arms to learn push-ups
Many trainers recommend pushups on the Wall to start. So you can build muscle nice and slowly and not overload the body.
After some time you then switch to the Chair. Or simply lean sideways against a park bench. It's important that you build up muscles in your arms. The best way to do this is with different exercises.
Are push-up grips really useful? The online check!
You can also use the park bench as equipment for practicing push-ups
I did not start with wall push-ups.
My first exercises for pushups were simple Planks. This way you get some upper arm and abdominal muscles and learn to tense your torso in a controlled way. And that's exactly what you'll need later.
Forget the gym! These exercises for home strengthen your arms!
Try different exercises
Variety helps when you want to build muscle. Focus your exercises on the arms, because this is the weak point of most women who want to start doing push-ups.
I once saw an exercise in yoga class that I particularly liked. Unfortunately, I can't remember the name. But that is anyway beside the point. :) Just give it a try.
Learn push-ups for women: How to start your first push-ups in 7 steps
Many women need a sophisticated plan when it comes to learning pushups. And now you get it :). It worked great for me. You can easily do it too!
Important: Especially in the beginning, you may have pain in your wrists. Therefore, you need to warm them up well before the start. To do this, rotate them clockwise and counterclockwise, clench your fists and open them explosively.
And of course, never forget to warm up before learning push ups. Push ups use a lot of muscles in your body, so if you don't prepare them, you risk injury. Just look at to our Warm up contribution.
What always comes in handy is the jumping jack exercise. And the circling of the wrists.
We first begin to strengthen the arm and trunk muscles. In many different ways.
A whole host of bodyweight exercises are suitable for this. That means you don't need any equipment. At least in the beginning.
Later, when you already have light muscles, light dumbbells can greatly accelerate your progress.
1. planks are the starting position for push-ups
In the first week, use ordinary planking every day. This will help you build some muscles in the beginning. With planks you train your upper arms, thighs, buttocks and legs.
You also learn the correct posture especially of buttocks, back and abdomen by planking. A real all-rounder that prepares you for push-ups.
- Lie on your stomach. Place your elbows under your shoulders and lift your body off the mat.
- The back is straight and the head is the extension of the spine.
- Tighten the abdomen and buttocks.
Hold the planks for 20 seconds each. Do a total of 5 repetitions with 10 seconds rest in between.
12 mega effective exercises for a stable torso!
2. full planks for good posture during push ups
In week 2, full planks are added to the simple planks. This will give you a nice posture workout and strengthen your entire arms.
- Instead of resting on your elbows, now fully extend your arms.
- The back is straight and the palms are just below your shoulders.
- Arms and legs are well stretched.
Do this exercise for 3×30 seconds.
3. plank up for more strength in the arms
So, now it's getting strenuous. This exercise to learn push-ups is nothing more than a mix of the two plank types you already know.
Either you do only this exercise now or you mix with the other two. You just decide for yourself.
- You start in a normal plank. Tighten the abdomen.
- Now straighten up with one arm and then with the second. You are in a plank with both arms extended.
- Lower the body again by leaning on the elbows to return to the starting position.
Repeat this as long as you can and stop the time. You will see: Soon you'll be able to do this workout for push-ups for women more often.
4. planks and rotate
So, this time we'll challenge your upper arm muscles a little more. This exercise also requires a little sense of balance. If you're lacking balance, check this out: "Balance exercises for more balance".
- You start in the full plank position.
- Take your right hand off the exercise mat and raise it to the ceiling.
- Turn your upper body to the right side.
- The legs remain on the mat.
Repeat this exercise as often as possible.
You can find even more variety here: 19 Plank Variations!
5. one-legged planks to learn push ups
You need coordination and strength for this exercise. It prepares you very well for your first push up through the mix.
- Start in full plank. Raise your left hand and right leg and stretch them as much as possible.
- Distribute the weight on your hand and foot and make sure your back is straight.
Hold this position for at least 15 seconds before switching sides. You should be able to do at least 3 passes (3x right hand & 3x left hand in front).
Do you already know the most effective theraband exercises ever?
6. planks and legs tighten
Of course, the normal plank can be made even more difficult. The harder it is for you, the greater the training effect.
- You start in a normal plank. Now alternately pull the left and right knee to the elbow.
- Make sure you tighten your core and your body forms a nice line.
You can probably do 10 reps per leg, right? :)
7. side planks to learn pushups
Even more power for the arms and the lateral abdominal muscles with lateral planks. Also a wonderful preparation for your first push up.
- Lie sideways on the exercise mat. Lift your body off the mat by placing your elbow under your shoulder and pushing away.
- Jett only one arm and one leg touch the mat.
- Those who can, raise the upper leg and slowly lower it again.
As a beginner you probably won't be able to lift the leg, don't worry about it. This is an exercise for professionals.
Hold the plank for at least 30 seconds and do 3 passes per side.
Strengthen torso and upper body with weight
If that is still not enough, you can also pull weights to help. Kettlebells are a good training equipment for a strong torso and strong arms. You can make full planks even heavier and build more muscles.
Grab a kettlebell and pull it to your chest as far as you can. Do at least 10 repetitions before switching sides.
But also Exercises with short dumbbells are very good for building muscle faster.
The first real pushups
When you feel that you have gathered enough strength with our exercises, you can dare to do your first real push ups. There are two variations for this.
Kneeling push-ups (women's push-ups)
Slowly, we're getting closer to doing real push-ups. It's still a little easier because the legs are in play, saving us a little strength.
- Get on all fours and lift your legs off the floor. Shift your weight forward until you are in a kneeling plank position.
- Slowly bend the elbows and lower the upper body to the floor. Attention: The upper body remains tense and stretched. Now go back up and repeat the exercise.
Try to do the push-ups while kneeling as often as possible. Do you succeed? If not: practice more full planks! Now practice kneeling push-ups every day for a week.
Here's what you need to know about women's pushups!
Proper pushups
Do you notice that your muscles are increasing? Try doing the right push-up. If it doesn't work, don't worry about it. It took me longer, too. I struggled for two full months. But with success :)
What are the most common mistakes when learning push-ups
There are a few. The most common one is that most do not use their body properly tense.
The butt also likes to move up or too far down. With push-ups, however, you must have a nice Line form
For some, the abdomen and buttocks sag as well. With my tips for Pushups for women should you but that no longer happen :)
To help you get the right technique for learning push-ups from the start, here's a list of the top 3 push-up mistakes.
Your elbows point outward
A lot of people have their elbows pointing outward when they do push-ups. Unfortunately, this is wrong. Because elbows that are not close to the body put a lot of stress on your shoulder joint.
Yes, push ups with elbows sticking out are easier to do, but not a good idea especially as a beginner.
The correct push-up technique
Always keep your elbows as close to you as possible. Ideally, your elbows should be touching your body.
With this technique you train your triceps, your chest and your upper and middle back. And you save your shoulders.
With this sport you actually lose weight fast!
You let yourself hang
Try to make sure that your head, upper back and hips form a straight line. Throughout the exercise.
If your hips or abdomen sag, you risk overloading the lumbar vertebrae the Result is back pain.
The solution is quite simple: if you want to learn push-ups, you have to squeeze your buttocks together. :) And through the whole exercise.
You drop like a wet sack
Body tension! I can't say that too often. Because that's where it fails for many. They drop like a wet sack, plop down on the floor and can't get up again.
But here's a solution too: don't start with push-ups right away, but build up muscles first. You'll need them to slowly move down and up.
Now that you know well about the wrong technique, you can certainly analyze this picture. What is wrong with it?
Solution:
- The back is not straight
- The elbows point outward
- The abdomen is not tense
- The surface is too soft. This makes it difficult for you to build up body tension.
Our conclusion
If you want to learn push-ups, you need a lot of patience and must first start to strengthen your torso and arms. Without abdominal muscles and arm muscles, not a single push up will succeed.
Once these muscles are well strengthened, not much is missing to the first own push-up for women. Because it would be a laugh if we can not do at least as beautiful push ups as men :)
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