*Questions regarding pushups*

[primpoisepiety]

1. Which muscles does it target mainly?
2. Based on Q.1 which day should I include pushups in? (Upper body or leg)

P.s- my upper body days are divided into two i.e triceps + chest and back + abs

Leg days are also parted into two.

1. Where should I feel the "good" kind of muscle pain after pushups to know that the form was right and I hit the right places?
2. I only just started and currently do 4×5 pushups at least 3-4 days a week i.e all of the days I go to gym. Should I adjust to gain better results? How? If you have any advice, please share.
3. Do you have any tips regarding forms and such? I'm a beginner so any tips would be really appreciated.
4. How well does pushup work for flappy underarms, fatty back and tummy?

 

[jl090812]

@primpoisepiety

1. Mostly chest (and back for me, when I'm protracting my shoulders at the top of a pushup), some arms.
2. Definitely not legs or lower body.
3. Across the back, chest, and sometimes in your arms
4. Push-up advice and progressions: r/bodyweightfitness Antranik is basically the master of this.
   to start
5. See #4
6. It can help fill in the arms with muscles, but in terms of fatty deposits, you can't spot reduce. Fat will be lost mostly during cardio diet. Pushups are typically a form of strength training (using body weight). While you do burn calories in strength training for energy, majority of fat burn will done during cardio (compared to strength training, but proper nutrition/calorie deficit is the best).

 

[robert424]

@jl090812 Just to add to point 6. Yes, cardio burns more fat than strength training in terms of time, but cardio will not out-do a bad diet. Depending on the person and the workout, a 30 minute cardio workout can burn around 300 - 400 calories. That's not going to out-do poor eating habits. That would be about 6 oreo cookies. The main way to lose weight via fat loss is through a caloric deficit and healthy foods.

 

[jl090812]

@robert424 Thanks for pointing this out. I clarified and edited some points.

 

[jeffwilly001]

@primpoisepiety

Which muscles does it target mainly?

Pectorals, anterior deltoids (front shoulders), and triceps.

Based on Q.1 which day should I include pushups in? (Upper body or leg)

Push-ups are an upper body pushing exercise.

P.s- my upper body days are divided into two i.e triceps + chest and back + abs

That's good, with split programming it's generally better to hit every major compound exercise in the synonymy of motion (pushing, pulling, legs), plus you need to oblige 48 hours of recovery in between targeting muscle groups. You don't need to divide abs to a day though, they have high enough recovery that you can exercise them every day.

Where should I feel the "good" kind of muscle pain after pushups to know that the form was right and I hit the right places?

A) You should not be feeling pain

B) Soreness is not a reliable indicator of success. The primary metric of progress is performance benchmarks. Adhere to good form and pay attention to your sense of proprioception.

I only just started and currently do 4×5 pushups at least 3-4 days a week i.e all of the days I go to gym. Should I adjust to gain better results? How? If you have any advice, please share.

Frequency depends on your personal schedule. Every other day (3-4 days a week) is certainly optimal so long as you're obliging 48 hours of recovery between muscle groups (NOT just push-ups).

Do you have any tips regarding forms and such? I'm a beginner so any tips would be really appreciated.

Throughout the whole motion, your forearms and elbows shouldn't move. Keep your elbows tucked close to your sides, don't flare them out.

Visualize pushing the ground away from you.

Visualize contracting the grip inwardly on a vertical plane. For example, with bench press visualize retracting the bar in upon itself. Squeezing your arms together on the eccentric movement during a push-up will help activate the pectorals.

How well does pushup work for flappy underarms, fatty back and tummy?

Directly? None whatsoever, spot reduction is fiction.

Indirectly? A lot, putting on muscle is one of the best ways to improve your body composition. 1lb of fat burns ~2 calories just sitting around, 1lb of muscle burns ~5 calories just sitting around.

 

[dawn16]

@primpoisepiety If you do a four day split do them every upper body day and feel it in the pecs and triceps. If you did them on a lower body day you could manage more due to the split, but stay with upper body. 4set and 5 reps can be moved to 5x5 or drop a set and do more reps.

3-5 reps will build strength but with Push ups once you can do them comfortable increase the number of completed rep.

If you feel it in the shoulders then you need to retract them before your first Push up.