Will push-ups get easier? Tips from a fitness enthusiast

It is difficult to do even one push-up with solid technique. To get better at doing push-ups, do them daily, focus on good form and technique, do negative as well as different variations of push-ups, and increase the range of motion of the exercise.

Introduction

No matter what your background is, I bet you've experienced the challenge that push-ups present. What is it about this deceptively straightforward exercise that makes it such a challenging task to do?

In this article, I'll delve into the science and mechanics behind push-ups so you first understand why they're so hard to do because, as with many things, understanding the problem is part of the solution.

It's not just about pushing yourself off the ground; it's about defying gravity and lifting more than 50% of your body weight using your chest muscles primarily (and assisted by your triceps and front delts).

I'll also explain how gender differences in upper body strength can make the exercise more difficult for women than for men.

You'll also learn how to do a full, clean, and strict pushup with the correct technique and form.

Finally and after gaining the above knowledge, it'll be easier for you to make a plan to get stronger and better at pushups. For that, I'll provide a list of tips, hints, and ways to make the exercise easier in the long run.

Why are push-ups so hard?

How can it be so hard to do a simple pushup, right? Why in the heck are they so hard to do? Why can't you just push yourself up off the floor?

Here’s why:

Push-ups are heavy by definition

Well, it's actually quite simply to understand why.

This "load" is the weight of your body, of course.

It can't be that hard, right?

Well, wrong.

You see, by doing a pushup, you push about 56% of your body weight using nothing other than your chest muscles, though your front deltoids and triceps are also activated to do the work.

How much is 56% of body weight? Well, suppose you're a 200 lbs (approx. 90kg) man or 170 lbs (approx. 77kg) woman (those are the average body weights for men and women living in the United States).

That means to do a clean, strict and full pushup, you have to push 56% * 200 lbs = 112 lbs (approx. 51kg) or 56% * 170 lbs = 95.2 lbs (approx. 43kg) if you're a man or woman, respectively.

That's 112 lbs / 2 = 56 lbs (approx. 25kg) or 95.2 lbs / 2 = 47.6 lbs (approx. 21.6kg) per arm for men and women, respectively!

That's a lot! Have you ever held a 50 lbs dumbbell in your hands? It's HEAVY.

Can you imagine then that doing a pushup is really heavy if you aren't a trained professional?

There is no middle ground in weight selection

The second problem is that there are no gradients in weight that you can choose from.

You can't "select" a different weight than your body weight.

This can be nuanced a bit; for example, you can do pushups on your knees instead of on your toes or do incline pushups (more on this later in this article), but the fact with such compromises is that you aren't doing a full, clean, strict and regular pushup.

I'm talking about a full and regular pushup, i.e., both hands and feet on the floor and no other body parts touching the floor. Thát is a regular pushup.

And if you don't have the option to change weights (such as with gym equipment), then it's basically all-or-nothing:

It's harsh, but it's reality. And that's why pushups are so hard.

Women have it harder

The third problem is related to gender.

If you're a woman trying to do pushups, then I hate it to break it to you... but you'll have a harder time to do a regular pushup.

That's because women usually have less upper body strength than men.

Even if both men and women are equally trained athletes, then still the male athlete will be stronger than the female one due to differences lean body mass and the morphology of their muscles (i.e., simple gender differences).

What this means concretely, is that pushups will remain hard for women to do longer than they do for men.

Don't get me wrong, both men and women can get very good at pushups, and pushups eventually will become easier even if you're a woman. It's just that it'll take longer for you if you're a woman than if you're a man.

Will push-ups ever get easier?

As unimaginable as it seems: Yes, pushups will get easier.

It just takes time, consistency, and hard work.

But you will get there... pushups will get easier! Knowing how to work towards making pushups easier is only half the battle because once you have a solid plan to increase your pushup skills, it's only a matter of showing up, doing the work, and going through the 'motion'.

Proper technique for doing push-ups

Before discussing how to make pushups easier over time, you need to know how to do them properly in the first place. Below, I've outlined the different parts of doing pushups, from the starting position to the bottom and back to the starting position.

1. Starting position

To get in a pushup starting position, get on your hands and feet so that your upper body and legs are in a plank position, that is, maintain a straight line from your heels through to your head.

Other points you have to watch out for, are:

• Keep your hands slighter wider than shoulder-width apart and approximately in line with your shoulders.
• Keep your feet together, and rest on the ball of your feet.
• Retract your shoulder blades by pulling them together (as if you want to shrug, but instead of doing a vertical shrug by pulling your shoulders up, you need to pull them back).
• Do not raise or lower your hips! When seen from the side, your legs and upper body should form a straight line.
• Do not bend your knees.

You should maintain the above points throughout the full range of motion of the exercise.

2. Descending (eccentric) phase

When you've nailed the starting position, it's time to start the eccentric phase of the exercise, i.e., lowering your upper body to the floor.

Begin by descending your upper body by bending at your elbows.

Keep your elbows close to your torso as you bend them. Do not flare out your elbows.

Keep the eccentric phase slow, smooth, and controlled. Keep descending until your chest is barely an inch off the floor.

Your head should maintain a natural position in relation with your spine. That is, look straight to the floor. At the lowest point of the exercise, you may notice your chin will touch the floor.

What I usually do at the lowest point of pushups is to look to the left (or right) so my chin doesn't get in the way. Alternatively, you may look straight ahead (or 'up', in relation with your body) to raise your chin and prevent it from bumping against the floor.

3. Push up (concentric phase)

Once you're at the bottom of the exercise, do not start the concentric phase immediately.

Instead, pause for a brief moment (0.5-1 second is all that's required), then push yourself back up.

This way, you'll remove any momentum out of the exercise (which is considered a form of cheating).

Pushing yourself back up is the same as the eccentric phase but in a reverse direction. Push yourself off the floor using your chest muscles as if you want to push something away from you. Remember again to keep your elbows close to your body.

Keep pushing until you lock out your elbows and your arms are straight. You'll use your triceps muscle more this way.

Remember all the points related to your overall posture (see step 1). Maintain your posture as described in the starting position at all times!

4. Repeat

Once you've fully pushed yourself back up and your arms are straight again, you're back in the starting position and have completed 1 rep.

If possible, continue doing more reps.

Tips to get better at push-ups

Below are some tips that I noticed worked for when I was trying to improve my push-ups. I also follow these tips whenever I haven't exercised for a while and my strength is gone, so I can get back to my original strength levels as soon as possible.

Do them daily

As with anything else... to get better at something, you need to do it often.

That also holds for getting better at pushups and making them easier for you.

You won't get better if you only do them once a week, and do the next sessions after 7 or more days.

Your body will get stronger, no doubt, but you'll make much (much!) more and faster progress if you do pushups daily.

Start by doing 1 pushup a day. If you've never done pushups before, doing them with great technique and form is almost impossible.

However, don't let that deter your from doing them anyways! You'll only get better at pushups if you learn how to do them and let your body adapt to the exercise.

And guess what...that requires lots of practice!

Focus on form and technique

As a fitness advocate, I always try to push people to do every exercise with GREAT technique and form.

Not only it's because that prevents injury and activates the targeted muscles, but also because proper technique and form is the most efficient way for a given exercise to lift that weight.

That also holds for doing pushups.

If you want pushups to get easier, focus on doing them properly!

That's why I've decided to describe how to do pushups and discuss the proper technique to add to this article (see the previous section above).

Do negative push-ups

The concentric phase of pushups can be hard or impossible to do with proper form and technique if you've never done pushups before (and consequently lack the strength).

Although I'd still advice you to not neglect the concentric phase, despite that it may seem impossible at first, you can begin by focusing more on the descending or eccentric phase of the exercise.

This way, you'll still active the required muscles for a pushup, but it's easier to do because in general, you're much stronger in the eccentric phase of an exercise than the concentric phase.

So what about the concentric phase then? If you're absolutely unable to do it, simply skip that phase for now by getting on your knees and returning to the starting position after reaching the exercise's bottom position.

Do different variations of push-ups

Do you think a regular pushup, as described in the how-to and 'technique' section above, is the only way to do a pushup?

Well, guess what.

There are really several ways to do pushups, all are a variation on the regular pushups. These include:

• incline pushups
• decline pushups (!)
• wide grip pushups
• reverse grip pushups (!)
• single-arm pushups (!)
• and many more variations

Note:
- exercises with an exclamation mark (!) behind them are not for beginners.
- incline pushups are not the same as incline dumbbell or bench presses. For instance, with incline pushups, you use an elevated plateau for your hands. Not only will this make the exercise easier, but it'll target your upper chest and front deltoids less (which is in contrast to incline dumbbell/bench presses)

Don't only do pushups daily and with proper technique, but change up variations.

For example, do:

• Day 1: regular pushups
• Day 2: wide grip pushups
• Day 3: incline pushups
• Day 4: rest
• Day 5: wide grip incline pushups (combined wide grip and incline pushups)
• Day 6: regular pushups
• Day 7: rest

This way, you'll hit your muscles in different ways and from different angles, making them stronger by using more versatile exercise motions.

Increase the range of motion of push-ups

Another GREAT way to get better at pushups and make them easier is to increase the range of motion (ROM) slightly.

This makes the exercise harder, but the regular pushups will be much easier since your muscles will adapt (and thus become stronger) to the more challenging variation.

To increase the ROM, you need to somehow make your chest able to descend lower than the floor.

You do this by placing 2 books of equal thickness under your hands. In other words, your hands are slightly elevated (2-3 inches is all that's needed) to allow your body to go deeper in the bottom position.

However, don't use a too high object, such as two chairs, because otherwise you'd change the biomechanics of the exercise too much resulting in a pushup exercise altogether (it becomes the incline pushup then).

Conclusion

Few exercises are as difficult yet rewarding for beginners to master as the push-up.

While I've covered the reasons why push-ups can be so hard, I've also provided you with the technique and knowledge to conquer them.

Every push-up you do brings you one step closer to a stronger and more confident you.

Set a goal, practice proper technique, and use the tips I've shared with you to make push-ups a part of your daily routine.

Do so, and I promise you: you'll experience the satisfaction of mastering this great exercise and reaping the rewards it offers for your chest, triceps, shoulders, overall fitness, overall body aesthetics, and above all, your confidence levels and body image.

Don't wait any longer. Start doing push-ups today, and watch as your strength and confidence soar to new heights. Your body will thank you, and your fitness journey will be all the more fulfilling for it.