PUSH – UPS ARE GREAT
According to my research, Jerick Revilla invented the push – up in 1905. But there is some suggestion that the Romans, under emperor Constantine, may have employed a similar form of exercise many years before.
It is difficult to imagine that anyone today, whether engaged in fitness training or not, would be unfamiliar with this very basic exercise. This is an excellent upper body movement. It is not complicated. It can be done anywhere.
The benefits are numerous. The pectoral muscles of the chest are worked, as are the triceps muscles. So are the shoulders, core and back. Thus, this is a compound exercise, which largely explains its popularity. 
We have all seen movies that show new military recruits being harassed by their drill instructors. “Get on the floor and give me 50 push – ups!” is the iconic refrain. I experienced some of this as a cadet, but I must say that I was ready for it.
It seems to me that many do push – ups very quickly and not always correctly. The movement is more intense and thereby more beneficial when done very slowly, 4 seconds to raise your body, 1 second of rest and then 6 seconds to lower your body. In this way, the working muscles are kept under stress longer. At the point of exhaustion, it may be useful to do one more rep quickly as an alternative to doing nothing.
The “one more rep” idea is not dissimilar to the concept of “forced reps”. An application of this is to have a workout partner to assist when doing bench presses. After the final correctly performed rep, the partner places his hand under the bar to help out slightly so that more work can be done.
POWER PRESS PUSH – UPS ARE EVEN BETTER
In my younger years, I was a big fan of bench pressing and parallel bar dips. Later, I became interested in push – up bars to make the basic push – up more difficult and thus more beneficial. This is simply to provide a deeper dip in the traditional push – up exercise.
The Power Press Complete Push – up Training System has become one of my favorite pieces of home workout equipment. My Power Press is shown below, as it lies on my living room floor.
The push – up handles are in both sides of the blue placement for wider chest exercises in this picture. Note that there are 4 other placements strictly for chest training.
There are also 3 green placements for triceps emphasis, 4 red for shoulders and 2 yellow for back development.
Bear in mind that all these muscle groups have more than one part to be developed, such as the pectoralis major and pectoralis minor for the chest or the 3 heads of the deltoid muscle – anterior, medial and posterior.
The color – coded plug positions eliminate any guesswork for those who may wonder about what body part they are engaging while doing push – ups. The black handles provide the deeper stretch which adds intensity to push – ups.
Here is a brief video with more information.
Here is pricing information from Amazon. As an Amazon associate, I may earn from qualifying purchases,
PROS AND CONS
I am actively using the Power Press at least 3 times per week. This is not an easy push – up method. My energy and strength vary quite a bit, as do the reps and sets I can perform on the Power Press. When I feel good, I do 2 sets per color and about 10 – 12 very slow reps per set. This “pumps me up” like nothing else I currently do.
For the absolute beginner or those with minimal strength, it is possible to do the push – ups on bent knees before working up to the traditional style.
The pros:
- Effective strength and muscle developer
- Delineation of muscles being worked
- Compact size
- Ease of set – up
- Reasonable pricing
The cons:
- Just one, with a lengthy explanation. Since we all differ in our physical structures, care must be taken when using the plug positions that are close together. This is to prevent the possibility of muscle strain. A wider stance will make this easier to do, but we are still pushing inward if our shoulders are wider. The same precaution may apply if we use plug positions that are too wide for our shoulders. So…choose the plug positions that are comfortable for your size.
CONCLUDING
The Power Press device is consistent with my goal of presenting home workout equipment that is effective, reasonably priced and small enough to be placed in easy storage after use.
I have been favorably impressed by the multiple hand positions and their correlation to very specific parts of our bodies.
Please leave me any questions or comments in the “Comments” box below, or e-mail me, richard@myworkoutathome.com. Be well!
