You may have seen posts on social media, asking you to tag a friend who could do 50 push-ups in one set. Push-ups, of course, is not an easy exercise for the one who has never practised it, however regular practice every day for barely 15 mins could help you increase your push up numbers. As per the latest study conducted by Harvard University, researchers found that men's ability to do more than 40 push-ups in one set can help one reduce the risk of severe heart problems for next 10 years.

If you aren't able to perform regular push-ups, then initially you could develop the strength by practising it with knee support. Now, why are push-ups the need for an hour? It's because it can help you reduce the risk of heart disease. Apart from that, it will help you develop strength and endurance help you tone up  your body.  Artificial Intelligence Can Detect Heart Problems in the Future, Says Study by Mayo Clinic.

Justin Yang, an occupational medicine resident from T.H. Chan school of public health, conducted a study along with his team. He included in his research 1,104 active male firefighters with an average age of 39.6. The participants were observed for a decade, and at the end, it was discovered that male participants who weren't able to do more than 40 push-ups out of 80 push-ups experienced outcomes related to cardiovascular diseases (CVD) like heart failure or sudden cardiac death. Out of 1,104 males, 37 males developed symptoms associated with CVD. The most important finding of the study was that all of these 37 males failed in performing more than 40 push-ups in their baseline test.

The benefit of this push-up test is that it can be conducted anywhere and it does not require any setup. The test does not take more than 2 mins, and it is a quantitative measurement which can easily be understood by both the patient and clinician.

It must also be noted, that we still require further more studies on this push-up test for a conclusion that it can reduce the cardiovascular disease in the coming 10 years. The study conducted by Yang was only done on active male firefighters, who cannot represent the other segment of society as a whole. It must also be noted that heart-related diseases get influenced by other factors too like stress, environment, etc.

The high quantity push-ups may or may not eradicate the risk of heart disease, but one thing I can assure you is that it can help you develop a toned up upper body as it works on multiple muscles like pectoralis, deltoid, abdominal,tricep and upper back. There is no harm doing push-ups, and one can take out 15-20 mins from their daily routine for this old school exercise. Here's how you can perform the perfect push-ups:

Guidance for beginners to build strength for performing 50 push-ups in a row:

Step by step method to develop progression for perfect push-up:

  • One who has never done push-ups must first start with knee push-ups. Ideally, three sets of 15 repetitions each should be performed. It's recommended to do this for the first ten days, and then one should move to standard push-ups without knee support.

  • After 10 days, two sets of knee push-ups should be clubbed with two sets of standard push-ups. The quantity of the standard push-ups will not matter at this time; your form and a full range of motion will help you develop full strength.

  • Once you have acquired the form for standard push-ups, you should set small goals every week, increasing your reps by five in each set.

  • Never round your back while performing push-ups and remember to complete the full range of motion with your back straight throughout the exercise.

  • Also, remember that your elbows should perfectly lockout while moving your body down.

  • Push-ups not only increases your muscular strength but it also helps in making your core stronger.

Even if you have not attempted a push-up throughout your life, you can start doing it correctly with proper form and technique. It will take time, but slowly and gradually you will begin to perform it in high numbers.

(This article is written for an informative purpose and should not be substituted for medical advice. Kindly consult your doctor before trying any tips.)

 

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 18, 2019 03:50 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).