when doing a push up...?

Question

i know that when your hands are touching each other, you are working your triceps, and when your hand and further than shoulder length, you are working your pecs. so if you have your hands and shoulder length, you are working your pecs and triceps about equally at the same time right?

but my question is, is it better to do around 30 push-ups shoulder length, or do like 10 shoulder length, 10 with hands touching, and 10 with hands further than shoulder length?

and also, what percent of your bodyweight are you lifting when doing a push up? i weigh around 150 and im 5'8" so how much do i lift when doing a pushup. and is it about equal to doing a benchpress? is there some kind of equation to calculating this?

Answer 1

Its good to alternate the extremes to give each the hardest work out. If u wanna know how much of your weight your lifting just get in push up position with your hands on a scale

Answer 2

Honestly it all depends on what you are trying to do. the position of your hands does change exactly which groupings are more affected. If you feel you need to work one certain area more than the other to get a certain look then that would determine where to place your hands. If the over all body shape is already basically where you want it and you just want to build on that then you would just mix it up and do a little of each. the bench press is a much more effective way of doing this. you can more closely monitor your progress with the amount of weight you are adding or not adding. moving your hands towards the middle of the bar or out towards the end of the bar does the same thing. also when you are putting your hands in the middle that does tend to ......well for a lack of a better term it gives you more cleavage. what I mean is it makes you look a little more defined by causing the pecks to form a little differently. I am not a pro. weight lifter though so do some more research and like I always say....do what works best for you as an individual. every person is different. you will have to try different things out to find out what works best for you.

Answer 3

I think for balance you should spread it out- pushing too much on the triceps or pecs will unbalance you.

As far as a formula, I'm not sure. I know you can make them easier if you go to your knees, and harder if you put your feet up on a chair. Good work, and good luck!

Answer 4

yes you are working pecs , tris, and delts wen doing push ups. push ups are not a substitute for bench press. bench press is more effective because you lift more weight then just your bodyweight.

Answer 5

do as many as u can in each position

Answer 6

10,10,10. that is the best I can do for you.