Most people aren't aware that you don't need fancy gym equipment to build muscle -- in fact, simple bodyweight exercises like pushups can be effectively used to build muscle up.



It's easy to underestimate how effective pushups can be at getting results. Pushups might appear plain and boring on the surface: up down, up down, up down -- that's it. And that's true to a certain extent. But many people outside of the fitness circles are only familiar with the standard pushups that they were taught in their high school phys ed classes.

Build your workout using a variety of pushup variations that each focus on a specific muscle group. You'll get the overall chest, arms, and back benefit, but each variation will also isolate one muscle group more than the others. This also makes pushups a great part of any superset. We're going to review five variations in this article, but there are countless available, and these five should open your eyes to the possibilities available.

Military pushups: military pushups are a very close cousin to standard pushups, except that your goal with military pushups is to isolate your triceps. You do this by tucking your elbows to your sides and moving your hands directly underneath the outer part of your chest.

Heart-to-hearts: Heart-to-heart pushups, also referred to as diamond pushups, require you to place your index fingers and thumbs together in the shape of an inverted heart, and then placing that heart directly underneath the center of your chest. You'll spread your legs out wider than normal for balance while performing this variation.

Yogi pushups: also referred to as "divebombers," you start the pushup in the yoga downward dog position, which is similar to a pike. On the down rep, you transition into the upward dog position in a motion that is similar to sliding under a fence, reversing this movement on the up rep. These pushups are brutal and really work your shoulders.

Incline pushups: Incline pushups are the exact opposite of decline pushups -- instead of placing your feet higher than your head, your head should be higher than your feet for this exercise. Any sturdy surface that will allow you to perform the pushups unencumbered can be used. Incline pushups work your lower pectoral muscles.

Deep pushups: If you are working out at home, you can perform raised pushups with the help of three sturdy chairs. By placing each of your hands on an opposite chair, and your feet on the third chair, you can increase the depth of your pushup and thereby increase the effectiveness of your workout routine. A similar, but less intense, movement can be performed with pushup stands. The "Perfect Pushup" bars work wonders.

Here is a more detailed listing of styles you can consider to achieve muscle weight gain: wide, fly, diamond, military, fist, yogi, incline, decline, stacked, deep, prison cell, and inchworm pushups.

Tips to increase the effectiveness of your pushup workouts: remember to add some weight once the pushups begin to get easy. You don't want to push out 50 easy repetitions. Rather, struggle with 20 or 30. Also be sure to add variety by varying your hand position for each of the above types of pushups.

Push ups are a great way to strengthen your upper body and exercise, build muscle at the same time. If you keep it interesting by mixing up your hand positions and trying a few different styles of pushups you can increase the effectiveness of your at-home exercising and relieve the boredom!