What Are the Dangers of Pushups?
Push-ups are a great upper body exercise that work several major muscle groups. But like most high-stress lifting exercises, there are several potential dangers and drawbacks of doing push-ups.
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Purpose
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The purpose of push-ups is to strengthen and tone the upper body muscles, especially the chest, triceps and biceps and back. For those with weaker upper body muscles, push-ups may be very difficult and can cause strain.
Soreness
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Push-ups can lead to muscle soreness a day or two after a workout, which is often called DOMS, or delayed onset muscle soreness. This can hamper workout progression and performance in athletic competition.
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Form
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Doing push-ups with proper form is essential to getting the most out of the workout, while preventing injury. Using improper form, such as bending the back, can lead to pain or injury.
Types
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Push-ups can be performed many different ways, such as from the knees, the toes, on an incline, from a handstand or with different hand placements. Doing a type of push-up that is more difficult can increase the chances of strain.
Considerations
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Push-ups put a significant amount of stress on the wrists and toes. If you have injured wrists, feet or toes, doing push-ups may worsen injuries or slow healing time.
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