Dynamic Workout Routine with Push-ups and Abs
Push-ups and abs should be part of any training routine. However, there are many athletes who don’t always include these exercises in their day-to-day workouts. In any case, the options are endless, whether you want to include extra equipment to liven up the training sessions or not. Try this dynamic workout routine and start seeing results!
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Build a dynamic workout routine
Virtually all athletes know how to perform classic push-ups and abs. However, when toning the abdomen, it’s necessary to include some variants to get this muscle group involved even more.
In many cases, different variations of certain exercises are slight alterations of the classic versions. In other cases, however, the extra equipment is what gives it a twist.
On the one hand, push-ups require you to use your chest muscles to lift and lower yourself, while your abdomen, shoulder, and arm muscles stabilize your body.
On the other hand, to perform abdominal exercises, you need to work your abdomen in order to lift and lower the upper half of your body.
Before introducing yourself to this dynamic workout routine, you should know that push-ups and abdominal exercises are usually very easy to perform in terms of technique. However, your physical condition is one of the aspects that either facilitate or hinder proper execution.
The perfect dynamic workout routine with push-ups and abs
1. Abs with reverse contraction
The reverse contraction is a basic exercise for strengthening the abdomen that improves stability in the lower back, hips, and spine. When you start the movement with the lower part of your body and bring your knees to your chest, you need to protect your back and create a greater range of motion, which will help encourage the abdominal muscles to do the work.
Image: ve.emedemujer.com
2. Push-ups with legs on a chair
Another simple way to work your chest muscles with push-ups is to use a chair, a step or a medicine ball. For this exercise, put your feet on any of the three surfaces mentioned above, so that they’re up higher than your hands when you’re in the push-up position.
As a result, this will put more weight on your upper body, which helps the arms, chest, and upper back to work more. Little by little, you’ll see how easy it is to increase the number of repetitions!
3. Pulley abdominals are part of a dynamic workout routine
There’s a machine at the gym that has a rope in a pulley machine. Find this machine and get on your knees under it, facing the machine. To start the exercise, take the rope and pull it down until it’s level with your head.
You’re essentially doing an inverted abdominal exercise. Start by lowering your elbows to the middle of your thighs, keeping your abdominals contracted while in motion. To finish, slowly return to the starting position.
Image: exercisesencasa.as.com
4. Push-ups with a medicine ball
As you well know, the medicine ball is an unstable surface that forces your body’s muscles to work to the fullest to keep balanced. This, in turn, represents a huge physical challenge.
For this exercise, place your hands on the medicine ball and perform the typical bending movement for a push-up. A similar option is to use two medicine balls and place the palms of your hands on the balls to perform the push-ups in this position.
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5. Abdominals and knees to the chest
This exercise is very simple to do but it isn’t any less effective than the previous exercises mentioned. You should start by sitting on the edge of a chair. Your heels should be resting on the floor and your legs straight.
Clench your torso and use your abdominal muscles to bring a knee to your chest. Start with a set of five repetitions and do the workout until you reach a total of ten, using both legs. You can also use both legs at the same time, as in the first image of the article.
6. Wall push-ups
Finally, the last exercise is the wall push-up, a variation that you can do almost anywhere. To do this exercise, you just have to stand and place your hands on the wall until you have your arms and shoulders straight. Next, bend your arms, bring your nose close to the wall and return to the start position to finish a repetition.
If you want to increase the difficulty and demand more from your muscles, you can move your feet away from the wall. By doing this, your body will form a diagonal line. We recommend you start with a set of five repetitions and increase this number over time.
As you can see, there are plenty of variations on the classic abdominal exercises and push–ups. We suggest you choose your favorites on this list and include them in your training routine. They’re all very effective!
All cited sources were thoroughly reviewed by our team to ensure their quality, reliability, currency, and validity. The bibliography of this article was considered reliable and of academic or scientific accuracy.
- J.J. Martin. Objetivo abdomen plano en 30 días. Recuperado de: https://www.metodoenforma.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Plan-Abdomen-plano-30-di%CC%81as-1.pdf
- Calatayud, J., Borreani, S., Colado, J. C., Martín, F. F., Rogers, M. E., Behm, D. G., & Andersen, L. L. (2014). Muscle activation during push-ups with different suspension training systems. Journal of Sports Science and Medicine, 13(3), 502–510. https://doi.org/10.1097/mco.0b013e328361c8b8
- Snarr, R. L., & Esco, M. R. (2013). Electromyographic comparison of traditional and suspension push-Ups. Journal of Human Kinetics, 39(1), 75–83. https://doi.org/10.2478/hukin-2013-0070