Hot off the press

Plenty of exercises work the upper body, but the humble press-up is one of the best. Not only can it be performed wherever you are (no gym equipment necessary), but it’s a real multitasker when it comes to hitting multiple muscles.

‘Press-ups target a lot of the upper body,’ explains Sarah Campus, personal trainer and founder of LDN Mums Fitness (ldnmumsfitness.com). ‘This includes the chest and shoulder muscle groups,’ she says. But that’s not all. The action also hits ‘the biceps and the upper and middle back muscles.’ Phew!

Many people think of strength and bodyweight training as a time to focus on big muscles in the lower body, such as the quads and glutes. However, it’s equally important to give your upper body some attention. Aside from having stronger, toned muscles, building strength in your top half can positively affect other aspects of your workout and everyday physical activities, says Sarah. She reveals that some benefits include decreased injury risk (thanks to improved posture), enhanced flexibility and range of motion, improved coordination, and increased muscle mass for better bone density.

One large study (albeit only involving men) also explored the heart health advantages of press-ups. The researchers found that participants who could perform 40 or more press-ups had a lower risk of heart disease over a ten-year period than those who could only complete ten or less.

Sounds great, but we might have to work a bit harder to obtain those benefits. Why? It’s often more difficult for women to perform press-ups. A primary factor is that ‘on average, women have just 50% of the upper body strength of men,’ says Sarah. This is because ‘we have smaller muscle fibres and less of our musculature distributed in the upper body’. She says other factors to consider include women’s shorter stature and arm length, and the fact that women have a lower proportion of body mass in their upper half than men.

Perfecting your press-up

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