MH VERSUS PUSH VS PULL
Most exercises can be grouped as either pushes or pulls. The former gets the glory – but which reigns supreme?
THE MH VERDICT: PULL WINS!
When push comes to shove, pull movements triumph in this tug of war. Though pushing targets your ego-boosting mirror muscles, the reverse activates the larger muscles of your posterior chain for faster, more impressive gains. Start pulling your weight.
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PULLING POWER
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OUTSIDE EDGE A
There are plenty of benefits to training outdoors now the weather’s warming up. But that doesn’t have to mean laps of the block or press-ups on park benches. You might have heard the term ‘rucking’ recently – weighted walking, essentially. Rucking has recently seen a resurgence among fitness enthusiasts, but the idea is nothing new. ‘Rucking is a long-time staple of military training,’ says PT and Men’s Health fitness writer Kate Neudecker. ‘Some refer to it as “cardio for people who hate cardio”.’ In fact, a study by The University of New Mexico found that walking in a weighted vest can boost calorie burn by an additional 13%.
But it’s more than just a sub for the treadmill. ‘Rucking builds strength, as well as endurance,’ says Neudecker. She points to a study published in the Journal Of Clinical Medicine, which found thatweighted walks can improve your lower-limb muscle power and functional ability by approximately 10%.
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