What are 2 Basic Exercises with Big Payoffs?

Push Ups and Pull Ups are known as compound movements.  These exercises recruit multiple muscle groups at once, and the more muscle groups you work at one time, the more calories you’ll burn. 

These are exercises that are best to add to your training regimen, as they help you build a stronger back, chest, arms, shoulders, and core.

What are the Benefits of Doing Pushups?

Traditional pushups are beneficial for building upper body strength. They work the triceps, pectoral muscles, and shoulders. When done with proper form, they can also strengthen the lower back and core by engaging (pulling in) the abdominal muscles.

Pushups are a fast and effective exercise for building strength. They can be done from virtually anywhere and what’s nice is that you do not require any equipment.  They are one of the best ways to stay fit while you travel or when you’re crunched for time and can’t make the gym.

Having the correct form is also important. Tips for proper form:

1. Keep your back straight and your core engaged.
2. Your butt should be down.
3. Your body should form a straight line.
4. If pushups are too difficult at first, modify the exercise by doing them on your knees or against a wall.

How many you can do in one minute?  Keep good form and go at a reasonable pace.  Now that you have a starting point, you can aim to add a few more each time to build up strength.

Here are three reasons to do pushups regularly:

1. Improved upper-body strength, pushups seriously challenge your upper half. You are, after all, bending your arms to lower and lift your entire body.

2. Improved core strength and stability, pushups are not just about upper-body strength.

3. And one I really like is that they improve posture. 

Why are Pull Ups a great addition to Your Exercise Routine?

I can honestly say that the pull-up is one of my favorite exercises. I know that some of you think that pull-ups are too hard, but I want to reassure once you start, they do get easier. 

Pull ups are the most effective upper body exercises for developing pulling strength and muscle mass in the back and biceps. Pull ups are an incredibly versatile compound movement that recruits muscles in the back, arms, shoulders, chest and core to work simultaneously in one fluid movement.

The top 3 Benefits of Pull ups are:

1. Pull ups are an exercise that helps your body develop functional strength. This helps develop coordination between different muscle groups which has huge benefits for athleticism and day to day activities.
2. Pull ups can be used to develop strength and muscle mass.  Not only do pull ups pack on muscle, but they are the best exercise for developing upper body pulling strength. Pull ups are an all-encompassing upper body movement that activates muscles in your arms, back, core, shoulders, and chest.
3. Most importantly Pull-ups create a strong frame and body, reversing the effects of slouching shoulders and poor posture. 

The fact that pull-ups can work so many different muscles in one exercise has huge benefits for strength, muscle and time efficiency when working out. It would take much more time to exercise all the muscles groups individually that pull ups hit in your back, biceps and core by isolating each muscle.

Just be sure to take it slow. Or modify your pull up to make it easier when you are beginning.  Grab a chair, a bench, a footstool, or a similar option and position it approximately a foot in front of your pull-up bar. Stand on it and grip the bar. Now pull yourself up, the way you’d do for a standard pull-up, while simultaneously pushing off with your feet to help you complete the move.

You may just find that you really enjoy doing pull-ups and have now opened a whole new door of possibilities.