Prado 1

Justin Prado

Trishia Briones

English 1302-227

9 February 2022

Introduction

There are many exercises in the world of fitness today that have always been a

fundamental way of becoming it, stronger, and more flexible. Some exercises may increase

flexibility whiles others specialized in enhancing and strengthening one’s body. This exercise,

which will be focused on for this experiment, is the push-up. This experiment shall seek whether

is it best to stick to one variation of push-ups, mainly the basic well known strict push-up, or to

mix it up to seek a better outcome in terms of health, strength, and flexibility.

Experiment

On day one, the subject focused on the most basic push-up stance called Regular Push-

up. On day two, the subject focused on the push-up variation called Wide-Hand Push-up. On day

three, the subject focused on the push-up variation called Diamond Push-up. On day four, the

subject focused on the push-up variation called Pike Push-up. On day five, the subject focused

on the push-up variation called Power Push-up. On day six the subject focused on the push-up

variation called Spiderman Push-up. On day seven the subject focused on the push-up variation

called Finger Push-up. On day eight the subject focused on the push-up variation called Elevated

Push-up. On day nine the subject focused on the push-up variation called Super Push-up (or

Hindu or Dive Bomber). Lastly, on day ten the subject focused on the push-up variation called
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Flying Push-up. For a ten-day period, the subject will subject oneself to a singular exercise with

different variations on a different day for ten days. The exercise would be done by the subject till

failure (till the subject can no longer do another push-up due to loss in strength) or when the

subject’s mental or physical capacity would run out. The exercise for each day would be done at

the subject home during the afternoon hours of the day. For ten days the subject will do as many

push-ups as possible for that day.

Day 1

On the first day of the experiment the subject did Regular Push-ups till failure. The

number of push-ups done in a row till failure added up to a total of fifty-seven push-ups. Note

that the subject is a five-foot five male university student that attends the recreational center

avidly and is using wrist wraps to support wrists. The subject was able to call the exercise “a

good workout for the day” (Prado 1). Though the regular push-up is not considered a difficult

type of push-up, the subject “felt good” (Prado 1) after completing the exercise for the day. It is

best to know that the regular push-up targets many muscles groups to a basic extent including the

pectoral (chest muscles), shoulder, biceps (front of arm), triceps (back of arm), and abdominal

muscles (stomach muscles). There are many other muscles groups that are affected in some way

by push-ups, but there are much better exercises to do to target those muscle groups.

Day 2

On the second day of the experiment the subject noted “my arms feel a little tender”

(Prado 2). The subject was able to complete the exercise, Wide Push-up, till failure like the

previous day. Though unlike the previous day, the subject was only able to do forty-four push-

ups. The subject noted that “today was as difficult as yesterday” (Prado 2). Signifying that the
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subject’s current symptoms on day two were similar to the symptoms of day 1. It is best to know

that the wide push-up is a variation of the regular push-up that targets the pectoral muscles.

Day 3

On the third day of the experiment the subject did Diamond Push-ups for the day. The

subject was able to complete the exercise till failure because “diamond push-ups are for triceps

which isn’t targeted by regular and wide push-ups” (Prado 3). Hence on this day the subject was

able to do sixty-two push-ups. The subject was impressed with his feat of doing more push-ups

than the previous two days claiming that “usually diamond push-ups tend to be known for being

more difficult compared to the regular and wide push-ups, so that is pretty cool” (Prado 3). It is

best to know that the diamond push-ups target the muscle group called triceps.

Day 4

On the fourth day of the experiment the subject did Pike Push-ups. The subject was able

to complete the exercise till failure reaching a total of thirty-six push-ups. The subject noted that

he felt uncomfortable soreness and struggled to complete basic arm movements without mild

pain in both arms. Particularly the outer chest, biceps, and triceps. “It took me a minute to get out

of bed because of how this soreness felt compared to past experiences” (Prado 4). Thought the

subject was able to complete the exercise, he mentioned that he felt “pretty sore throughout the

day” (Prado 4). It is best to know that the pike push-ups are a variation of push-up that focus on

the shoulder muscles.

Day 5

On the fifth day of the experiment the subject did Power Push-ups. The subject was able

to complete the exercise till failure with the continued soreness from the day before finishing
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with a total of thirty-four push-ups. “The soreness from yesterday is only going to grow into

tomorrow” (Prado 5) stated the subject after completed the exercise. Seemingly regretting

agreeing to do the experiment. It is best to know that the power push-ups take the same stance as

the regular push-ups, but it requires more explosive movements to be able to “lift off” the upper

body from the ground. It is best to know that power push-ups targets the same muscles as the

regular push-ups, but it focuses on the explosiveness of the movements while doing the push-up.

Day 6

On the sixth day of the experiment the subject did Spiderman push-ups. The subject was

able to complete the exercise until failure but took take a while to complete the exercise. He

finished the push-ups with a total of thirty-eight. The subject stated his frustration by saying “I

could do the push up, but the soreness just makes it so annoying to do. I am not truly tired; I am

just sore and maybe a little tired.” (Prado 6). It is best to know that the spiderman push-ups are a

variation of the regular push-ups, but with a focus on the abdominal muscles.

Day 7

On the seventh day of the experiment the subject did Finger Push-ups. The subject did the

exercise till failure after a set amount of time. “I have been doing Finger Push-ups for a while

now and have been incorporating them into my daily workouts. So, I thought I could do them till

failure fairly easy despite the soreness” (Prado 7). The subject was incorrect is his assumption

that the exercise would be easier. In fact, the subject struggled to get up after every moving down

motion of each push-up finishing the push-ups with a total of twenty-six. It is best to know that

the finger push-ups are just regular push-ups, but with the fingers supporting the body instead of
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the whole hand, putting more tension on the forearms (the muscles parallel to your palm or the

front of your arm below the elbow).

Day 8

On the eighth day of the experiment the subject did Elevated Push-ups. The subject was

able to complete the exercise after a set amount of time. “This is taking too long” (Prado 8). The

subject continued to complain on how long the exercise was taking before he could feel he did

enough to consider failure. The subject completed the push-ups with a total of thirty-three. The

subject is exhausted of completing push-ups and the soreness slowly going away, but the subject

notes that “my muscles feel very taut” It is best to know that the elevated push-ups is just a more

difficult regular push-up that focuses more on shoulder muscles compared to the regular push-up.

According to the article “Shoulder electromyography activity during push-up variations: a

scoping review” a study done by Katie L Kowalski, Denise M Connelly, Jennifer M Jakobi, and

Jackie Sadi; It was determined that different variations of elevated push-ups produced different

amounts of electromyography (is the measurement of electrical activity in muscles during use of

said muscle). They showed how elevated push-ups done on unstable surfaces produced a higher

amplitude of electromyography, signifying that a more difficult variation of push-up forced the

use of more muscles in terms of both quantity and quality. In this case, the subject resorted to

using a stable surface to do the exercise, mostly due to the fact the subject did not have a

workout ball present.

Day 9

On the ninth day of the experiment the subject did Super Push-ups. The subject failed to

complete the exercise till failure and managed to do five after a ten-minute interval. “Why did I
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save the harder ones for later” (Prado 9). The subject failed to complete the exercise till failure

and the soreness continued. The subject also encountered a lot of discomfort and pain in regard

to anything that involved moving. Breathing, walking with arms swinging, lifting anything,

opening anything, and being awake was a hassle. It is best to know that the super push-ups are

also known as dive-bomber push-ups and incorporate the yoga poses downward dog and rising

cobra into the push-ups focusing on the shoulder muscles.

Day 10

On the tenth day of the experiment the subject did Flying Push-ups. Simply put, the

subject did two flying push-ups. “I’m done. I don’t want too anymore.” (Prado 10). The subject

was able to “complete” the experiment with mild soreness that will most likely persist until next

week and very taut muscles. “I feel stronger, just not now. Probably later though.” (Prado 10). It

is best to know that flying push-ups incorporate power push-ups to be able to lift the entire body

off the ground (legs included).

Results

The experiment was completed after a ten-day period where the subject completed a

different variation of push-up for every day until failure or physical and mental exhaustion. The

subject had slowly decreasing soreness and pain induced by said soreness. The subject ultimately

regrets doing the experiment as any activity done that includes the movement of the arms causes

pain in the following muscle groups: forearms, biceps, triceps, both pectorals, shoulders, and abs.

The following week the subject was back to normal with increased strength and stamina from the

experiment. The subject also had increased flexibility as he stretched before completing the

exercise.
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Conclusion

In conclusion the experiment was successful in proving that many different variations of

push-ups allow for different muscle groups to be exercised. Though it is probably most feasible

that the days in which push-ups are done, other exercises that target the same muscle groups are

completed with them. This allows for a different range of motion for the same muscles to grow

and strengthen. Though push-ups are a good fundamental exercise that is used to strengthen and

allow for more flexibility, it is an exercise best used with different variations, different types, and

different ranges of motion to allow for optimal growth in health, strength, and flexibility. Too

many push-ups can cause damage to wrists, elbows, and shoulder joints. In “Shoulder Muscle

Load During Pushing and Pulling ” by Bjarne Lauxsen and Bente Schibye. They explain the

relatively low use of the lower back during pushing and pulling (while standing), but they also

explain how loads on the shoulder during pushing and pulling may become extremely high and

may cause a lot of stress on the shoulder that may lead to the cause of shoulder disorders.

Though it will take an unsettling number of push-ups to reach this state, it is best to do push-ups

in order of difficulty so that no injuries may occur either now or in the long run. So, it is best to

use some type of support when doing a lot of push-ups or a lot of difficult push-ups like wrist

wraps.
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Works Cited:

Prado, Justin. “English 1302 Experiment Journal.” Self-Workout Journal, 7 Feb. 2022, pp. 1–
10.

Kowalski, Katie L., et al. “Shoulder Electromyography Activity during Push-up Variations: A

Scoping Review.” Shoulder & Elbow, June 2021, doi:10.1177/17585732211019373.

Laursen, Bjarne, and Bente Schibuye. “Shoulder Muscle Load during Pushing ... -

Journals.sagepub.com.” Shoulder Muscle Load during Pushing and Pulling,

journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/154193120004402653.