“I do ten push ups every morning after I wake up and ten push ups before I go to bed. Is that good?” Asked Feldo, one of our personal training clients, who was in his mid-teens. As a human maturing through adolescence and venturing through a state of discovery in the world of dynamic social interactions in high school, Feldo impressed me with this statement.
I could easily compose a ten-page article on the benefits that the push-up exercise has on the human body in terms of developing upper body strength and how it assists in everyday functionality. However, it wasn’t that I was intrigued by Feldo’s fascination with improving the strength of his upper body, but it was more to do with the phrase “every day after I wake up” and “before I go to bed.” I was fascinated by his understanding that a ritualistic routine would give him success. He didn’t really know what that success was, but he knew a ritual of exercise was going to help him. Furthermore, Feldo demonstrated that he had a powerful advantage in refining his fitness levels. He was already understanding the types of triggers that motivated him to establish an effective exercise routine. Whenever he sees his bed, he performs an efficient and effective exercise that has the potential to produce positive outcomes in his fitness journey.
Increasing lean muscle requires dedication and effort, which can be achieved by committing to a regular exercise routine and making optimal dietary choices. As muscle is stressed via exercise, the muscle cells become disturbed and break down at the microscopic level. Similar to how skin develops a scar and heals after a flesh wound has occurred, such as when someone slices their finger on a paper cut and the wound heals the next day, muscles recover similarly following resistance training.
After an hour-long resistance training session at the gym consisting of three sets of ten repetitions in which large muscle groups, such as when muscles of the thighs, chest, shoulder blades, and core muscles, have been exercised, microscopic tears in the lean muscle will develop. The result of such resistance training sessions introduces an adaptation in which muscle cells not only fill the gap of the tiny tears in the muscle fibers but also add a reinforcing component, making them stronger, more durable, and able to produce more force. The results of this muscular adaptation are a pivotal component toward enhancing a person’s overall functional strength and lean muscle mass. However, our teenage friend Feldo has developed an invaluable tool in the form of his healthy habits, which many people, twice to three times his age, can benefit from if they apply the same behaviors of instilling small, healthy rituals throughout their day.
Feldo didn’t necessarily have the understanding of how to perform a barbell back squat, bench press, or pull-up correctly. In fact, even though push-ups were the only exercise he knew how to conduct, his exercise form could’ve used some polishing around the edges as well. However, ten push-ups first thing in the morning and ten push-ups before he goes to bed equate to twenty total push-ups per day. If young Feldo conducted this routine five times a week, he’s doing one hundred push-ups per week. While ten push-ups don’t seem like a very intense bout of resistance training when compared to a seventy-five-minute personal training session, an intense yoga class, or an adrenaline-inducing small group fitness class at a local gym, those push-ups performed over time have the potential to pay massive dividends.
Did Feldo’s arms look like they lacked muscle mass? And, did the shape of his back look like a dilapidated bridge from the chase scene in Indiana Jones because he wasn’t engaging his core correctly during his initial evaluation? Yes, they did. However, let’s appreciate what his small contributions of daily morning and bedtime push-ups can lead to. Imagine if Feldo did ten push-ups first thing in the morning, and ten before he went to bed every school night throughout the year for one hundred and eighty days. Over the school year, Feldo will have performed close to three thousand push-ups through a series of six to eight months. Do you think these seemingly small amounts of exercise in the form of ten push-ups in the morning and ten before he hits the hay will produce microscopic stresses to his muscles to impose an adaptation that allows for muscle growth? We know that if he follows through with his push-up practice, he’ll be doing a few thousand push-ups. Therefore, I’ll let the audience answer that question.
Visiting the gym, hiring a personal trainer, and signing up for small group fitness classes are invaluable contributors toward making progress in someone’s fitness journey. However, let’s not forget something as simple as establishing a small habit that can be sprinkled into our routines a few times per week. Something as basic as doing a few pushups, holding a plank for thirty seconds, and stretching for a few seconds habitually throughout the week has the power to make massive progress in our fitness journeys.
Sean McCawley, the founder and owner of Napa Tenacious Fitness in Napa, CA, welcomes questions and comments. Reach him at 707-287-2727, napatenacious@gmail.com, or visit the website napatenaciousfitness.com.