6 Tough Push-Up Workouts for Real Gains

🚀 Coaching Forums 🚀 T Nation Articles There’s no better all-around upper body exercise than a push-up. But for some reason, people stop doing them. Oh, you think you’re too “advanced“ for push-ups? Think again. To build muscle, you need to produce tension, metabolic stress, and tissue breakdown. But if you’re able to knock out fifty reps or more, you’re rendering traditional push-ups useless for muscle or strength building. It’s not enough of a challenge at that point. You’ll develop some endurance and maybe even get a good poolside pump, but that’s about it. That’s where complexes come in. They’re highly effective for stimulating muscle growth. You’ll start by choosing a challenging variation, then extending the set using easier variations – a mechanical drop set. The hardest exercise always goes at the beginning. It’s the one you can get the smallest load