Whenever you hit the gym, there is probably one exercise that you’ll see the majority of people (mostly men) doing. This exercise stands at the pinnacle of all bodyweight movements and there isn’t a single workout routine that doesn’t mention it. I’m talking of course about push-ups. They’re considered by many one of the best bodyweight upper-body exercises and that’s because of many reasons that we’ll talk about in this article. With that being said, should skinny guys do push-ups? Is it an effective exercise for them to build muscles?
Push-ups are an excellent exercise for all types of body shapes. Whether you’re skinny, buff, or overweight, it’s one of the best exercises that you can do in order to build upper-body strength and grow your muscles.
In this article, we’ll talk more in-depth about if skinny guys should do pushups, their benefits, as well as why you should implement them in your workout routine.
Table of Contents
Should Skinny Guys Do Push-Ups?
If you’re a skinny guy, that probably means that you struggle with building muscles and gaining weight in general, and that’s probably due to your rapid metabolism that’s constantly burning calories (you fall into the Ectomorphic body type).
If you’re a skinny guy that has this problem and you perform regular push-ups, then you probably won’t see any kind of results except for some tiny muscle definition and toning which is also good in some cases but it’s not meant for your body shape. You want to invest all your time in something that will build your muscle mass and makes you bigger and stronger.
And when you’re performing push-ups, the best way to achieve growth is by cheating your body by using some form of weight. If you think about it, most exercises that are done in the gym using weights are a way to confuse your body and make it lift something heavier than usual. For example, I’m sure that you perform bicep curls every day on basic activities, you just don’t think about it and in the gym, you confuse your body by adding weight to the usual type of movement in order to see growth.
And that’s the same case for push-ups. Because you’re skinny, you want to add more weight while performing them in order to train as efficiently as possible and build your upper-body strength and size.
Read more: Are Push-Ups Good For Ectomorphs.
How Should Push-Ups Be Performed By Skinny Guys?
As a skinny guy, the best way to perform push-ups is by adding weight to your back to maximize efficiency. The best way to go about that is by choosing a weight that’s heavy enough to make you do 6 to 8 reps (Something that will make you struggle around the 8th repetition).
Sit down on the ground and put the weight (weights can be plates, bricks, or anything that can fit safely under your neck) in front of you, gently lift it, put it under your neck, get into a push-up position, and start performing them.
When you do push-ups this way, your body will get confused and it will think that it’s way heavier so it’ll try to adapt to the heavyweight by growing in size and strength.
And don’t stick to just the regular push-up using this method, perform all the variations that you know to hit all parts of your chest.
Things to keep in mind:
- Make sure you put the weight under your neck because that’s the optimal position where you’re gonna get the most resistance and tension.
- If you can barely do any push-ups without using any weights, then you should probably avoid this method until you can easily do 15 to 20 push-ups in a row.
- When you’re done with the push-ups, get into a sitting position again and slowly take off the weight from under your neck.
- Avoid unusual push-up variations with this method like jumping push-ups or one-hand pushups since it’s not a good idea to perform them with weights on your back.
Benefits of Push-Ups For Skinny Guys
Besides the fact that push-ups build your upper-body strength and size, it has many other excellent benefits:
They’re a Great Full-Body Workout
Push-ups will not only build your upper-body strength and size but also works many different muscle groups including the arms, the abs, the core, and surprisingly even the legs. For skinny guys, hitting multiple muscle groups at the same time is the most efficient way to train especially as a beginner which makes push-ups one of the best exercises that you can perform.
They Improve Posture
Nowadays, with the ever-evolving tech world and smartphones, bad posture is pretty common, especially among the youth. Push-ups, if performed correctly, can help you fix your posture, especially with the method that I mentioned in the beginning. They engage and strengthen the main muscles that are involved in keeping your posture.
They Improve Core Strength
Push-ups can also stabilize and strengthen your core which is basically the main muscles in your midsection that support most movements. In other words, if you strengthen your core, you’ll be a lot stronger overall and be able to do all sorts of movements easily.
They Support Your Bones
Push-ups will not only build your muscles, but they’ll also support strong bones, and promote their health. And as a skinny guy, you want your bones to be as strong as possible to avoid any sort of injury since you don’t have many muscles or fat to help with that.
Conclusion:
When you perform push-ups correctly and especially with the method that I mentioned in the beginning, forget about not seeing results, you’ll be able to train as efficiently as possible, and I guarantee that you’ll grow your muscles and get bigger and more fit in no time. They’re also a great full-body workout, they improve your posture and core, and support your bones.
If you’re struggling with building your muscles and gaining weight, that probably means that you’re an Ectomorph and you need workout routines that are adapted to your body type. That’s why I highly recommend checking out my Ectomorph workout plan and my home training routine.