팔굽혀펴기(push-up)를 꼭 해야하는 이유

안녕하세요.🥸

여러분들은 집에서 할 수 있는 맨몸 운동을 떠올리면 무엇이 가장 먼저 생각 나시나요?

저는 단연 ‘푸쉬업’이라 생각합니다.

 

인간이 아무런 도구가 없어도 순수 맨몸을 이용하여 할 수 있는 운동이고 정자세로 수행 시 자신의 몸무게로 3분의 2, 60~70% 정도 들어올리는 것과 같다고하니 난이도 또한 상당하다고 볼 수 있겠습니다.

 

물론 운동 효과로 본다면 푸쉬업보다 뛰어난 근력 운동은 얼마든지 있습니다.

하지만 푸쉬업은 전반적인 근육들과 코어를 균형 있게 트레이닝 가능하고 쉬운 접근성을 고려 해본다면 상당히 좋은 운동이라 생각됩니다.

과거부터 워낙 잘 알려져 있는 운동이라 평가 절하되는 부분도 있다 생각합니다.

 

오늘은 바로 이 ‘푸쉬업’을 꼭 해야하는 이유에 대해 벤치 프레스와 비교하며 적어 보겠습니다.

 

 

 

 

헬스장에 들어가면 가장 경쟁이 심한 운동 중 하나가 벤치 프레스이지 않을까 싶습니다.

벤치 프레스는 상체 운동을 대표하며 가장 기본적으로 가슴과 삼두, 어깨 발달에 좋은 운동으로 알려져 있습니다. 

이런 벤치 프레스와 푸쉬업을 체계적으로 함께 진행하면 더 많은 근육의 양과 중량의 증가를 가져 갈 수 있으며, 부상 방지에도 큰 도움이 된다고 합니다.

 

먼저, 푸쉬업과 벤치 프레스의 차이를 알기 위해서는 ‘열린 사슬 운동’과 ‘닫힌 사슬 운동’을 이해하는데 큰 도움이 됩니다.

닫힌 사슬 운동은 신체의 말단부를 고정시키고 중심부를 움직이는 운동으로 푸쉬업이 가장 대표적인 운동이라고 할 수 있습니다.

그에 비해 열린 사슬 운동은 중심부를 고정 시키고 말단부를 움직이는 것으로 벤치 프레스가 대표적입니다.

 

여기서 문제가 발생하는데, 벤치 프레스의 올바른 자세를 배워 보신 분들은 견갑대 후인의 중요성을 잘 알고 계실 것입니다.

그에 비해 전인 동작은 생소 하실 것입니다.

전인 동작은 인체에서 가장 중요한 밀어내는 동작 중 하나로서 어깨를 앞으로 내미는 것을 말합니다.

하지만 벤치 프레스는 견갑대를 벤치에 단단히 고정 시킨 후 진행하게 되므로 전인 동장은 전혀 사용되지 않습니다.

 

견갑대를 전인 하는 동작은 전체적으로 어깨 건강에 중요한 부분을 차지하는 근육인 ‘전거근’ 강화에 굉장히 도움이 되는데, 이 전거근이 약할 경우 어깨뼈가튀어 나와 보이는 '익상 견갑'이 발생 할 수 있습니다.

운동을 하지 않는 마른 분들에게서 자주 보이는 현상인데 이걸 모르고 운동을 하시게 되면 회전근개 부상을 당하게 될 수 있다고 합니다.

이렇게 전거근의 기능이 매우 중요하지만 벤치 프레스는 전거근 성장에 직접적인 도움이 되지 않습니다.

하지만 닫힌 사슬 운동인 푸쉬업은 전거근에 큰 도움이 됩니다.

 

벤치 프레스는 초보자가 무턱대고 접근하기에 상당히 난이도가 있는 운동이라 생각 됩니다.

제가 추천 드리는 방법은 이렇습니다.

초보자일 경우 매우 가벼운 중량으로 벤치 프레스 자세를 연습하시고, 그와 병행 해 푸쉬업을 본 운동으로 가져 가시는 것입니다.

중상급자일 경우 푸쉬업을 워밍업으로 이용하시거나 가슴의 마무리 운동으로 병행하시면 어떨까요?

 

푸쉬업은 벤치 프레스보다 더 넓은 가동 범위를 이용하게 되고 어깨의 안정성을 키우는데 도움이 됩니다.

결과적으로 벤치 프레스의 중량을 올리고 부상 방지에 큰 도움이 되는 것이죠.

 

한 연구에서는 중상급자 리프터들을 대상으로 하나의 그룹은 벤치 프레스만 진행하고, 나머지 한의 그룹은 푸쉬업만 진행하게 했습니다.

수치상으로 두 그룹 모두 가슴 근육의 두께와 메디신 볼 던지기 수행 능력에 있어 비슷한 발전을 보였으나, 벤치 프레스만 진행 한 그룹의 푸쉬업 수행 능력은별 다른 변화가 없었던 것에 비해 푸쉬업만 진행 한 그룹은 벤치 수행 능력에 있어 크게 뒤떨어지지 않았다고 합니다.

 

이렇게 서로의 장단점을 보완 할 수 있는 벤치와 푸쉬업을 체계적으로 병행한다면 근력과 근육 양의 발전에 있어 상당한 도움이 될 것이라 생각합니다.

 

오늘도 부상 없이 안전하게 득근 하시길 바랍니다.

부족하지만 긴 글 읽어주셔서 정말 감사합니다. 제가 공인 된 전문가는 아니다 보니 부족한 부분과 틀린 점이 있을 수 있습니다.

그런 부분 댓글로 피드백 부탁드리겠습니다. 감사합니다.

 

 

Hello! 🥸
When you think of bodyweight exercises you can do at home, what’s the first thing that comes to mind? For me, it’s definitely the push-up. It’s a fundamental exercise that doesn’t require any equipment, and when done with proper form, it’s like lifting 60-70% of your body weight. That makes it quite challenging!

Of course, there are other strength exercises that offer more significant muscle-building effects than push-ups. However, the push-up is a fantastic exercise for overall muscle and core training, and its accessibility makes it one of the best bodyweight exercises around. It’s an exercise that has been around for ages, and I think it’s often underrated for that reason.

In today’s post, I’m going to explain why the push-up is an essential exercise by comparing it with the bench press.

Push-Ups vs. Bench Press

When you step into the gym, one of the most popular exercises you’ll see is the bench press. It’s the go-to exercise for upper body strength, particularly for developing the chest, triceps, and shoulders. When combined with push-ups, you can significantly increase muscle mass and strength while also reducing the risk of injury.

To understand the difference between push-ups and bench presses, it’s helpful to first learn about "open chain" and "closed chain" exercises. Closed chain exercises involve moving the body while keeping the extremities (hands or feet) fixed, which is the case with push-ups. In contrast, open chain exercises involve moving the extremities while the body remains stationary—like in the bench press.

Here’s where the issue arises: If you’ve learned proper bench press form, you know the importance of retracting the scapula (shoulder blades). However, you might be less familiar with the concept of protraction. Scapular protraction is a crucial pushing movement where you extend the shoulder blades forward. Unfortunately, the bench press does not involve scapular protraction because your shoulder blades are fixed on the bench.

Scapular protraction is key to strengthening the serratus anterior, a muscle that plays an essential role in shoulder health. If this muscle is weak, it can cause "winged scapula," where the shoulder blade sticks out. This is common among lean individuals who haven’t trained properly and can lead to rotator cuff injuries if not addressed.

While the serratus anterior is vital for shoulder function, the bench press doesn’t directly strengthen it. However, because the push-up is a closed chain exercise, it’s highly effective for engaging and strengthening the serratus anterior.

A Beginner’s Approach

For beginners, the bench press can be a technically challenging exercise. Here’s what I recommend: Start with light weights to practice proper bench press form, and incorporate push-ups as part of your main workout. For intermediate and advanced lifters, push-ups can be used as a warm-up or as a finisher for chest day.

Push-ups engage a broader range of motion than the bench press and help improve shoulder stability. Ultimately, this can help increase your bench press strength and reduce the risk of injury.

Research Insights

One study divided intermediate lifters into two groups. One group performed only bench presses, while the other group performed only push-ups. Both groups showed similar improvements in chest muscle thickness and medicine ball throw performance. However, the group that only did bench presses showed no significant improvement in push-up performance, whereas the push-up group didn’t fall far behind in their bench press performance.

This demonstrates that combining both exercises systematically can greatly enhance muscle growth and strength.

Final Thoughts

By incorporating both the bench press and push-ups into your routine, you can complement the strengths of each exercise and achieve better overall results in muscle development and strength gains.

Stay safe, train smart, and keep building muscle! I appreciate you taking the time to read this long post, and while I’m not a certified expert, I hope you found this information useful. If you have any feedback or notice any mistakes, please feel free to share in the comments. Thank you!