34 votes
Accepted

Is a push-up the same as a bench press?

Functionally, is doing a push up equivalent to doing a body weight bench press? Functionally close enough as a movement to where pushups can be a reasonable alternative for beginners. But a ...
Alec's user avatar
  • 18k
13 votes

Can you get jacked-up without weights (more broadly, without equipment) or supplements?

If you look at the basics you'll see that you don't need weight, you need resistance. The most common way of finding resistance is by using weight because you can increase it in steps, making ...
MJB's user avatar
  • 4,161
9 votes
Accepted

Are irregular workouts through the day effective?

What you're doing is essentially a technique called Greasing the Groove. There have been a number of questions on here already about it, but essentially it's a method of becoming stronger in a ...
Dark Hippo's user avatar
  • 4,733
9 votes
Accepted

Is spot reduction necessarily a myth?

In my opinion, spot reduction is still a myth if you consider how spot reduction has been defined for years. The study as well as another article I found, are both pro-spot-reduction but I don't think ...
C. Lange's user avatar
  • 4,588
8 votes
Accepted

Will too much muscle exercise harm the muscle?

Yes. Since these challenges usually involve high levels of over exertion I would steer clear of it. The last time I heard of the challenge it was 100 push-ups a day for 30, 60, or 90 days. This can ...
Hazel へいぜる's user avatar
8 votes

Is a push-up the same as a bench press?

A regular push-up is a bench press plus isometric core exercise When it comes to the muscle groups involved in actually lifting your face off the ground, a regular push-up and a bench press are ...
Graham's user avatar
  • 221
8 votes
Accepted

Which is the role of glutes when extending your legs?

We need to clarify some terms. "Extension" means movement of a joint which increases the angle between two body parts. So elbow extension is the movement that increases the angle between the ...
David Scarlett's user avatar
7 votes

Why use weights, if body weight execises can make you get in shape and gain muscle?

Two words - progressive overload. With bodyweight exercises, no matter how hard you try and how fancy you go with exercise, eventually you will hit the limit in muscle and strength growth because you ...
ruslaniv's user avatar
  • 280
7 votes
Accepted

Normal life with heavy weights

Now, some work has actually been done on this where scientists looked at what would happen if you were crushed by 2.5g: There was the hyper-g work done on chickens, for example, by Arthur ...
John's user avatar
  • 6,972
7 votes
Accepted

Can you get jacked-up without weights (more broadly, without equipment) or supplements?

My experience seems to show that you can't significantly change anything regarding your physique with solely your body weight, even if you work out regularly for years. You can absolutely change your ...
C. Lange's user avatar
  • 4,588
6 votes

Is there a simple program that I don't have to look up at all?

The program for You Are Your Own Gym is pretty close to that. It's all bodyweight exercises with "equipment" involving tables, sills, boxes, and broomsticks. There's a suggested series of exercises ...
Sean Duggan's user avatar
  • 9,129
6 votes
Accepted

Should I jump rope even though I suffer from flat feet?

You should do some research on flat feet, and I think you'll see that it's not really anything to concern yourself with. I have rather flat feet myself, and have never noticed a problem except when ...
Eric's user avatar
  • 14.8k
6 votes

Is power yoga equivalent to strength training in Gym?

No, power yoga does not offer the same benefits as weight training. I'm not saying one is better than the other, but one thing that is not satisfied by power yoga, is progressive overload by ...
Alec's user avatar
  • 18k
6 votes
Accepted

How does the founder exercise work?

I deadlift a heavy set once a week. This does not seem to be helping [my posture and back discomfort]. And why should it? Because if your max deadlift is 60kg then maintaining proper posture against ...
Dave Liepmann's user avatar
6 votes
Accepted

Why should we start a pull-up with already retracted shoulder-blades?

Firstly, moving your scapulae through a full range of motion in a pull-up will not work the muscles responsible for elevating the scapulae (i.e. upper traps and levator scapulae), as gravity does the ...
David Scarlett's user avatar
5 votes
Accepted

How do I get a four foot butt?

Where to begin... Lets assess what is right: Squats are a great exercise to build muscle in the glutes (butt). To build muscle in a specific area, you need to use weights to build up the muscle in ...
John's user avatar
  • 6,972
5 votes

Push-ups form and progression

You should keep doing knee pushups, but you should also start doing regular pushups at an incline. Find an angle where you can do 10-15 repetitions. If you can do more than that, find something lower....
Alec's user avatar
  • 18k
5 votes
Accepted

Would only doing exercises on a regular basis, without worry about anything else, help grow muscle?

In general, we make exercise a habit, because only through regular training can we expect visual results. Of course, "regular" can mean a lot of things, so we have options. Definition When you look ...
Alec's user avatar
  • 18k
5 votes

Body weight readjustment (post-(exercise fat burn))

you burn fat on one area of the body This alone is already false, thus the entire statement is false. You cannot spot-reduce fat. Either you lose it everywhere, or not at all.
Alec's user avatar
  • 18k
5 votes
Accepted

Is Lifting Weights at Home, Without a Rack, A Viable Option For Me?

1.If I get a small barbell like the C70 from Rogue, would I be okay with doing only the following exercises? Deadlift, Bent Over Row, Overhead Press Sure, they used that bar in the last CrossFit ...
John's user avatar
  • 6,972
5 votes
Accepted

Are abs muscles able to grow?

No. Abs are a muscle and behave the same way every other muscle in the body does when you use a resistive load to work it consistently; they grow. Genetics can affect posture which changes how abs ...
John's user avatar
  • 6,972
5 votes

How would it possible to do Hammer Curls on Gymnastic Rings?

I think the real question is how to do curls with rings. From there, forearm rotation will refine these to hammer curls. This video illustrates the technique; I'll attempt to describe it in words for ...
G__'s user avatar
  • 8,492
5 votes
Accepted

"Triceps" dips completely alleviate shoulder pain?

Think of the humerus as a lever. Top of the lever being the shoulder, bottom of the lever being the elbow.            As the bottom goes backward, ...
b-reddy's user avatar
  • 1,667
5 votes
Accepted

Handstand technique - Should I lock my elbows?

TL;DR, locking your elbows is fine. "Locking" one's joints is simply bringing them to the maximum range of motion. It is the strongest position that you can be in, because you are using your body's ...
Sean Duggan's user avatar
  • 9,129
5 votes
Accepted

Is there a purpose for this slapping at the top of reps?

They are acting as counters for competition. The person beside them is a judge, and the tap is to let them know that they completed a successful repetition, usually accompanied by a verbal count of ...
JohnP's user avatar
  • 23k
5 votes
Accepted

Why are regular push-ups the norm?

Knuckle push ups don't ''build wrist strength'' they just teach you how to stabilize better your push up, palm push ups be it with fingers pointing forward or backward or with palms up all build ...
Ekaen's user avatar
  • 339
5 votes
Accepted

Forearms exercises without weights

Anything that requires you to grip something and hold on, is a forearm exercise. Could be as simple as hanging from a bar (or a branch), or picking things up off the ground. Doesn't need to be weights ...
Alec's user avatar
  • 18k
5 votes
Accepted

How does back extension work?

The erector spinae muscles (iliocostalis, longissimus and spinalis) extend the back. In the back extension exercise they work isometrically to maintain an extended back against gravity that tries to ...
Andy's user avatar
  • 3,717
5 votes
Accepted

Pull up bar: what's the ideal distance from the wall?

In levers and planches, your centre of mass will be directly below the bar or rings. So the minimum about of space needed would be the distance from your centre of mass to the top of your head. Your ...
David Scarlett's user avatar
5 votes
Accepted

How can we define unambiguously flexion and extension?

There are commonly established and accepted definitions of motion for ambiguous joints that are related to the planes that the body is separated into. These planes are the sagittal, frontal and ...
JohnP's user avatar
  • 23k

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