5 Best Push Day Exercises You Can Do at the Gym

Push day is part of everyone’s workout regime. Push exercises are ones that require you to push weight away from your body. These exercises are most effective for strengthening the muscles of the chest, shoulders and triceps.

While push exercises may seem intimidating for beginners, they become a staple part of your routine as you progress. Some push exercises can be done at home using your body weight, but there are others you can do in the gym that can be beneficial to building push strength.

Best push exercises to do at the gym

Here are five best push exercises to do at the gym:

1) Push ups

This is a bodyweight movement that almost anyone can master. You can perform this exercise as a warm-up before your chest routine or as part of your main workout.

Here's how it's done:

Get onto the floor on your hands and knees.
Place your palms directly below your shoulders.
Straighten your legs out behind you, and keep your core tight so that your hips are in line with your shoulders and feet.
Bend at your elbows, and lower your body down till your elbows are bent past 90 degrees.
Push yourself back up by straightening your arms out completely.
Repeat this move for 12 to 15 reps.

2) Bench press

Arguably one of the most popular push exercises out there, the bench press is a compound movement to help build maximal strength in the chest. If you’re looking to improve your push ups, bench presses are what you need to be practicing. You'll need a flat bench and a barbell racked to do this exercise.

It's done as follows:

Lay back on the bench, keeping your feet flat on the ground.
Unrack the barbell above you with your arms straight out, and point your knuckles to the ceiling.
Lower the barbell down slowly till your hands are on either side of your chest.
Push the barbell up away from you, raising it up to the starting position and locking your elbows.
Perform 12 to 15 reps.

3) Overhead press

Also known as the military press, this exercise can help build overhead push strength, targeting the shoulders and traps. You'll need a barbell to do this exercise.

It's done as follows:

Grab the barbellm and hold it up in front of your collarbones. Ensure your fists are right in front of your shoulders, and wrists are turned away.
Push the barbell up over your head, and straighten out your arms, locking your elbows. Brace your core to keep your back straight.
Bring the barbell back to your collarbone level.
Perform 12 to 15 reps.

4) Chest flies

Another great exercise for the chest is Chest Flies. You'll need a pair of dumbbells and a flat bench to do this exercise.

Here's how it's done:

Lay back on the flat bench with a dumbbell in either hand and feet flat on the ground.
Open your arms out to your sides while maintaining a slight bend in your elbows.
Bring your arms together to meet both dumbbells up above your chest.
Contract your chest muscles.
Bring your arms back down to chest level.
Perform 12 to 15 reps.

5) Lateral raises

These are more like sideways shoulder raises that are also effective for the traps. You'll need a pair of dumbbells for this exercise.

Here's how they're done:

Stand straight with a dumbbell in either hand by your sides.
Keep your posture upright by bracing your core.
Maintain a slight bend in your elbows throughout the movement.
Raise the dumbbells up so that your arms are at shoulder level. Ensure your hinged elbows are at the same level as well.
Bring the dumbbells back down to your sides slowly.
Perform 12 to 15 reps.

Add the above-mentioned exercises to your next push day workout at the gym, and test their effectiveness for yourself. With regular practice, you’ll be able to achieve your goals and develop some killer strength. Don’t forget to eat well, and give yourself a lot of time to recover too.