Weight Bearing vs Non-Weight Bearing

The fact that push ups (press ups) are weight bearing make them very different from their load bearing counterparts. This needs to be taken into consideration when working with individuals who are either obese or have very low levels of muscle mass, both populations can find the classic press up variation extremely difficult. Whereas the load bearing techniques can just simply be done with very light weights, the push up will require using a variation of the traditional movement.

Challenges in Progressive Overload

It is very easy to apply progressive overload to load bearing exercises like the dumbbell bench press and bench press. This can be done in many different ways through adding repetitions, adding weight or adding sets. This makes them very practical for long term planning and long term strength training goals, especially through the ability to make very small incremental changes in the weight used. The press up however is far less practical for long term strength and hypertrophy programming. This does’t mean that they cannot be effectively used to for strength and hypertrophy, but we have much less control on the levers of manipulation to apply progressive overload successfully.

Core Engagement

To some extent, all exercises require some form of core stabilisation and therefore exercises like the DB bench press and barbell bench press both require high levels of core activation. However a push up requires a great deal more core activation than other load bearing exercises. This is another reason why push ups can be harder for beginners than light load bearing exercises like the DB bench press. The press up is a moving plank that requires good levels of core stability to maintain the correct position for an extended period of time. For more advanced trainees this may not be an issue at all, but for beginners, it is something to take into consideration.