What are you really lifting in a Push-Up?

The Push-up is the most basic exercise you can do that will benefit just about your entire body. It is a standard exercise that requires only yourself and works almost every muscle in your upper body while building strength and endurance as well. As beneficial as the push up is, there is one question about this exercise that has probably crossed everyone’s mind, and that is how much weight are you really lifting?
There have been multiple studies to see how much weight is actually being lifted, because if you’re like me, you just assume you are lifting your body weight. While this is partially true, you are actually only lifting a percentage of your body weight, about 70% to be exact. The percentage can change if you modify your push-up, but you’re still pushing about the same weight; depending on the modification. For example if you were to do a modified push-up, with your knees on the ground, you would be using less body percentage of your body weight. If you’re looking to gain more muscle and add more weight, you can do other modifications that will increase your intensity like doing push-up at incline or with weights added to the exercise.
Next time you’re pursuing push-ups in your exercises, think about if you want to try and modify it by adding resistance or weights. Get the most out of your exercise to benefit your body and mind.