• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Breaking Muscle

Breaking Muscle

Breaking Muscle

  • Fitness
  • Workouts
    • Best Shoulder Workouts
    • Best Chest Workouts
    • Best Leg Workouts
    • Best Leg Exercises
    • Best Biceps Exercises
    • Best Kettlebell Exercises
    • Best Back Workouts
    • Best HIIT Workouts
    • Best Triceps Exercises
    • Best Arm Workouts
  • Reviews
    • Supplements
      • Best Pre-Workout
      • Best BCAAs
      • Best Testosterone Boosters
      • Best Bodybuilding Supplements
      • Best Creatine
      • Best Supplements for Weight Loss
      • Best Multivitamins
      • Best Collagen Supplement
      • Best Probiotic
      • Best Non-Stim Pre-Workout
      • Best Greens Powder
      • Best Magnesium Supplements
    • Protein
      • Best Protein Powder
      • Best Whey Protein
      • Best Protein Powders for Muscle Gain
      • Best Tasting Protein Powder
      • Best Vegan Protein
      • Best Mass Gainer
      • Best Protein Shakes
      • Best Organic Protein Powder
      • Best Pea Protein Powder
      • Best Protein Bars
    • Strength Equipment
      • Best Home Gym Equipment
      • Best Squat Racks
      • Best Barbells
      • Best Weightlifting Belts
      • Best Weight Benches
      • Best Functional Trainers
      • Best Dumbbells
      • Best Adjustable Dumbbells
      • Best Kettlebells
      • Best Resistance Bands
      • Best Trap Bars
    • Cardio Equipment
      • Best Cardio Machines
      • Best Rowing Machines
      • Best Treadmills
      • Best Weighted Vests
      • Concept2 RowErg Review
      • Hydrow Wave Review
      • Best Jump Ropes
  • News
  • Exercise Guides
    • Legs
      • Back Squat
      • Bulgarian Split Squat
      • Goblet Squat
      • Zercher Squat
      • Standing Calf Raise
      • Hack Squat
    • Chest
      • Bench Press
      • Dumbbell Bench Press
      • Close-Grip Bench Press
      • Incline Bench Press
    • Shoulders
      • Overhead Dumbbell Press
      • Lateral Raise
    • Arms
      • Chin-Up
      • Weighted Pull-Up
      • Triceps Pushdown
    • Back
      • Deadlift
      • Trap Bar Deadlift
      • Lat Pulldown
      • Inverted Row
      • Bent-Over Barbell Row
      • Single-Arm Dumbbell Row
      • Pendlay Row
Fitness

2020: The Year Push-Ups Were First Invented

If your coach and trainer had never made you do a push-up ever before, you're probably beginning to think like it was only just invented.

douglasperrybio

Written by Douglas Perry Last updated on Oct 25, 2022

Great coaches and trainers don’t steal. They just take something that was already there and name it after themselves. Yoga too pagan-y for you then, how about mobility? Circuit training too YMCA-y for you then how about CrossFit? Dancing too dance-y for you then how about Zumba? CrossFit too CrossFit-y for you then how about F45? We could go on forever because it does go on forever.

Great coaches and trainers don’t steal. They just take something that was already there and name it after themselves. Yoga too pagan-y for you then, how about mobility? Circuit training too YMCA-y for you then how about CrossFit? Dancing too dance-y for you then how about Zumba? CrossFit too CrossFit-y for you then how about F45? We could go on forever because it does go on forever.

During the Great Pandemic of 2020, however, coaches and trainers have been left in the dust by one simple invention that seemingly came out of nowhere. No barbells, no problem. No dumbbells, no problem. No kettlebells, no problem. You have a floor? Yes? Good, because you can push it away with your arms and get GAINZ!

Related: The Best Chest Workouts for Muscle Mass, Strength, and More

The Push-Up is the Press-Up We’ve All Been Waiting For

Coaches and trainers everywhere have discovered push-ups, also called press-ups. Without a gym to showcase their implement envy, our fitness gurus are relying on people to do what people have done since the beginning of time.

Push-ups were invented in the later prehistoric period when the first humans started to sleep on their stomachs and were forced to push themselves off rapidly from the cave floor and start running to avoid being eaten by a sabertooth tiger or velociraptor.

It could have been either one, but it happened a lot so, after a while, prehistoric man – realizing that the quicker you pushed yourself off the floor, the quicker you could start running – started to do push-ups to improve escape velocities within the tribe.

However, after aliens came down to earth and ate all the sabertooth tigers and velociraptors, the need for push-ups just disappeared and no one did them until some time in February 2020, on Instagram when the first trainers facing a stay at home order invented push-ups and took three minutes to explain the complications of getting them right.

Push-Ups Are King

Joking aside, push-ups are your strength and conditioning salvation right now. And we are not above patronizing you with push-up knowledge-bombs. Below, you’ll find a whole bunch of videos from the Breaking Muscle YouTube Channel that could be helpful.

In addition, you can try this 8-Week Workout Plan for Push-Up Strength and Power.

We’re all a little cranky about not lifting weights as much as we’d like so let’s look at a push-up variation with some dumbbells. Like most addicts, we need this fix.

Dumbbell T Push Up

Then there’s that gliding thing. You can probably find a bunch of videos on social media where people are doing glide push-ups using rags on a polished wooden floor, you know, they’re working out and keeping their place clean. It’s hilarious. We wish we had thought of it first. Not.

Glide Push Ups

If you don’t like our snarky tone then you really need to try Coach Shane Trotter’s videos and training programs. He’s a good man and a great instructor.

Perfect Push-ups and Fixes

Of course, one surefire way of making everything about strength is to slow it down. Temp training not only kills time but makes for effective strength building. The simplest movement with little or no weight can become a challenging feat.

Push-Ups With Tempo

And, finally, cardio is great. Running may not be an option, and you may not have a treadmill or rower, but spiderman push-ups are the next best thing. Do it at a brisk tempo and it’ll open up those lungs. Do it in a slow and a controlled manner and it will be open up those joints.

Spiderman Push-up

Hope all these push-ups keep you sane. Stay healthy. Stay safe.

douglasperrybio

About Douglas Perry

Douglas Perry is a journalist who turned his passion for technology into his profession more than 20 years ago. Since then, he followed, reviewed, and wrote about trends and products that define our mobile lifestyle today. He helped create several technology publications in Europe as well as the US in the past; these days, Douglas earns his living as a technology product and content strategist.

Three teenage athletes at home keep him busy during his free time, but have allowed him to get just enough training time in to remain competitive in road cycling and swimming. Less frequently than he would want to, Douglas manages to squeeze a Criterium ride in his schedule, and occasionally a casual bike race and a 5K with his kids.

View All Articles

Related Posts

Fergus Crawley 5K Run Tips Photo
Fergus Crawley Shares 5 Tips For Running a Better 5K
Actor Chris Hemsworth in gym performing dumbbell row
Chris Hemsworth Diagrams a Killer Upper Body Workout Fit For an Action Star
Hugh Jackman Deadpool 3 Workouts Spring:Winter 2023
Hugh Jackman Returns to Wolverine Condition in Workouts for “Deadpool 3”
Method Man Incline Dumbbell Presses December 2022
Check Out Rapper Method Man Cruising Through 120-Pound Incline Dumbbell Presses for 10 Reps

Primary Sidebar

Latest Articles

New Year’s Fitness Sales (2025)

XWERKS Motion BCAA Review (2025): A Registered Dietitian’s Honest Thoughts

Assault Fitness AssaultBike Pro X Review (2025): Assault’s Best Bike Yet?

13 Best Exercise Bikes for Home Gyms (2025)

Transparent Labs BCAA Glutamine Review (2025): The Key to Post-Workout Recovery?

Latest Reviews

Element 26 Hybrid Leather Weightlifting Belt

Element 26 Hybrid Leather Weightlifting Belt Review (2025)

Omre NMN + Resveratrol, Lifeforce Peak NMN, and partiQlar NMN on a red background

Best NMN Supplement: Fountain of Youth in a Bottle? (2025)

The Titan Series Adjustable Bench on a red background

Titan Series Adjustable Bench Review (2025)

A photo of the NordicTrack Select-a-Weight Dumbbells on a red background

NordicTrack Adjustable Dumbbell Review (2025): Are These Value Dumbbells Worth It?

woman lifting barbell

Be the smartest person in your gym

The Breaking Muscle newsletter is everything you need to know about strength in a 3 minute read.

I WANT IN!

Breaking Muscle is the fitness world’s preeminent destination for timely, high-quality information on exercise, fitness, health, and nutrition. Our audience encompasses the entire spectrum of the fitness community: consumers, aficionados, fitness professionals, and business owners. We seek to inform, educate and advocate for this community.

  • Reviews
  • Healthy Eating
  • Workouts
  • Fitness
  • News

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS Feed

© 2025 · Breaking Muscle · Terms of Use · Privacy Policy · Affiliate Disclaimer · Accessibility · About