Are Push-Ups Bad for a 10-Year-Old Boy? (Important Facts)

Push-ups, as long as they are done correctly, are a very great way for a 10-year-old boy to get in shape and stay in shape. They are not bad for a 10-year-old boy to do as long as he is shown how to do them properly. If he does them improperly, there could be risks as with any form of physical activity. It is best to have a trainer or someone who already knows how to proper exercise how a young boy how to do a push up to help teach him how to stay healthy and in shape.

Many people, both kids and adults, exercise to stay in shape, prevent or treat injuries, and to live a more active and healthy lifestyle. Exercise helps to boost energy levels and increase longevity. Push-ups are a great way to help train your upper body, and just about anyone can do them!

Teaching a 10 Year Old to Do Push-Ups

Believe it or not, there is more to it than just doing an example push-up or two and letting the child go from there. It’s good to start with teaching them about the muscles that push-ups will help strengthen before you even go into teaching them how to do them.

What Kind of Exercise are Push-Ups?

Push-ups are a type of exercise called “compound exercise.” Compound exercises are exercises that work several muscles or multiple groups of muscles at a time.

Compound exercises are typically preferred by most athletes. It helps them to get more out of the workout and the exercises relate to more movement patterns, such as the act of lifting which would use multiple groups of muscles.

This type of exercise also helps you to more efficiently get a full body workout and workout longer without getting extreme muscle tiredness. This will, in turn, help you to build more strength. If you’re trying to lose weight, compound exercises will help you to burn more calories while working out.

Doing compound exercises are also great for the cardiovascular system. Because they are a little more intense than other types of exercises, they help to keep your heart rate up. They can also help to increase joint flexibility.

Because these are such good exercises for any age group, there are a number of excellent compound exercises that a 10-year-old boy could do. This includes:

• Push-ups
• Squats
• Lunges
• Jumping rope
• Pull-ups

What Do Push-Ups Help Strengthen?

As we know, a push-up is a compound exercise that works multiple groups of muscles at a time. While push-ups target the upper body primarily, other muscles are also needed to help support the body to stay in the correct position.

Remember, it is good to teach the child about where all of these muscles are located. There are six main muscles and groups of muscles that a push-up helps to strengthen.

• Chest muscle group
• Shoulder muscle group
• Upper and middle back muscles
• Biceps
• Triceps
• Serratus anterior

The chest muscles that a push-up works are both the major and minor pectorals. These are located across the chest and go from the shoulder and across the breast bone. These are the muscles that create most of the chest.

The should muscles that are worked are the major and minor deltoids. This group of muscles are located on the top of the shoulder. Right below the deltoids are the biceps and triceps. The biceps start at the shoulder and end at the elbow on the front of the arm. The triceps are on the back of the arm.

The serratus anterior is located on the sides of the chest just under the armpit. This are worked along side the upper and middle back muscles. These muscles include the latissimus dorsi, the rhomboids, and the trapeze muscles.

Some of the other muscles that a push-up indirectly helps might include the abdominals, the lower back muscles, the muscles in the buttom, and several leg muscles. The leg muscles would include the hamstrings, quadriceps, calf and shin muscles.

What are the Benefits of Doing Push-Ups?

Make sure you explain to the child what the benefits of push-ups are. Answer any questions he might have about them, too. If you are not sure on the answer, find out together. 10-year-olds are very hands on and love getting to take part in the learning experience.

It is important to make sure you explain the benefits in terms that a 10-year-old boy would understand. Don’t use too many big technical terms, and if you do, take the time to make sure the child can pronounce and understand what it means.

There are many benefits to doing push-ups at any age, but especially starting younger. Instilling healthy habits such as exercise is important at a young age because as the child gets older, he will want to continue them. 10 is a great age to start introducing more and more types of workouts.

Push-ups are a great way to help burn extra calories. This is important if you’re trying to lose weight, or even if you’re just trying to stay healthy. Remember, the more push-ups you do the more calories you’ll burn. However, make sure you teach the child not to do so many that he’s in severe pain later.

Push-ups can also help with cardiovascular health, or, heart health. As the heart rate increases, the heart muscle is strengthened and pumps your blood better. This can help regulate blood sugar levels, reduce the risk of heart disease and help keep your weight down.

The Importance of Proper Technique

It is very important you help guide the 10-year-old to do the proper technique when it comes to doing push-ups. Doing a push-up improperly can damage the shoulder joint.

The push-ups will help to strengthen then muscles in the shoulder, but until they are stronger, over working them can cause pain and damage the joint and tendons. Start out with only a few push-ups and work your way up to more.

What Types of Push-Ups are There?

There are eight different types of push-ups that anyone can do. Some are better when you’re just starting out, and especially for a 10-year-old boy.

• Wall Push-Up
• Modified Push-Up
• Standard Push-Up
• Wide Push-Up
• Narrow Push-Up
• Elevated Push-Up
• Clap Push-Up
• Pike Push-Up

The best ones for a 10-year-old boy to do are the wall push-up, modified push-up and the standard push-up. These are the most simple ones and, until the child is stronger, the safest ones.

Wall Push-Ups

These are the easiest push-ups to do and probably the best ones to start a 10-year-old boy on. This type of push-up will help to build shoulder and chest strength but will put less stress on the rest of the body.

All you need for this is yourself and a wall. Make sure to help guide the child through the first couple of sets to ensure he is doing them properly.

Start by standing in front of a wall, arms length away. Place feet firmly on the ground about shoulder width apart. Place your hands on the wall at shoulder height, directly in front of you. Your hands should be flat against the wall.

As you bend your elbows, inhale and bring yourself towards the wall. Keep your feet flat on the ground. Hold your other muscles tight to ensure you keep a straight position. Once you are towards the wall, pause for one second and then exhale and push yourself way from the wall.

Repeat this 12 times in sets of 3, totaling 36 push-ups.

Modified Push-Up

These are a great segway into doing the standard push-ups. They are more challenging then the wall push-up, but still easier than the standard. Remind the child it is important to focus on keeping the body straight by tensing up other muscles.

To do this push-up, start with all fours on the ground. Your feet should also be on the ground in a crawling position. Make sure to hold the legs and feet together. Place your hands flat on the ground below your shoulders and look at the ground.

It is important to look at the ground to ensure the position is straight. As you breathe in, hold your core and buttocks muscles and lower yourself to the ground. Lower yourself as low to the ground as you can and hold for once second. Push yourself back up using your arms as you breathe out.

Repeat these modified push-ups in 3 sets of 12, totaling 36 push-ups.

Standard Push-Ups

The standard push-ups are what just about everyone thinks of when they think of push-ups. This push-up needs a little bit more work than the modified push-up and does not use the knees as support.

When teaching a 10-year-old boy how to do standard push-ups, it’s very important to make sure he keeps his body straight. If the body is not straight, the workouts will not be very effective and he could risk hurting his shoulder joints and even wrists.

To do the standard push-up, you position yourself on the ground, with your hands holding you up directly under your shoulders. Your toes should be holding you up on the ground. Explain to the child that his knees should not touch the ground. This is also called the plank position.

Make sure you have the child looking down and keeping his core engaged to keep a straight position. Have him lower his entire body to the ground using his arms as he inhales. As he exhales, guide him in raising his body up using his arms, pushing into the ground with the palms of his hands.

Help make sure the 10-year-old boy does not let his back sag. Explain to him that to do this, he needs to keep his core as tight as he can.

Repeat these push-ups in sets of 12 a total of 3 times.

How Many Push-Ups Should a 10-Year-Old Do?

Set Flexible Push-Up Goals

Each child is unique, so don’t stick to fixed numbers for push-ups. Pay more attention to the child’s effort and the correct form, rather than meeting specific number goals. Build up reps slowly over time. Monitor for fatigue.

Here’s a general guideline on rep ranges:

• Beginner: 5-10 reps
• Intermediate: 10-15 reps
• Advanced: 15-20+ reps

Remember, the ideal number of reps will differ for each child. Consider these numbers as flexible suggestions, not as hard rules.

Allow Muscles Rest and Recovery

Be careful not to overexert. Muscles require 48 hours to recover after strength training. Plan to do push-up sessions every alternate day for adequate recovery. On days without push-ups, vary the types of exercises you do.

Motivating Young Boys to Exercise

These days with technology, getting your children out to exercise can be hard. You need to think of fun ways to motivate them to go out and run around and play.

For most kids, exercising can feel like a chore, and no kid actually enjoys doing chores. When they think of gym class at school, they might get excited because, in the gym, they get to play games with their classmates. However, at home, exercise sounds like drills to them.

You need to find ways to get them out and moving that they love and do the activities with them! Not only will it benefit them and you as the parents physically, but it will help bring the family closer together!

Fun activities that can be done outdoors include:

• Bike riding
• Hiking
• Kayaking
• Jogging
• Jumping rope
• Basketball
• Football
• Swimming

There are countless ideas, so get creative and have fun!

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