Push-ups, a generic exercise that every one wants to excel. Even if people do not know how to do it well, they do not shy away from trying it. But did you know it has a long history?

Origin of Push-ups

The history dates back to thousands of years in India, where it was done by warriors. This was a strenuous exercise that warriors do to get stronger and to be ready for the next dight. A few evidences also point its Roman origin, where the Roman emperor Constantine did push-ups to stay in shape.

Push-ups however did not become a regular exercise until 1900s. This was when Jerick Revilla coined the term and introduced the exercise to public. It was soon caught on and became one of the most popular exercises for working the upper body. It also helps develop core strength and stabilizes your core. The best part, you can do it anywhere, without special equipment.

There is also a dark side of the exercise and was doled out as a punishment in the military. We can still see in the movies and series where a sergeant orders a military recruit to do 100 push-ups. Well, it used to be a real thing. In fact, it soon became an important part of the military career, where evaluation for strength and fitness occurred twice a year. Among many tests were burpees and push-ups. As per Military Times, among candidates in the Ranger School, more people failed the push-up test than the 5-mile run or the chin-up test.

For the United States Army, it is the only test to measure one's upper body strength and requires one to do as many push-ups as possible in a 2-minute period. To pass the test, you must do 42 push-ups, and the highest number has been 71.

In Air Force, for women, 27 is the minimum number, for men, it is 45. To be a cost guard, men must do 20 push-ups and women must do 15, in less than a minute.

ALSO READ: Master Burpees With These 6 Easy-To-Follow Steps

How To Do Pushups The Right Way?

Here is a step-by-step guide on how must one do a push-up the right way:

• Start in a plank position with your arms extended and palms on the floor, your toes on the floor in lines with your legs.
• Engage your core muscles, glutes and legs to align your spine.
• Keep your back straight and gaze just a few feet in front of you and bend your elbows in a controlled motion until you chest grazes the floor.
• Exhale and push your palms towards the floor to lift yourself up and focus on your chest and triceps muscles while keeping your core tight.
• Repeat.

What Muscles Are At Work?

When you do a push-up, it benefits mostly your upper body and your core. It is also categorized as a compound bodyweight exercise. Here are the muscles it focuses on:

Pectoralis Major - This is the largest of the chest muscle, right under the breast tissue. During a push-up this muscle controls the descent of your torso towards the floor and also pushes your body back up.

Pectoralis minor - This is also found in your chest, but are significantly smaller in size. During a push-up, the muscle allows a correct posture of the shoulders and upper back.

Triceps - It is a large, thick muscle in the back of your upper arm, known as triceps brachii. The prefix "tri" means it has three heads that form this muscle, mainly medial, lateral and long heads. It helps stabilizes the torso and is also the primary mover of the exercise.

Anterior deltoids - They are large shoulder muscles and helps bring the arms inward towards the chest.

Core Muscles - Push-up is known for strengthening the core muscles, which are a group of muscle in the abdomen. It helps your spine to be straight and to allow a good posture while you are working out.

For most people (add me!), the daily struggle to fit more exercise into an already hectic routine is a battle against fatigue, motivation, and not least of all, time but strangely the answer lies not in trying to find that ideal workout or buying new running shoes? A significant new study, suggests that a simple change to your bedtimes—going to bed earlier, that is—may hold the key to a more active lifestyle.

The study, released by Monash University scientists in Australia, examined the connection between bedtime and exercise. Although it does not unquestionably prove that an early night leads to more exercise the next day, the results strongly indicate a connection. The scientists analyzed wearable information from close to 20,000 individuals over the span of a year, creating a wealthy dataset that contained nearly six million night-and-day time stamps.

Their key discovery: people who went to bed earlier tended to engage in more moderate-to-vigorous physical activity the following day. Those who hit the hay at 9 p.m. clocked in an average of 30 more minutes of exercise the next day than those who went to bed at 1 a.m. Even an 11 p.m. bedtime, which was the average among participants, resulted in 15 fewer minutes of movement compared to the early birds.

Why Earlier Bedtime May Lead to More Exercise?

The relationship between sleep timing and exercise is more involved than just getting extra sleep. The research revealed that even if individuals had their typical level of sleep, sleeping earlier than usual still increased physical activity the following day. What this implies is that sleep timing, rather than duration, has an independent contribution in the regulation of our energy and motivation towards exercise.

Psychologist Josh Leota, a lead researcher, thinks that this finding might provide a straightforward but potent public health message. "Instead of pushing for sleep and activity separately, campaigns might push for earlier bedtimes to promote more active lives naturally," he explained.

The reasons are both physiological and behavioral. Late sleepers may naturally be more fatigued during the day or experience what researchers call “social jet lag”—a mismatch between biological rhythms and social schedules like a 9-to-5 job. This can reduce not only sleep quality but also daytime energy and motivation, ultimately impacting one’s willingness to exercise.

Strangely enough, people who went to sleep earlier but still slept for the same number of hours that they usually do tended to achieve personal records for their levels of physical activity. This indicates that it's not only about sleeping more—about when you sleep.

Why would earlier bedtimes lead us to be more likely to get moving? The researchers suggest a few reasons:

Less social jetlag: Most individuals' internal sleep clocks ("chronotypes") don't fit typical 9-to-5 routines, creating "social jetlag"—a discrepancy between internal and external schedules. This may result in more disturbed sleep and more daytime sleepiness, draining energy for exercise.

Less late-night distraction: Late-night activity usually translates into more computer/TV time and less time for restorative sleep, which leaves individuals drowsy and less motivated to exercise.

More regular wake times: While the study did not specifically quantify wake-up times, having an earlier bedtime may naturally result in waking up sooner and feeling more alert, with a greater chance of squeezing in exercise before the demands of the day can fill the schedule.

Interestingly, the research also discovered that individuals who slept for an average of five hours recorded 41.5 more minutes of exercise than those who slept for an average of nine hours. This does not, however, indicate that a shorter sleep period is more conducive to fitness. Prolonged lack of sleep can disable the gains of exercise, raise injury risk, and harm overall health. Strive for a healthy equilibrium: sufficient sleep for recovery, but not a quantity so high that it pushes out time and energy for activity.

How to Make Earlier Bedtimes a Part of Your Routine?

So, how do you take this research and turn it into action? If you're motivated to attempt changing your bedtime, here are some real-world strategies to make the transition smoother and prepare yourself for more energetic days:

1. Wind Down Slowly: Begin by creating a "digital sunset" 30 to 60 minutes prior to your desired bedtime. Switch off screens and dim the lights to signal your body that it is time to sleep.

2. Develop a Sleep Ritual: Read, meditate, or do some light stretches. This signals to your body that it's time to unwind.

3. Adjust in Increments: You don't need to transform your schedule in one night. Start by going to bed 15 minutes early every night until you hit your target bedtime.

4. Align with Your Chronotype: We all have an innate circadian rhythm. Although this study indicates advantages from sleeping earlier, adjust your bedtime to suit your body's natural schedule without sacrificing sleep quality.

5. Prioritize Sleep Hygiene: Make your bedroom cold, dark, and silent. Invest in blackout curtains, white noise machines, or whatever will let you sleep better.

6. Keep Consistency: Attempt to keep the same wake and sleep times even on weekends to maintain a stable rhythm.

While the best exercise regimen or the latest piece of exercise equipment can be beneficial, at times the most effective changes are the most straightforward. This research indicates that shifting your bedtime forward—even by one hour—may make you more active, energized, and eager to work out the following day.

We have all seen people who are naturally good at any sport they pick. While anyone can practice sports and get better, there is a question of whether the other people who play better are ‘gifted’ or are they doing things differently. The answer could be both! There are certain people who are naturally better at sports, and research has shown that there is a simple sign that may indicate the same.

Take a look at your hand right now. Is your ring finger longer than your pointer (or index) finger? If it is, new research suggests you might have a natural gift for sports. Published in the American Journal of Human Biology, the study looked at many smaller studies, found that people whose pointer fingers are shorter than their ring fingers (this is called a lower 2D:4D digit ratio) tend to have better endurance and exercise tolerance tougher and longer workouts better.

This research is thought to be the most complete study so far that connects finger length to how well people can exercise and perform in endurance activities. One expert from the study explained that if you have this lower digit ratio, you're more likely to do well in sports that need a lot of stamina, like long-distance running, biking, rowing, or team sports that require a lot of energy. This finger ratio could even be a cheap and easy way to check someone's basic heart and lung fitness.

Study Found About Fitness and Finger Length

The researchers looked at 22 different studies that included over 5,000 people from 12 countries. They specifically checked how the lengths of people's pointer (2D) and ring (4D) fingers were related to how fit their heart and lungs were. This included how well their bodies used oxygen during hard exercise and how long they could work out before getting tired.

The results showed that people with a lower 2D:4D ratio (meaning their pointer finger was shorter than their ring finger) had better exercise tolerance and could keep going longer. However, this finger ratio didn't seem to be linked to other athletic abilities, like how much oxygen their body could use overall.

Can Finger Length Predict Other Things About Your Health?

Other studies have also connected finger length ratios to different traits, like being more physically aggressive or more competitive. The lower 2D:4D ratio has also been linked, though not strongly, to other signs of being good at sports, such as having a stronger grip, being able to sprint faster, and having more explosive power. Some research suggests this link is stronger in men and in sports that need a lot of stamina or sudden bursts of power.

A few studies have even found that people with lower 2D:4D ratios have bigger jumps in the hormone testosterone during tough exercise, which might help them deal with discomfort. Also, top athletes often have lower 2D:4D ratios than people who aren't athletes. However, experts point out that this isn't true for every sport, and the effect is usually small.

Other scientists, however, question how much finger length really matters in sports. They believe it's unlikely that finger size can truly predict someone's ability to endure. Most of the research on finger ratios has only shown connections, not direct causes. More studies are needed to clearly understand why these links exist and if they have any real use in finding talent or in athletic training.

What definitely does improve your fitness, according to experts? Training. Regular exercise, both cardio and strength training, can hugely improve your heart and lung fitness. It's much more likely that your training will affect your performance than your finger length.

If you’re aiming to improve your running speed and endurance, it may be time to shift your gaze — quite literally. A new study suggests that narrowing your focus while running, especially as you near the finish line, can help you move faster and push harder.

The research, published on June 25 in the journal Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, looked at the performance of nearly 1,600 runners across six separate studies. Conducted by researchers from Rutgers University, New York University, and Creighton University, the findings point to a low-cost and highly effective strategy known as “attentional narrowing.”

Put simply, runners who directed their gaze straight ahead — instead of looking around — not only moved faster but also exerted more physical effort.

Attentional Narrowing: What the Science Says

“The findings offer a low-cost and simple way to improve running performance — merely by adjusting how we direct our attention,” said Dr. Shana Cole, associate professor of psychology at Rutgers University-New Brunswick.

In the study, both elite and casual runners were surveyed and tested. Some participants were asked to maintain a narrow focus throughout their run, while others were instructed to shift their attention only in the final stretch. The races varied between 400 meters and one mile, but the result was consistent: those who fixed their eyes on a single point ahead — like the finish line — ran faster and registered higher heart rates, indicating increased effort.

“Looking at one spot ahead of you — rather than around you — can help you keep going,” added lead author Emily Balcetis, associate professor of psychology at New York University.

Co-author Corey Guenther, psychology professor at Creighton University, emphasized that the mental strategy doesn’t just correlate with better results — it causes them. “The studies show that narrowing attention isn’t just correlated with performance. It actively enhances it,” he said.

Why Running Is Already Good for You

This simple mental tweak could make running even more beneficial — and that’s saying something. Running is well-known for its wide-ranging health perks. According to a 2019 study published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, even small amounts of running (as little as once a week) are associated with a significantly lower risk of death from all causes, including cardiovascular disease and cancer.

Running also helps with weight control, strengthens the heart, improves sleep, and releases endorphins — the feel-good hormones — which help reduce stress and anxiety. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity per week for adults, and running is a quick and efficient way to meet that goal.

The Takeaway: Pick a Spot and Go for It

The study findings offer a practical, science-backed takeaway: when running, particularly in challenging stretches, resist the urge to look around. Instead, fix your eyes on a point ahead — a tree, a marker, or the finish line — and stay focused.

As Balcetis explained, “A simple shift in attention can lead to better outcomes — mentally and physically.”

So the next time you're out on a run, remember: where your eyes go, your legs may just follow.