The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends strength-training every major muscle group at least twice a week. Push ups are an excellent way of working the pushing muscles of your chest, triceps and shoulders. Push ups also provide a challenging core workout. If doing full push ups is too challenging or otherwise not an option for you, several alternative exercises can provide a similar workout.
Basic Technique
Lie face-down on the floor. Place both hands beneath your chest, slightly wider apart than your shoulders, fingers pointing forward. Press up, keeping your body stiff as a board, until you're balanced on your hands and the balls of your feet. Bend your arms, lowering your body slowly back toward the floor. Stop when your shoulders are about even with your elbows, then press back up again.
Wall, Bar and Bench Push Ups
If getting up and down from the floor to do full push ups is difficult for you, or if you're trying to exercise at work and can't get your business clothes dirty, do wall, bar or bench push ups instead. No matter what you use for support, the basic technique remains the same. Place both hands on the bar, bench or wall. Walk your feet back from the support, body straight, until your straight arms form a right angle to your body. Balance on the balls of your feet and lower your chest toward the bar/bench/wall support. Press back up to the starting position and repeat. The lower the support you use, the more challenging this exercise will be.
Wide, Narrow and Triceps Grips
Altering your hand position changes the angle of your arms to your body, which in turn affects which muscles do the work of pressing you up. If you spread your hands wider apart, you'll work the outer fibers of your chest muscles. Bringing your hands in closer, but still beneath your chest, works the inner fibers of your chest muscles. Shift both hands back to about belly-button level and keep your elbows tight against your body to do push ups powered almost exclusively by your triceps.
Rings, Stability Balls and Balance Boards
Introducing instability to your push ups makes them more challenging, both for your upper-body muscles and your core muscles, which are literally responsible for "keeping it together" in spite of the wobbly support you've chosen. Gymnastic-style rings slung low to the ground make an excellent but very advanced shoulder-stability training tool as they allow each arm to move independently beneath you. You can also use stability balls or balance boards for push ups, with either your knees, toes or hands resting on the object of your choice.
Member Comments