The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that all American adults add at least two days of strength training to their exercise routine each week. Although this goal can be met through equipment like free weights or weight machines, you can get similar results by using your own body weight through resistance exercises. One of the most common is the pushup in all its variations.
Standard
Standard pushups are the most common form. Start in the elevated standard pushup position with your hands shoulder-width apart and arms straight down from your shoulders. Your feet should be close together, but not touching and your back and legs should be in a straight line with no hump to the rear or back. Place your hands so your fingers point forward. Once in place, lower your body straight down by bending your elbows until the chest is approximately two inches from the floor. Raise your body back up without moving your hands or bending your body. Repeat this process for the desired amount of reps.
Simplified
If standard floor pushups are too difficult, you may consider a simplified or modified version. For example, instead of a standard plank position, you may bend your knees to the ground and use them to support part of your body weight. You can also perform simplified pushups off the wall by placing yourself at arm's length away from the wall and performing a pushup as if the wall were the floor. The farther you place your feet from the wall, the more difficult the pushup.
Wide Stance
Wide-stance pushups have almost the exact same form as a standard pushup, except the hands are placed about two to four inches further outside the shoulder on both sides. The movements of the pushup are the same, except the change in stance alters how your body weight is distributed on the upper body muscles. Standard pushups work more proportionally between the triceps, chest and shoulders, while a wide-stance pushup places more work on the chest muscles.
Triceps
Triceps pushups also use similar technique as a standard pushup, but instead of pushing the hands further out from the shoulders like a wide stance, the triceps stance brings the hands in closer to where your thumbs are almost touching. This stance pulls the weight from the chest and shoulders and places it more on the triceps. Keep the elbows close in toward the body as you lower yourself to the floor to keep the workout on the triceps.
Other Variations
Outside of the basic modified versions of the standard pushup are various other versions that have been introduced over the years. The "clap" pushup requires you to push your body weight off the floor and clap your hands between each rep. The ball pushup uses a small stability ball in each hand, forcing you to not only push your body up and down, but use core muscles to balance it at the same time. Another example is the elevated pushup, which elevates one arm higher than the other, forcing your body to work different muscles.
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