Pushups are a simple resistance exercise that can be done anywhere, any time. They are great for building strength, tone and muscle endurance. Be careful that you do not get carried away with a pushup routine, however. If you allow sufficient time for your body to recover after a pushup workout and if you supplement your pushup routine with workouts for the rest of your body you can minimize your risk of injury and enjoy the benefits of all different types of pushups.
Normal Pushups
Most people know the basic concept of an ordinary pushup, but sometimes details are missing that can minimize their effectiveness and increase the potential for injury. To do a perfect pushup, keep your body straight and your core tight. Keep your elbows close to your body as you lower your weight. Make sure you lower yourself all the way to a few inches off the ground, then raise yourself all the way back up until your elbows are straight. Pushups performed this way are a great workout for your triceps, shoulders, back and abs.
Explosive Pushups
Once you become good at normal pushups, you can try variations that offer additional benefits. Explosive pushups are very similar to normal pushups, except that you push hard enough as you straighten out your arms that your hands come off the floor for a second or two. As you come back down, be careful to bend your elbows slightly and absorb the impact to prevent injury to your shoulder or elbows. This type of pushup will increase your fast twitch reflexes and explosiveness, in addition to the benefits of normal pushups.
Elevated Pushups
In order to perform elevated pushups, simply place your feet a foot or two off the ground on a chair, bench or box. Maintain normal pushup technique otherwise, lowering yourself all the way to the ground and pushing all the way back up. The elevation means that you are lifting a greater percentage of your body weight with each rep, making the exercise more challenging and strengthening you even more than with a normal pushup.
Unstable Pushups
Unstable pushups require either a large inflated Swiss ball or a balance board. Overall technique is similar to that of a normal pushup. Instead of placing your hands on the ground, however, place them on the Swiss ball or balance board. In addition to the challenge of simply moving your weight up and down, you will also struggle to keep the surface you are leaning on still. This means the exercise includes an additional workout for your shoulders, especially your stabilizer muscles, on top of the workout from normal pushups.
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