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Pushups in Bed
While the gym or your living room floor are the ideal locations for performing push-ups, floor space, time factors and illnesses may limit accessibility. These factors need not interfere with your ability to maintain your upper-body strength. Your bedroom, especially your bed, offers opportunities for creative push-up training.
Benefits of Bed Exercise
Exercising on unstable surfaces is a common fitness center training method. Unstable surfaces challenge your balance and require you to engage your deep core musculature to maintain dynamic stability. Most people use stability balls, the bosu -- which is a half ball, balance boards and balance discs for this type of exercise, but this type of equipment may be too challenging for people with impaired balance. The mattress of your bed provides moderate unstable surface training. The bed also offers opportunities to increase your range of motion while exercising to make it more challenging.
Elevated Leg Push-Up
Elevating your legs while performing push-ups adds challenge to the exercise while accentuating the upper pectoral muscles. Placing your feet on an exercise bench is the traditional method of execution for this exercise, but your bed will suffice. Position your body so your feet are at the edge of your bed and your hands are on the floor. Slowly bend your elbows to lower your chest toward the floor, and then extend your arms with control. Perform 16 repetitions.
Deep Push-Ups
The deep push-up is an advanced version of the elevated push-up. Begin with your feet on the bed, but place your hands on two chairs. Bend your elbows, and lower your body toward the floor. The increased range of motion makes this more challenging, so perform 10 repetitions.
Upper-Body Stabilization
Placing your hands on an unstable object while performing push-ups engages the muscles that support your upper back. Put both hands on the bed and separate them so they are chest-width apart. Walk your feet backward until your chest and stomach hover over the bed. Slowly bend your elbows to lower your chest toward the bed, and then extend your arms with control.
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References
Writer Bio
In 1999, Lisa Mercer’s fitness, travel and skiing expertise inspired a writing career. Her books include "Open Your Heart with Winter Fitness" and "101 Women's Fitness Tips." Her articles have appeared in "Aspen Magazine," "HerSports," "32 Degrees," "Pregnancy Magazine" and "Wired." Mercer has a Bachelor of Arts in psychology from the City College of New York.