How to do Push Ups

The humble push-up is one of the best exercises of all time.  Used by military’s all over the world to get their soldiers in fighting condition and middle school P.E. teachers to punish unruly kids. Learn how to do push ups, and why it’s the ultimate exercise for all levels of fitness.

Top athletes, and famous personal trainers, through the years have used endorsed the push up as one of their greatest strength training routines.  Yet, it requires no special equipment and can be done anywhere, anytime.

The push-up often gets overlooked by folks who find it too simple or too boring to perform. But by switching up your hand and feet positions and adding in a few twists, the push-up becomes a versatile muscle builder that will leave your muscles begging for mercy.

The benefits of push ups

Push ups are a tried and tested way of building upper body strength, especially in your chest, triceps, shoulders, abs and upper back. They’ll also help you boost your metabolism and burn excess calories. Another benefit of push ups is that due to the large amount of push up variations , anyone from a beginner to those who are super strong can still get a an effective workout by including push ups in their body weight training routine.

Here are some of the muscle groups that are targeted when performing push ups:

• Pectoral major (chest muscles)
• Triceps
• Deltoids (primary shoulder muscles)
• Abdominal and core muscles

Common push up mistakes

Most people think they know how to do push ups, and that they’re easy.  But, there are a few easy to correct mistakes.  One of the biggest mistakes folks make when doing push ups is that people often let their elbows flare out, causing stress on the elbows, wrists and rotator cuff. For years many people were told that to perform a push your body needs to be in a T shape, however, this isn’t the best way of performing the exercise.

Instead, you want to make sure that you keep your elbows as close to your body as possible, with your palms facing each other. This will not only help you engage more of your triceps and chest but will also work your lats, traps and biceps, whilst dramatically reducing the risk of injury.

Variations of Push Ups

DietSmarter has compiled this ultimate push up guide to help you get on your way.  Below is an illustration of several variations with video.  Your muscles will hate you, but you’ll never say “I regret that workout.”  Ever.

Michelle Trapp

Certified Personal Trainer for Golds Gym, Michelle Trapp, starts us off by illustrating great push ups for beginners.  Starting with a level-1 type push up, and working up to a level-3 push up, these are great for anyone to include in their daily workout.  You can do it – just give it a try!

Jillian Michaels

In this video below Jillian Michaels shows her stuff and love for the push up, by illustrating four of her favorites.  Watch to learn how to do Dive Bomb push ups, Scorpion push ups, Chaturanga push up, and Plia push ups.  In standard Jillian Michaels fashion, neither are easy.  However, take your time and build up to doing them.

Hands Elevated Push-up

If you struggle to perform a standard push-up and knee push-ups are too easy, try this one as a segue between the two. Elevating your hands makes the push-up easier. Place your hands on an elevated surface like a park bench or even a counter top. Place feet on the ground. Perform push-up.

Wide Grip Push-up

The wide grip push-up puts more emphasis on your chest. Place your hands wider than shoulder width apart and perform a push-up.

Diamond Push-up

The diamond push-up is a triceps killer. Place your hands together so they form a diamond. You can either put your hands underneath your chest or your head to hit different muscles. Once your hands are in place, perform a push-up.

Feet Elevated Push-up

Elevating your feet from the ground will work your shoulders more when you perform a push-up. Put your feet on an elevated surface. A bed or a park bench works well. Place your hands on the ground. Perform a push-up.

Fingertip Push Ups with Jack Lalanne

Of course, when you’re ready you can move on to the finger-tip push up, like Jack illustrates in the video below.  Or, maybe not.  In any case, ladies ignore what he says – you can do these too if you try!