One of the oldest and best known of all fitness exercises is surely the push up. In today’s hi-tech world it may look and feel out of date but it’s very easy to perform and extremely effective. If bulging pectorals are what you’re after then this is the one for you.
Push ups are an excellent way of exercising and can be performed almost anywhere. The simplest style of push up is carried out lying face down on the floor and using just the arms to raise and lower the body. Push ups are designed to strengthen the triceps, pectorals and to some degree, the deltoids but are great as a good all round way of strengthening the whole body.
If you want to increase the stress on your chest and shoulder muscles try press ups. These are a variation of push ups used by athletes and the military. Press ups are carried out with the legs and back held straight and off the floor. If you’re doing these at home, try putting your feet on an armchair or low stool. If you’re out in the park, use a bench to rest your feet upon. Try not to raise your legs above shoulder line height.
There are various other adaptations of the push up including using just the four fingers of each hand, using just the one hand, clapping the hands (this needs extra strong pushes to lift the body even higher than normal), or pressing against a wall rather than the floor - the further your feet from the wall, the tougher the exercise is. Be careful not to injure yourself if trying some of the more extreme versions.
If you’re overweight and trying to get your body into shape, don’t avoid push ups. They can teach you a lot about carrying your own body weight.
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