Of all the upper body exercises that can be performed, the push-up is one of the most beneficial. It is a great exercise because it works several of the major upper body muscle groups - the chest, shoulder and tricep muscles - as well as the core musculature. What also makes this a fantastic exercise is that it can be performed almost anywhere and by almost anyone.
There are a variety of different starting positions that can be used when performing a proper push-up. It is important that if you are unsure of you abilities you start with the easiest position - the doorway or wall push-up - and work through the exercises toward the most difficult one - the full push-up. While there are distinct differences in the appearance of all of the push-ups below, they all are exactly the same in the guidelines that need to be followed when performing the exercise.
How to perform:
✦ Place your hands at a comfortable width apart
✦ Keep your neck relaxed and your head in line with your spine
✦ While inhaling, begin lowering yourself
✦ Maintain a slow and controlled pace throughout the descent
✦ Keep your body rigid from the beginning to the end of the movement - do not bow your back
✦ Lower yourself to a comfortable ending position
✦ While exhaling, push-up to return to the starting point
Doorway or wall push-up
Counter top push-up
Kneeling push-up
Full push-up
This is by no means a complete list of the variety of push-ups that can be performed. To increase the difficulty, or to just add variety, you can add training devices such as stability balls or push-up bars to your program.
Please feel free to contact me with any questions about this exercise, or any other, and I am always open to suggestions on which exercise to cover next week.
-Jason
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