I'm sure that the vast majority of folks here at MAP are quite familiar with the Push-up and some of its variations. Given that, this entire piece may not be exactly applicable (though there are some neat variations included). However, it was written to primarily help teach a proper push-up (from the toes, not the knees) to women. So, feel free to show it to your girlfriend/wife/sister/mother/classmate/etc. Hopefully, it does some good. And, as always, let me know what's what. (First published at www.f-heit.com, July 21, 2006. Sorry, just had to say it. ) Introducing The Push-Up If exercises were words, the push-up would be the word “the”. It’s that basic and fundamental. I’ve taught 4-year olds and 84-year olds how to do a proper push-up, because it’s simply an important movement to know. Strength coach Alwyn Cosgrove has said that his clients have to “earn the right” to use weights by first mastering bodyweight exercises, including push-ups and squats. While I may not be that strict, I do believe that everyone should be able to do a handful of push-ups before getting too involved with free weights or machines. 5 push-ups is a bare minimum. That’s just the starting point. A rough guideline I often set for clients is to be able to do their age in repetitions for one set, or for the over-40 crowd, half your age. Sorry 30-somethings, you end up with the most work, but it’s worth it. The question still remains: Why do I care so much about the push-up? Well first of all, with just this one exercise, I can train my chest, shoulders, triceps, upper back, abs, and glutes, depending on which variation I use (I’ll explain several variations in a bit, I bet there’s at least one that you’ve never seen before.) Any exercise with that much to offer is worth knowing, and worth knowing well. Also, once I’m somewhat comfortable with them, I can do them wherever there’s a floor. From a convenience standpoint, this is great. (A quick story: I once worked at a gym and had to be there at 6:00 a.m. Now, it’s safe to say that I am not a morning person, but I discovered that doing 10 push-ups every 10 minutes for an hour woke me up from head to toe, inside and out, much better than a grande mocha frappuccino. Let’s not even discuss the 400-or-so calories either.) The last reason why I love teaching the push-up: Confidence. I’ve had some clients who, after finishing their first set of 5 full-range push-ups, stood up smiling, beaming, and glowing so much that you’d think they just won the lottery. There seems to be some kind of inner switch that gets flipped in a gal when they realize that they’ve just conquered “a guy’s exercise.” So, enough chit-chat…let’s get to work. Basic Push-up: I don’t generally recommend learning push-ups from the knees. It creates a more awkward body angle, and it’s too easy to cheat the movement by bending at the waist, instead of keeping the back straight. I find that it’s actually easier to do the exercise from your toes, once you learn it correctly. Also, by working from the toes, you can incorporate a little more abdominal and lower body work. Since when is that a bad thing? We’re going to start by facing a flat bench, chair, or staircase step that’s just around knee-height. (If you’re using the step, it’s probably the third or fourth step up.) Place you hands on the bench/chair/step just a bit outside of shoulder-width and keep your arms straight. Take two or three steps backwards; you’ll probably end up on your toes. At this point, there should be a straight line from your ankles to your ears – No slouching or arching anywhere along the way. Next, we’re going to use a top secret trick that can make a huge difference: Step your feet out wide, to give yourself a nice, stable base. The closer your feet are to each other, the harder the exercise will be, so this is one way of adapting the exercise to your abilities. Now bend your arms and lower yourself as far as is comfortable. Let your shoulder and triceps flexibility be the deciding factors. The farther down you go, the harder the exercise will be, so this is another way of adapting the exercise to your abilities. Actually, this is my preferred way of increasing the difficulty. Technically, it’s called using a “progressive range of motion.” Every workout, you’re going to try to lower yourself a bit more, until you’re using a full range of motion (meaning that either your chest or abs touch the floor, or there’s a straight line from one elbow to the other. Whichever comes first.) We’re going to stick with this exercise for 4 sets of 4 (4x4), and to prioritize it, I’d do it twice a week as the first exercise on your upper body or chest workout day, and then again on a lower body day. But fit it in where you can, as long as there’s at least two days between each session. Once you can get all 16 reps (all four sets of four) with a full range of motion, try to lower the height where you put you hands. Either find a shorter chair or use the next stairstep down, or in the gym, you can use the Smith Machine bar locked at whatever height you need. From here, it’s basically a ‘continue and repeat’ process until you’re doing all your sets and reps with just hands and toes on the ground. Once you get the hang of them, you can toss them into almost any routine, and they’ll usually fit themselves in nicely. Eventually, I’d suggest everyone to work towards that goal of their age in reps for one set (or half their age, as I mentioned.) It’s pretty difficult to reach that goal and not end up with some pretty great looking arms and shoulders. You also open the door for a whole bunch of variations and methods. Close Grip Push-up: This is a classic triceps-blaster. Traditionally, these are sometimes referred to as Diamond Push-ups, because you’d be instructed to make a diamond shape with your thumbs and index fingers. That version does increase tension on the triceps, but it also puts the wrists and elbows in a funky (potentially hazardous) position. So instead, we’re going to bring our hands in just a bit from the Basic Push-up, so that our index fingers could touch the front of our shoulders at the bottom of the movement. From here, it’s the same motion as the Basic Push-up, with the biggest difference being in the elbow drive. Try to keep your elbows pulled in during the movement, instead of flaring them out like in the Basic Push-up. If you were lying facedown on a compass, with your head at North and your feet at South, try to keep your elbows aimed Southwest and Southeast, as opposed to having them more East and West with the Basic Push-up. Since this variation requires more triceps work, I’d shoot for 2-3x8-10 and use it as either the first or last exercise of your arm workout. 1-Leg Up Push-up: This is one of my favorites, but it’s also a bit on the advanced side. Once you’re comfortable with the Basic Push-up, give it a whirl. We’re going to get into the Basic Push-up position (hands outside shoulder-width, arms straight, toes on the floor, straight line from ankles to ears) and raise one straight leg into the air as far as possible, without tilting sideways. From here, proceed doing “normal push-ups” while keeping your leg high in the air. The glutes in the “up” leg will be working overtime to keep that leg staying high, the quads in the “down” leg will get toasted because you’re only supported by one foot, and your abs will be firing constantly to keep your balance. I generally work 5-10 reps with one leg up, then switch legs and do another 5-10 reps. That counts as 1 set, and I’d use 3-4x5-10. T-Push-up (a.k.a Rotating Push-up): So, this is the grand finale. The numero uno, big kahuna, extra supreme push-up variation. Most people consider the 1-arm push-up to be the king of the hill. Well, I say “Move over 1-arm. Here comes the Rotator!” Seriously, the T-Push-up builds strength (and requires you to be strong) in the wrist, arms, shoulders, upper back, abdominals, obliques, hips, legs, and ankles. Exercises that can do that much are few and far between, but they’re also the exercises we definitely want to work into our training program. Start in the Basic Push-up position (hands outside shoulder-width, arms straight, toes on the floor, straight line from ankles to ears.) For this we’re going to need our feet a bit closer together, at least shoulder-width, possibly even closer. Perform one Basic Push-up (down and up), then pause at the top with your arms straight and rotate your body so the right side of your body pivots on your left arm (at the shoulder), almost like a door opening. You should end up looking like the letter “T” on its side; your right arm straight in the air, pointed at the ceiling, your left foot rotated onto the outside edge, and your left arm is held straight, supporting your weight. Slowly lower and “un-rotate” yourself, and return to the starting position (onto both arms, held straight), descend for another full Push-up, then rotate to the other side (pivoting on your right arm, sending your left side into the air). Return back to the ground, both arms straight. That’s one gigantic rep. Because it’s such a big movement, I usually keep the reps low, in the 4-8 range, and work for 2 to 4 sets. You could also do all the reps onto one side, take a brief rest, and then do your reps for the other side. With moderate to advanced clients, I’ll sometimes use higher reps and aim for 1 or 2 sets of 15, 20, or 25 reps. Just like with any big exercise (such as squats, cleans, or deadlifts), the higher repetitions will really test your mettle and will bring in a new, intense element of cardio work. Bonus ExerciseHey, I love sales and bargains as much as the next person, so consider this a “Buy 4 exercises, get 1 free” article. Since we’ve already dealt with the Basic Push-up and its variations, and we’re getting quite comfortable with that starting position (say it with me: hands outside shoulder-width, arms straight, toes on the floor, straight line from ankles to ears), we’ll wrap up with a great non-push-up exercise that stems from this base position. I simply can’t talk about Push-ups without talking about… The Plank: Begin by getting into that standard Basic Push-up start position, and…stay there. Count to 15. Okay, exercise over. No joke. Simply holding this top position is a great exercise for the abs and low back (“the core”), with some extra work from the shoulders, arms, and legs. The key is to really focus on maintaining that straight line from your ankles to your ears. Keep the legs tight and straight. Your arms stay locked and strong. Your abs stay contracted, fighting gravity and keeping you in place. Remember, no slouching or sinking your back down; that could lead to injury. And no arching your back up; that makes the exercise too easy. We’ll do The Plank for time, either using a small timer or by simply counting to yourself. I usually start with 2 sets of a 12 or 15-count, and progress up to 4 sets of a 30-count. When that gets easy, we bend the arms, and perform the movement on our elbows, with the forearms and palms on the ground. By changing the angle of your body and lowering your center of gravity, you increase the resistance and make the exercise more challenging. Again, aim for an eventual 30-count, for 2-4 sets. The Plank works well in any routine calling for an ab exercise, but I’ve also found it to be a great addition to my warm-up routine. Before hitting the weights, I’ll sometimes perform a quick 10 or 15-count Plank to get everything primed and ready for work. There you have it. Everything a beginner needs to enjoy the benefits of push-ups, and a few variations to try out if you’re already comfortable with the movement. Test them out, play around with them and see what you feel suits your needs best, and use them as you see appropriate. Oh, and let me know as soon as you hit that age-in-reps mark. Good luck!
