FitSugar

7 Tips For Perfecting Your Push-Ups

FitSugar — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 05:50:00 -0700

When it comes to push-ups, I'm a total fanatic. You can do them anywhere and they work so many parts of your body at once. The only gripe I have with one of my favorite exercises is that it's easy to get it wrong if nobody is watching your form. That can lead to lower back strain or shoulder injuries, and it pains me when I notice people doing push-ups incorrectly at the gym. Here are the tips I'd give most often if I didn't have restraint.

Angle your elbows toward your waist. Your elbows should be on a diagonal toward your waist to avoid shoulder strain. Do your push-ups facing or parallel to a mirror so you're able to see the angle of your arms.
Pull in your abs. Engage your abs and tuck your hips forward to protect your lower back. Turn horizontally to the mirror - if your abs are sagging, there will be a sway in your lower back. You want to avoid that.
Lift your chin: Whether you're doing push-ups on your toes or on your knees, there should be a straight line from the top of your head through your lower back. Achieve the straightness by lifting your chin away from your chest and looking slightly forward.

To see four more tips, read more.

Grip your glutes. Engaging your glutes will help to stabilize your mid-section and will enable you to put more power into your push-ups.
Exhale on your way up. Don't hold your breath! You'll maximize every rep by exhaling as you push yourself up.
Turn your fingertips in just a bit. Place your hands with your fingertips facing forward, and then turn your hands toward each other just slightly. This minimizes wrist strain and is the optimal placement for being able to angle your elbows toward your waist.
Go the full range. Don't cheat yourself by using only a half-range of motion. Your chest should nearly touch the floor at your lowest point; it's much more effective and you'll get stronger more quickly when you push yourself to the fullest.

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Push Your Push-Ups

FitSugar — Thu, 26 Apr 2007 04:00:00 -0700

Now that you've got the push-up under control, how about making it a little bit more challenging?

All you have to do is add a little decline to the push-up. Adding decline is a great way to target your upper body (chest) muscles more than just a regular push up and the best part is that you use your own body weight for resistance. Start easy with your feet on a low step or small bosu. Work your way up to putting your feet on something higher like a stacked step, a bench or even an exercise ball to really challenge yourself.

Fit's Tip: Do not compromise form. If you find that it is too challenging to put your feet on an incline and still keep good form, then work on building strength before trying this variation.

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Push-Ups: A Bride-to-be's Best Friend

FitSugar — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 04:00:00 -0700

When I say push-ups, I am not talking about the bra. Nope. I am talking about the classic exercise, as in "Drop and give me 50." Now nobody is saying you need to start your day out with 50 push-ups just because you are now engaged, or because it is tank top season. Let's face it every bride and every tank top wearer wants toned arms and to get them the push-up is your best friend.

When I taught Pilates, I trained many a bride-to-be and doing the Method, lifting weights or taking a yoga class once a week is not going to give you the arms you want. So on your days off from your bootcamp you need to add some push-ups into your daily routine every other day. Just knowing that push-ups work five major muscle groups at once might just be motivation enough.

Here are a few tips to ensure that you and push-ups become fast friends:

Spread your fingers wide and spread the weight evenly between your finger tips and your palms. This helps keep the strain out of your wrists.
Inhale as you bend your elbows, and exhale as you straighten your elbows.
Let your core help you. Pull your navel to your spine and imagine the action is helping you push the floor away.
Imagine you are one long board, from your heels to the crown of your head. Don't stick your booty in the air (breaking at your hip crease) and don't sag in your low back that will hurt your spine.
You will work your triceps more if your hands are right under your shoulders keeping your elbows close to your sides as they bend.
To work your pecs more, place your hands slightly wider than your shoulders. When you bend your arms your elbows should move directly out to the sides.

Now if doing a "classic" push-up seems completely out of the question, there are some variations for you to try as you work your way up to the full press. To see them read more

Try push ups on your knees. Still keep a long line from your knees to the top of your head.
The next, easiest variation is on all fours, keeping the knees directly under the hips and bending the elbows in this position.
You can alway begin your push up quest at the wall. The closer your body is to the wall to begin the easier the push-up will be.

Begin with the goal of doing 10 push-ups. Increase the number of repetitions by 2 every week. Change variations when you can do 20 easily in the position you are working in.

If you're engaged, just looking at the ring every time you bend your elbows to lower yourself down should motivate you to push yourself back up.

Fit Tip: Vary the Pace of Your Push-Ups

FitSugar — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 08:00:00 -0800

There's something about push-ups that makes me feel so accomplished after I've finished a set. The total body exertion gets my heart rate up and I feel stronger after doing them. I like to challenge myself by doing at least one extra push-up than I did the last time, and I keep things interesting by varying the pace of my push-ups.

The classic push-up is a great way to tone your upper half, and changing the pace anywhere from two to four counts while lowering yourself toward the ground, as well as when you are pushing yourself up, will create an added challenge. If your goal is 20 push-ups, try doing 10 of those push-ups taking two counts on the down and two counts to get back up. Work toward taking four counts to lower yourself and to push yourself up. This will keep your body guessing and help you avoid any kind of push-up plateau. If you need a refresher on how to do a proper push-up, check out my tips.

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Fit Tip: Feeling Chilly? Do Some Push-Ups

FitSugar — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 02:57:12 -0800

I know for some of you the weather outside is snowy and cold, so your homes and offices may be on the chilly side. Instead of turning up the heat on your thermostat, warm up your body from the inside out. My favorite way is to get on the floor and do 20 push-ups, but you can choose any strength training move: squats, tricep dips, crunches, or lunges. Do enough to start feeling that lovely warm feeling. Not only will it warm you up, but it'll save you some money on your heat and give your brain a boost of energy as well.

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Beyonce's Trainer Reveals 5-Minute Preparty "Body Blast"

FitSugar — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 05:50:29 -0800

When I'm totally wrapped up in Thanksgiving cooking, prepping, organizing, shopping (need I go on?), there's hardly a fighting chance that I'll make it to the gym for a full-on workout. Usually, I'll try to squeeze in a set of push-ups while prepping dinner preparation, or an early morning yoga session, if I can. So, I was excited to see Marco Borges, the trainer credited with whipping Beyonce, husband Jay-Z, and Gwen Stefani into tip-top shape, sharing an easy and no-equipment-needed workout with US Weekly. Here are the five moves he suggests to give yourself an all-over body-blasting workout (even if you only have five minutes to spare before your guests arrive):

Jumping Plies: I call these jumping squats, but it doesn't matter what you call them as long as you do them. Here's how: stand with your feet just a bit wider than shoulder-width apart, abs pulled in tight, and bend your knees, lowering your body till your thighs are parallel to the floor and jump straight into the air. Return to starting position and repeat for one minute.

Reverse Lunges: Standing with feet shoulder-width apart, step back into a lunge and repeat on the opposite side, alternating for one minute. Be sure that abs remain tight throughout, working your core and maintaining your balance and posture.

Push-Ups: According to Marco, "The push-up is quite possibly one of the simplest and best body weight movements targeting the muscles of the chest, arms, shoulders and core." Do as many classic push-ups, or moderated position push-ups from your knees, as you can for a full one minute, making sure to maintain proper form and bring your chest as close to the floor as you can before pushing back to starting plank position.

For the rest of Marco's workout, keep reading

Fit Tip: Break It Down

FitSugar — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 15:00:47 -0700

On my third round of 20 push-ups, I was hesitant to put my hands down on the floor at Equinox. It had nothing to do with the state of the gym floor; I was suffering. This is when Hannah gave me a great simple tip that I am going to pass onto you. When faced with a daunting set, break it down. For instance, if those last 20 push-ups seem impossible, count them out in four sets of five. The smaller sets seem easier to conquer both mentally and physically. You can convince your mind and your muscles to hammer out five push-ups, and then another, and so on. It works when counting laps in the pool and minutes of a run. Test out this trick: drop and give me 20 push-ups.

You Asked: Issue With Inversions

FitSugar — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 05:50:02 -0700

Hi Fit,
I have been practicing yoga on my own for years, and I love it all . . . sun salutations, backbends, forward bends, you name it . . . except for the inverted poses. Despite my best efforts, I have never been able to get into them! Can you recommend any exercises to strengthen my upper body so that I will be able to do them, or do you have any other tips to help me take my practice to the next level? Should I have someone help me? Any advice you can offer will be much appreciated!
Thanks,
secrethoughts

In my yoga classes, inversions are the poses most people have problems with, so you're not alone. They require balance, strength, and most of all the guts to be upside down. I believe it's possible for all healthy people to do them, so to hear my tips on how to get yourself there, read more.

Strengthening your upper body is a great way to feel stronger when inverted. I recommend regularly doing all variations of push-ups, the challenging Walking Elbow Plank exercise, and Dolphin Dive. I also recommend practicing Crow pose since it will also work your balance.

Flexible hamstrings are also helpful, since they allow you to walk into the inversion. This is much better than jumping into it, which makes you more likely to lose your balance and not be able to hold the pose. So also incorporate Tipover Tuck and Seated Straddle into your stretching routine.

When you're ready to go upside down, start off with the easiest inversion, Tripod Headstand. It's normal to feel nervous that you'll fall, so practice in front of a wall (with your head about eight inches from the wall). Place your head and hands on the mat, straighten your legs, and walk them in as close as you can toward your head. This is considered an inversion even though your feet aren't in the air. If you're feeling ready, rest your knees on your triceps, coming into Tripod Balance. From here, you can work on lifting one leg at a time into the air. If you're in front of a wall, you can easily place your feet on it for support. As you feel more brave you can lift your feet away from the wall and try balancing on your own.

My best advice is to keep practicing and don't give up. As you become stronger and more confident, Tripod Headstand will become easier for you. Once you master that variation, you can move on to other inversions including headstand variations, forearm stand, and handstand. And if you have access to a yoga studio, taking classes and getting one-on-one help from the instructor will help you master inversions even faster.

Take the Push-Up Challenge

FitSugar — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 08:45:00 -0800

We all know that doing push-ups is a great way to strengthen and tone your arms and upper back. I love them because they require no equipment, they're fast and effective. They really only take a few minutes to do each day, so you have no excuse for not fitting them in.

So here's a challenge for you. Start incorporating push-ups into your daily routine. Yes, I'm talking about doing them every day. You can do "classic" push-ups with straight legs in the plank position, or if you're just starting out, rest your knees on the floor. Make sure your form is correct and that you're not straining your lower back at all. If you're not sure if you're doing them right, ask a trainer for some tips.

Start with doing one, five, or as many push-ups as you can do today. Do that amount every day for the next week. Then next week, add one push-up to your routine and continue with that number for the week. Keep adding a push-up a week. Do have a goal in your mind, such as 50 push-ups, and gradually work your way up to your goal amount. You'll be amazed at the strength you build.

Fit's Tips: Once you reach your goal, don't quit there. Continue to do your push-ups every day and your arms will feel strong and toned just in time for tank top season. When I am cold, before turning up the heat, I drop to the floor and do some push-ups. They really get the blood flowing and warm me up!

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No Equipment Necessary: One-Legged Push-Up

FitSugar — Tue, 13 May 2008 09:00:00 -0700

There is a simple way to freshen up stale push-ups, and it is to make you unstable. By extending one leg out behind you, you can work your push-ups even more. This one-legged (or one knee variation) will work your arms, core and glutes. So have at it and try this tripod push-up.

To learn how to do this move read more.

Come onto your hands and knees, so your shoulders are above your wrists, and your hips are above your knees.
Extend your right leg straight behind you so it's parallel with the floor. Engage your abs and try to keep your heel in line with your hips.
Now do a push-up, by bending your elbows by your sides as you lower your torso down toward the ground. Then straighten your arms pushing yourself back up into place.
Repeat for a total of 20 to 30 push-ups, maintaining steadiness and control, keeping your abs and back strong, and continuing to extend your right leg straight out.
For your second set, switch legs so your right knee is on the floor and your left leg is extended to the back. Do 20 to 30 push-ups on this side.

Fit's Tip: If you find you are leaning away from the leg that is up, you are cheating! Stay square through your shoulders and hips.