Pushups

Pushups are one of the best all around exercises one can do, bar none. They are great for building strength not just in the upper body, but ALL over the body - chest, arms, back, and even your legs. In this article, I’ll go over some of the different ways to do pushups, and explain the correct form for the pushups as well. I’ll also include a “sample workout” in here, which I guarantee is enough to have the most dedicated of benchpressers out there huffin’ and puffin’ within about 10 minutes or so (if they haven’t been practising similar workouts!).

Note: I’m skipping the Hindu pushups here, as a) I’ve found them to cause shoulder pain when done in the proper cadence for high reps and b) I’ve found regular pushups to be far more beneficial for the chest and upper body - Hindus work the entire body, but so do a bunch of other pushups which I’ll be covering. a) is somewhat controversial, but hey, everyone is different, so as long as you know the right form for a Hindu pushup and it doesn’t hurt you, go right ahead and do it!

O.K, without further ado, here is the proper way to perform a pushup (and, this applies pretty much to all pushups where your stomach is facing the floor - reverse pushups and table makers work differently, and I’ll be explaining how to do those as well). And please note that form is paramount - as is breathing. Do a pushup with lousy form/breathing or both, and you might as well not do it - they are both that important. Here we go then: -

- start out with arms STRAIGHT, and chest over arms.
- You should be looking STRAIGHT ahead (this keeps your back aligned); and should not be able to see either of your hands if you look left or right)
- SLOWLY lower down (CONTROL the descent) till the chest touches the floor, and mainining the same posture, push back up SLOWLY. That’s one rep. . . should take a bit more than a second.)
- Inhale while going down, and exhale while coming up.

Types of pushups I commonly do (these are not a complete list, but should suffice for most): -

1. Regular pushups
2. Pushups with arms positioned REAL wide (about double the width of “wide grip chest” pushups)
3. Table maker pushups
4. Fingertip pushups
5. Extended Arm pushups
6. Pushups with arms held in real close (say about 1/2 the width of a “wide grip chest” pushup)
7. Reverse pushups

And note this list is not all-inclusive by any means. Neither is it

To learn about how all the different type of pushups are done, visit the corresponding page. I’ve already included detail on #1, which is what everyone should start off with (if your REALLY weak, then start off doing these on your knees until you build the strength up to do regular pushups for reps).

A pushup workout such as I recommend is guranteed to get you in shape - and FAST. Like the squatting program outlined on another page, it requires a total of 10-12 minutes to get accomplished. You have that much time - everyone does. :)

Do this for the next year without fail every day: 100 pushups, 100 squats, and a back bridge (preferably held for a minute at least). You can do more than this, but do just this - and you will see your levels of strength, flexibility and fitness all skyrocket within a short period of starting the routine. And then note how you look and feel after a year - and then get back to me!

Here’s a sample workout (about mid-difficulty level) that will get the blood pumping real fast: -

25 regular pushups
10-15 table maker pushups
20 regular pushups
10 reverse pushups
About 10 “wide grip” pushups
7-10 “arms extended” pushups
15-20 regular pushups again
and finally, 10 finger tip pushups

That’s about a 100 pushups (give or take), in about 10-12 minutes. Don’t rest for long periods in between sets, breathe deeply, and perform the exercises in correct form. Trust me now, and call me later to tell me - these type of workouts will get you in great shape, and FAST.

Get fit - FAST!

Rahul