Basic pushups are one of the best tools for tracking strength gains in your Badass journey.
Pushups engage multiple muscle groups (chest, shoulders, triceps and core), and no matter how few reps you can do when you start out, you'll see a notable boost in your pushup endurance just by sticking with them. Three pushups today, four tomorrow, five a few days after that. Before you know it, you're banging out 15 pushups like it's nuthin'.
One way to get better at pushups is to work the muscles engaged during a pushup. That means shoulder presses, planks, chest presses and chest fly's, and tricep dips and extensions.
You can also get better by adding variety to your pushup routine. The basic pushup is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to pushup variations. By shifting the position of your feet, legs, hands and by shifting the angle of your body, you can add definition and beat the boredom.
Today, I present you with my Pushups Primer 101. Start with the basic pushup and progress from there. Noone will judge you for struggling at first. We all struggle, in different ways. Just know that you CAN do pushups, and there's no excuse not to get started.
After all, you can do them anywhere, no equipment required: at the gym, at home, on the trail, at the track, in your office, in your hotel room. So get to work!
Pushups Primer 101
Basic pushups: Hands are slightly wider than shoulder width apart, and feet are about six inches apart or side by side. Keep your gaze slightly in front of you (no bowed heads!), and slowly lower down with control. When your chest gets close to the floor, your thumbs should be right at your chest line. Do these with knees on the floor, or "boy-style" with knees off the floor.
Bosu pushups: Take the Bosu and flip it onto its rounded side. With knees on the ground or off the ground in a plank position, do pushups. These are great for the core, because you have to stabilize the Bosu as you do pushups.
Decline pushups: A basic pushup, but performed with your feet in an elevated position - on top of a bench, Resist-a-Ball, step, chair or stadium stair. By declining into the pushup, you get more resistance so it's more challenging. And you'll work the top of your chest and shoulders more than a basic pushup.
Close-grip pushups: Get into a regular pushup position, but move your hands close together into a triangle shape. These can be done on the floor or with hands on top of a Bosu. Slowly and with control, push up and down. The key is to keep your upper arms close to your sides. If you do these properly, you will feel it mostly in your triceps.
Frog pushups: Position your hands for a basic pushup. Pull the feet in close to your elbows, until you look like you're a frog about to leap. Shift your weight forward so that your shoulders are tracking right above your wrists. Push down and up, feeling this in your shoulders and upper chest.
Pike pushups: Put your hands in a regular pushup position, and bring the feet forward and the butt up in the air to form a V, or "pike." Shift your weight forward so that your shoulders are tracking right above your wrists. Lower down and push up, feeling this in your shoulders and triceps.
Uneven pushups: Using a medicine ball or a Step bench, place the right hand on top of the ball/bench and the left hand on the floor. Position your feet for a basic pushup, and start pushing up and down. Switch hands, putting the left on top of the ball/bench. These pushups isolate one side of the chest at a time and - if you use the medicine ball - require lots of muscle engagement to stabilize the ball as you push up and down.
Plyometric pushups: Consider these your ultimate, Badass goal. The mutha' of all pushups. Get into a basic pushup. Lower down and push up with oomph, quickly clapping your hands in mid-air before bringing your hands back down to the floor. These are challenging, but do-able. Work for it!
Coming next week: A new mom's daily eating, tweaked for her Badass goals.