exercises ideas

Rather than doing ?girl push ups, start against a wall instead. You can gradually reduce the elevation until you are to perform a normal push up from the ground. Place your hands just beyond shoulder width, and feet away from the wall. Lower your body towards the wall while keeping your core and glutes tight to keep you body in a straight line.

Once you are comfortable with wall push ups find a surface closer to the ground. A sturdy chair or table is ideal. Keeping your elbows close to your body, and your glutes and core braced, lower yourself until your chest touches the surface. Push yourself back up to the starting position.

The classic push up. Position your hands shoulder width apart and brace your core to make your body into a straight line. Bend at the elbows until your chest touches the floor, and then quickly push back up to return to the starting position. Keep your elbows close to your body throughout.

Sit on the floor with a step or a bench behind you. Keeping your legs straight and heels on the ground, hold on to the edge of the elevated surface and press yourself up. Slowly lower yourself down by bending your elbows 90 degrees.

Set up as you would for a push up, but place your feet further apart and keep your hips up. Instead of pushing up, push back. This variation will train your shoulders and prepare for you some difficult bodyweight exercises.

The spiderman push up is a variation that targets your core. To give it a go, assume the standard push up position. As you lower your body toward the floor, lift one foot off the floor and try to touch your knee to your elbow. Reverse the movement, and do the same on the opposite side.

Place your hands on the edge of a table or chair, and back your feet away. Keeping your body in a straight line, and your weight on your toes, lower your body to the surface by bending your elbows. Raise yourself back up by reversing the movement.

By elevating your feet you place greater emphasis on the musculature of the upper chest, and use a greater percentage of your bodyweight to make this more difficult than a regular push up.

Ideally, you want to find some parallel bars in a playground but, failing that, you can use the backs of 2 very sturdy chairs or the corner of a kitchen counter. Centre yourself between the surfaces you are using and lift yourself off the ground. Keeping the forearms vertical and your elbows close to your body, bend at the elbows until your arms are bent 90 degrees. Push back up to the starting position.

Get into a regular push up position, but with your feet slightly wider than hip width. Lift your buttocks into the air while keeping your arms, legs and back straight. Bend your elbows, and as your body approaches the floor arch your back so you are looking towards the ceiling. Straighten your arms, and proceed to reverse the movement.