Push Ups
Push ups are exercises that are meant to develop the chest area and the arms. It is a good exercise to do at home because you won’t need sophisticated equipments to perform this exercise. Your own body weight will serve as the resistance. Push ups, also sometimes referred to as press ups give muscle definition to the biceps, triceps, shoulders and chest.
Before doing any form of exercise, you must consult your physician if it is a safe exercise program for you. You may have a medical condition that will adversely affect your exercise goals. If you have been given the green light, remember to do warm-ups and stretches before you exercise.
Now to do the exercise, assume the push-up position on the floor with your hands under your shoulders, palms facing the floor. Curl your toes towards your head so that the balls of your feet can help support your weight. Keep your back straight and your feet together. Raise your body using your arms and then hold the position for a few seconds before lowering your torsi to the ground. To make the exercise easier, you don’t have to lower your torso so that your chest touches the floor. You can ask an exercise buddy to put a clenched fist on the floor underneath your chest and once you touch the fist, you can hold the position and then raise the torso again. If you do not have an exercise buddy, just lower your torso until your elbows form a 90 degree angle with the ground. Aside from making it easier to push your body up, this also helps strengthen your arms as your body weight is completely supported by your arms and not by the floor.
To keep yourself from getting exhausted try to exhale when you lift your body up and draw breath as you lower your torso. Keeping a good breathing rhythm will make you have more endurance to exercise. Do not hold your breathe as this may cause you to become dizzy and will not give you the strength to continue your exercise. Your face must be facing forward with the tip of your nose pointed toward the front. When you push your body up, make sure your arms are almost but not completely straight. This guarantees that your body weight is supported by the muscles in your arms and not by the bones.
Continue to do raise and lower your body until you can no longer do it. Do not push yourself too hard as this may cause your muscles to ache and be strained and will prevent you from doing your exercise the next day. Having a regular work-out is much more important than having intense but irregular work-outs.
A great aid is the perfect push up which allows you to get deeper push ups. The rotation also takes strain off your tendons.
If you are just beginning with this exercise and still do not have enough strength, you can put your hands at a higher level to make the push ups easier. You can do this by putting a wooden box or any other sturdy material to raise the position of your arms.
After you have performed the exercise, do another set of stretch exercises to cool down.