Doing push ups are a great way to build the upper body, however they can be quite challenging. Sometimes it can just seem impossible to just get that one full rep out. That’s where your push up progressions come in. Most exercises can be modified to make them easier in order to build up to full proper reps, and push ups are no different.
Here are three Push up progressions and variations.
Cobra style hand release push ups on your knees:
From a kneeling position with your hands placed a little bit wider than shoulder width, lean forward in order to shift your weight to your arms.
keeping your elbows at a 45degree angle to your body, and with your core engaged, inhale as you lower your chest in a controlled manner to the floor.
Lift your hands from the floor briefly, in order to take tension off your arms for a moment, place the hands back on the floor and as you exhale push back to a cobra pose
Push ups on your knees
From a kneeling position with your hands placed a little bit wider than shoulder with, lean forward in order to shift your weight to your arms.
keeping your elbows at a 45degree angle to your body, and with your core engaged, inhale as you lower your chest in a controlled manner to the floor.
Exhale as you push all the way back to your knees.
Full push ups
From a high plank position with hands slightly wider than shoulder width and elbows at 45 degrees to your body, start to lower your chest in a controlled manner to about three inches from the floor. Keeping your core muscles nice and tight, explosively push back to the starting position.
In our next article I will demonstrate some more helpful push up progressions.
