Push Ups

This is Princess Storm. She is more buffed than I will ever be and has never touched a weight in her life. Well, she might have licked one. Does that count?

In the six weeks before I started lifting weights again, I did push ups–lots of them. I did them at home, at work, out and about, throughout my whole day. I started with ten sets of ten, worked up to ten sets of 20, and in the last couple weeks averaged 300-500 push ups every other day 25 at at time. I did this to prepare all the ligaments and small connecting muscles for the rigors of lifting weights.

I encourage people to try different types of pushups. If a push up seems too hard, lean a chair against a wall and do chair push ups. If a push up seems to easy, here are ten push ups to spice up your workout:

1. Wide: hands held beyond shoulder width.

2. Narrow: hands in tight.

3. Triangle: hands even tighter and in a triangle.

4. Arm extension: at the top of the push up extend one hand up towards the sky, alternating hands.

5. Mountain climber: knees to chest between each push up.

6. Shoulder tap: alternate tapping each shoulder to add balance to the equation.

7. Spider man: bring alternating knees to each side.

8. Plank up: drop into a plank and back up.

9. Feet up: set your feet on a chair.

10. Isometric: hold the push up at the 1/2 way point.

Add these to your work out and you too can look like Princess Storm. OK, not really, but they will spice up your routine.