Can you really get a gym-body at home? Let me share a small secret with you, well you certainly can, with some determination, discipline and a push to master the power of all versatile Push Ups! No wonder, Push Ups are the most popular workouts with the military around the globe!

One of the most basic but effective exercises, which helps in conditioning, strengthening, toning the muscles and shaping-up the upper torso, using only the body weight and gravity to the optimum advantage. Every muscle group; right from the upper body, Core to the Legs are involved in doing Push Ups. In fact, ditching Push Ups is sacrilege to any workout routine!

Four of the Pick

There are many variations of Push Ups varying in the level of difficulty and challenging different muscle groups. Variations are a must for profound results on specific target muscles of the body. I personally like to involve several modifications of my own, to those existing techniques in my training sessions. However, there are four basic variations which I feel, are very effective for beginners and can be easily mastered with some practice. Most importantly please ensure a proper warm up before attempting even the simplest of exercise. 

Standard Push Ups

Needless to say, Push Ups work the entire Body. However, it could be a bit daunting to do Push Ups in the beginning and I always recommend to go slow or else you could end up injuring the wrists or the shoulder joints.  It is important to ensure that the body is in proper form before attempting even the basic push up.

Ensure that your body is in a perfect straight line in elbow-straight, knee-straight Plank  position. Sagging the back can lead to injuries and throw you off your fitness journey. Go as low as possible and allow yourself time to come up smoothly. In case, this is too difficult to achieve, rest your knee and try knee-bend Push Ups.  This small manipulation will help you with the basic hurdle of doing Push Ups. The key is patience and practice!

Incline Push Ups

Incline push up is great for beginners or as a warm-up before doing Standard Push Ups. Almost the same benefits of Standard Push Ups but due to the elevated body position, it has less impact on the elbows.

Once again correct posture counts a lot in order to avoid injuries and get maximum results out of any exercise. Use any stable, raised platform. Try to maintain a straight back at all times. Legs extended to the back. Lean forward and go as low as possible with your body weight. Try to decrease the level of elevation after you get comfortable with a particular level.

Hindu Push Ups

Also  known as Indian Push Up,  Hindu push ups, are great for increasing endurance and joint flexibility. It is an advanced level of Push Up and works on the entire body. This Push Up is one of the most popular amongst the Wrestlers in the country. The great Bruce Lee was a big fan of this variation of Push Ups and named it the ‘Dand.’ Therefore, one can easily imagine the power of this variation of Push Ups.

Do a proper warm-up before attempting Hindu Push Ups. Start with a downward dog position go to a plank, end up in an upward dog position and back to downward dog. All the three forms should be done in a slow easy flow, without any hold. All the Best!

Diamond Push Ups

A warm-up drill for the military. This variation is also known as triangle Push Ups and amongst there many benefits, these push ups are  great for the Triceps along with other muscle groups involved in standard Push Ups.

This is also another advance variation of Push Ups and gets you ready for one-handed Push Ups.

Initially, it could be very challenging to master this form. The close position of the hands may create off-balance. You can always practice knee-bend diamond push before attempting the classic diamond. Once again, slow, steady and smooth flow is the key to perform this Push Up variation without the risk of any injuries.

Get Going!

Studies have proved that Push Ups  have many benefits and are great for cardio vascular health and bone health. Push Ups also help to increase the Testosterone levels in Males and also help you to burn loads of calories! Push Ups have been the traditional way of good-natured dare and punishment. It’s a way to prove one’s strength. Be the jaw dropping one-handed Push Ups of Sylvester Stallone in the epic movie “Rocky” or a high-school challenge of endurance, I would recommend that it does makes a lot of sense to Power-Up with Push Ups!

Which is your favorite push up ? Which other exercise do you think can give you full body work out – share your views. 

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