Photo by listenmissy

What happened to summer?! Here in the UK we’re into August and still hardly any sunshine. I usually train outdoors but even the hardiest of fitness fanatics would have been discouraged by the downpoars we have been experiencing recently.

So I got in a quick workout indoors in my tiny flat and I thought I would share it with you. It’s useful for several reasons:

• it can be done in a very small space
• it can be done either as a finisher to blast the arms or as a workout on its own
• it is very quick if you don’t have much time
• it involves no equipment
• it is fun and challenging

You can make this workout as easy or as hard as you like. If the push up variations are too easy for you, choose a different variation or simply put your feet higher. I have poor overhead pressing strength (I’m working on it!!) so shoulder push ups are hard for me and I chose the easiest variation. You don’t have to sink to my level.

Whatever variation you choose, concentrate on getting the form as good as possible – use this as an opportunity to practise technique. And get 100 push ups done.

Quick and dirty push ups

10 burpees (with a push up and jump)

5 tricep push ups (arms stay close into sides, hands underneath shoulders)

5 shoulder push ups (the higher the feet, the harder they are)

5 rounds for time
Watch the video demo

More from gubernatrix

• No more girly push ups!
• How to: Handstand push up
• Fun with press ups!

I have been to many circuit classes in my time and in every class the women are allowed to do ‘girly push ups’ – push ups on your knees.

This is fine for beginners and it is a fact of life that the vast majority of women, myself included, start off with a real disadvantage in upper body strength compared to men.

However I’ve also noticed that after months or even years of circuit training most women are still doing girly push ups. The progression isn’t happening.

Is this the fault of the women? Not entirely. It’s also the fault of the instructors.

In ten years of attending circuit classes at various establishments across the country I have only ever come across one instructor who has made an effort to get his female participants to progress to the full push up as soon as possible.

Was he a boot camp instructor? Was he a tough military type? Nope, he was an aerobics teacher.

Luckily for me, this was the first instructor I ever encountered. Within a few weeks of attending Stewart’s class I was managing full push ups – and I’ve never looked back. I can now knock out 50-plus good push ups in one go. Stewart is probably responsible for my entire strength career as the full push up was the first exercise requiring real strength that I ever mastered.

For me, the lesson is obvious. If instructors don’t encourage their female clients to aspire to full push ups from the word go, few will ever make the progression. They will get used to doing push ups on their knees and won’t build the strength to move on.

The way Stewart taught us was to focus on push ups right at the end of the class. We had already done our aerobic workout and were doing work on the mats, so there was no need to get a conditioning effect from the push ups – and hence no need to make them easier.

Stewart would insist that every single person in the class (and we were all women) attempted full push ups. He said that one full push up is better than four girly push ups – and he’s right! He gave us the following technique tips:

Keep your body ramrod straight. Imagine trying to open a jam jar using the point of a knife under the lid. Your body is like the knife, acting as a lever. The straighter you are, the better the leverage.

Try to pull your belly button up to the ceiling. This will keep your core straight and strong.

Try to push evenly through your whole body. When people are attempting push ups for the first time, they often push with their arms first and sort of snake up to their feet. But you should try to move your whole body upwards as one (think of the knife), pushing with arms and feet and pulling with belly button.

Put your hands on the floor not on the mat. You waste energy pushing into the mat which is a soft giving surface.

Another useful detail was that we started by lying on the floor and pushing up, not starting in the top position and lowering (which is what most people naturally do). This is a great way to train the push up since if you can master the push off the floor, you can do the whole thing.

Having a practice session at the end of class is a useful way to get people to progress. Naturally if the object of the circuit class is to get a conditioning workout you will need to let people do girly push ups initially in order to get the aerobic benefit. But you also need to include an opportunity to build the strength and technique to do full push ups, otherwise it doesn’t happen.

Another tip for instructors: I’ve seen time and again women complaining about push ups because they can’t do them, and each time instructors just give in and let them get away with box push ups or whatever. But aren’t you being paid to improve people? Of course women will complain about having to do push ups if they can’t do them, it’s only natural. What they don’t realise – and what you should realise – is that they are capable of doing them. They just need training and practise. You need to open up that door for them, just like Stewart did with me all those years ago.

The final word, of course, must go to the ladies. You can do full push ups. They are hard but once you learn them it is relatively easy to maintain the skill. Come on, put the guys to shame!

More on this

• Fun with press-ups!
• 100 pushup complex (video clip)
• Crossfit push up development video clip
• How-to: Handstand push up
• Bodyweight or bust!

What is the handstand push-up?

A handstand push-up is performed against a wall in the handstand position. You slowly lower your head to the ground and push back up again. The legs are not used in this exercise, it entails purely shoulder and arm strength with a bit of core for stability and balance.

Why is it such a great exercise?

The handstand push-up is a genuinely challenging bodyweight exercise, even for the very strong, because it is so difficult to shift one’s own bodyweight directly against gravity using only arms and shoulders.

It is also very versatile as you need no equipment and everyone can get a lot of mileage out of this exercise. If you ever get to the point where this exercise or its variations no longer does anything for you, you will indeed be ninja!

How to perform the handstand push-up

Because it is so difficult, most people will not be able to do many (or even any) full handstand push-ups at first. But that’s not a problem because there are many ways to work up to it.

The rule is that the lower your legs are, the easier it is. If you are new to training, I would suggest starting with your legs on the floor, so that your body forms a triangle. However, most people who have been training for a while can manage starting with their legs at 90 degrees. You can use a chair, a low wall, anything you can rest your feet on that is reasonably secure.

Step 1: Starting position

Get into position by placing your hands on the floor and springing up into the handstand or stepping up into it if you are using a chair. If you are doing the 90 degree version, walk your hands back towards your feet until your body is at right angles to your legs.

Step 2: Bend arms, then straighten

Start with straight arms. Slowly bend your arms and lower your head towards the ground, then push upwards and straighten your arms. It helps to look through your arms, not down at the ground.

Step 3: Full range of motion

Make sure you are doing the full range of motion. There is a sticking point at the bottom of the move and it is easy to try to avoid this by stopping short. If you are worried about hitting your head on the ground, put a folded-up towel underneath it. You can also slowly work up to the full range of motion by putting a stack of thick books (such as phone books) underneath your head and removing one after each rep.

If you can crank out plenty of full handstand push-ups, increase the range of motion by putting your hands on bricks or parallel bars, so that you can lower your head even further.

How to use the handstand push-up in your training

The handstand push-up can be used as part of a strength or bodybuilding routine as the compound shoulder exercise, either in addition to or replacing shoulder press.

It is also a great core exercise if performed without using the wall for balance. This is most useful for those who do martial arts or breakdancing, where balance and core strength is key. Having your legs wider apart makes it easier to balance when trying free handstand push-ups for the first time.

Video clips

Handstand push-up variations from Crossfit – shows lots of variations from quite easy to very difficult!

Freestanding handstand push-ups with good range of motion. And from a heavy guy, too! Note how spread out his fingers are – this makes it easier to balance.

My full body no-equipment routine incorporating 90-degree handstand push-ups.

Related posts

Bodyweight or bust – article describing full body routine with handstand push-ups

The press-up (or push-up) is one of the most versatile exercises out there. A lot of people are put off them because they think they are boring or they associate them with army seargants shouting in your ear. But the simple press-up deserves another look.

Abs/core exercise
Press-ups are great for abs. The straight body is maintained by engaging the core and ensuring your body remains rigid. You’ll notice if you watch someone else doing press-ups that it’s always the tummy which starts to sag, long before the arms give out. That’s how important a strong core is to good press-ups.

Muscular endurance and explosive strength
Press-ups train your strength in different ways. Doing lots of press-ups, like a max set, is good for muscular endurance. You can also use press-ups to improve muscular power by using explosive movements such as a push into the air (also known as pylometric press-ups).

Seven types of press-up

There are many different types of press-ups, targeting different muscle groups and different types of strength. Rather than go through them all, I’ve chosen seven types that I particularly enjoy. You can train your whole upper body and cv system with these exercises.

There’s a demonstration of all seven types of press-up in my 7 Types of Press-up video clip and descriptions below.

1. Normal press-up

A normal press-up is hands slightly wider than shoulder-width apart and feet together. You can make these a bit harder by putting your feet up on a bench or step, turning them into decline press-ups. This type of press-up is great for general upper body and core; the decline version hits the chest more. Just remember not to sag in the middle!

2. Marine press-up

Very similar to the normal press-up above, except that your hands are directly beneath your shoulders and your elbows remained tucked into your body at all times. This makes them harder than the normal press-up. That’s why they are called marine press-up or army-style press-up. This type of press-up works your triceps a bit harder.

3. Clap press-up

The clap press-up requires a big, explosive movement off the floor in order to get in a clap before smashing your nose into the deck! Actually it’s not that bad, the trick is to put as much as you can into the push. These press-ups are a great CV exercise – your heart rate will rocket. Explosive training like this increases your power. If you want to be really badass, you can work up to double clap press-ups and even triple clap press-ups. Like Ross Enamait of the fab Ross Training website.

4. Tricep press-up

Okay, back to us mere mortals. This tricep press-up does what it says on the tin. It is also known as the diamond press-up because you put your hands in a diamond (or triangle) shape directly underneath your chin. The tricep press-up is quite challenging; most people don’t quite manage the full range of motion as everything seems to be going fine until you reach the last inch or two!

5. Shoulder press-up

As the name suggests, this type of press-up is great for shoulders and it is harder than it looks! From the starting position with your arms straight, simply lower yourself directly downwards until your forehead almost touches the ground, and press back up again. The bottom position puts quite a lot of weight on the shoulders. The closer your hands are to your feet, the harder it is, so it is advisable to start with your hands well away from your feet.

6. Divebomber press-up

To perform a divebomber, you start in the same position as the shoulder press-up and lower yourself to the ground, but instead of pushing straight back up again, you bring your head up and your hips down in a smooth arching movement, and then reverse the movement back to the starting position. It’s not the easier thing in the world to describe, but you can see a demonstration in the video clip that goes with this post.

7. Power over

For this exercise you need a raised platform or step. For extra challenge, you could use a medicine ball, which is more difficult by virtue of its shape and instability. You are basically doing press-ups with one hand on the raised step and one hand on the floor, but you swap hands with every press-up. Like the divebomber, it’ll make a bit more sense when you watch the demonstration. This is a pretty tough exercise. In my opinion, it’s harder than the basic clap press-up because you have the same explosion off the floor but you also have to move from side to side due to changing hands.

I hope that’s whetted your appetite and shown that press-ups don’t have to be boring. Press-ups are a great demonstration of strength, agility, endurance and power. And you can do them absolutely anywhere, any time.