Workouts: the ever dependable push-up

Yes, they may burn. The sight of them might make you wince. When your strength-training instructor takes on the role of drill sergeant and tells you to drop down and give him/her twenty, you may mumble a few unkind words under your breath. Not all of us embrace the common push-up like some out there do, and I'm sure when they first started out, they didn't either. So, if they're so terrible, what could have possibly motivated those people to power through them? Easy— the results.

The push-up is one of those great exercises that works multiple areas of the body in one fair swoop. Using only your body weight, you're able to hit the deltoids, pecs, abs, and triceps. Another great feature of the push-up is that they can be implemented in a multitude of ways, so, if the basic push-up starts to get old or becomes unchallenging, you can easily modify this exercise by altering your position. Even a seemingly minor change in hand placement can radically increase the level of intensity. Try doing a set of standard push-ups and then compare them to a round of wide grip push-ups; let me know what your aching (but all the stronger) muscles think. 

If you're new to push-ups, you'll want to ease your way into them. When starting out, I recommend doing them with your knees placed on the ground, and then, once you build up the strength, transition into doing traditional push-ups. 

On the flip side, if you consider yourself to be a push-up aficionado and are on the hunt for a new challenge, there are plenty of variations out there to try! To name a few, you could consider doing the diamond push-up, side-to-side plank push-up, decline push-up, incline push-up, T-push-up, staggered push-up, or if you're really looking to step up your game, the one-arm push-up. Each of these options will emphasize a different muscle, so you can decide which of them to add into your regimen based on your particular area of focus. Keep in mind that these more creative versions can also be modified by having your knees on the floor, so, even if you're still building up your strength, don't feel that they're off-limits!

Once you find the push-up that meets your fancy, drop to the floor and get to moving! Be sure to keep good form, not to restrict your range of motion (avoid doing half push-ups!), and not to move through them too quickly. See how many push-ups you can do and gradually increase your number of reps from there. A strong upper body awaits you!