Spice up your push ups! Try These
The push up is one of the most celebrated and polarizing movements in the gym.
Pushing yourself up off the floor is a pretty liberating feeling, and from a Trainers' perspective, there are a lot of good things that happen with a push up.
Core strength (it's a moving plank...).
Pelvic control (amazing for a strong lower back).
And of course, defined arms. Specifically, your triceps (everyone loves strong arms!).
So, if you're looking to spice up your push up game, give these variations a try
1.5 Rep Push Ups
This push up increases the time under tension of each rep. That extra 1/2 rep in the bottom challenges your core and really focuses on staying 'tight' throughout the movement.
Can't do push ups from the floor? No worries, you can still do 1.5 reps with your hands elevated, too!
These could be called "Planks from Hell"...ISO is short for Isometric, meaning you are going to hold the push up at a specific angle. I like to hold these with my elbows at 90 degrees or just above. Of all the muscles, this variation really challenges your lats and upper back. I love doing these as a finisher at the end of my workouts. Start by doing 10-15 seconds and add 3-5 seconds each workout until you can do this for 30 full seconds.
This variation is really 3 different push ups, but done in a mechanical drop set order. This means that you start with the hardest variation and move your hands in to an 'easier' position with each impending variation. What's challenging about this is that as your reps climb, the easier positions don't really get that much easier. I like to do 1 'round' of this at the end of my upper body workouts really trying to improve on my rep total workout to workout.
Just like the 1.5 rep variation, if you can't do a push up from the floor yet, you can do this 3 position finisher with your hands elevated.
If you're looking to show up to Thanksgiving dinner looking like you work out, start implementing these variations NOW and you'll see some changes by the time the Turkey is carved!