The perfect push-up

How often do you do push-ups as part of your training? If your answer is never then you are denying yourself one of the greatest movements for chest development ever - and as a bonus - being a compound exercise the push-up has the flow on effect of working your triceps, your back and your abs in conjunction with your chest. And the best part? No fancy equipment required..... So what is the correct form for a push-up? Here's my take on it. Position yourself face down on the floor, balancing on the balls of your feet (with your toes curled forwards) and the palms of your hands with your fingers facing forwards. Your hands should be slightly wider than your shoulders with your body in a straight line from head to toe. Your butt should not be poking up, and you should not be sagging through the middle (this is called the plank position). Slowly bend your arms and lower your body to the floor while breathing in, keeping your elbows close to your torso, stopping when your elbows are at 90 degrees. Push yourself back up to the plank position, exhaling as you do and ensuring that your body stays flat throughout the movement. Initially, stick to this strict movement only and focus on correct form rather than numbers. Once you are happy with your form, start to increase the numbers. It's harder than you might think to get these numbers up - they were much easier as a kid!!!!! There are many variations of the push-up (incline, decline, wall push-ups or even one-armed push-ups) but we suggest you stick to the basics for a while. Push-up are hard - but worth the effort for some great chest development. And if you're looking to mix it up a little, try the perfect push-up handles - the rotating handles allow your arms to rotate naturally, engaging more muscles, and reducing joint strain.