6 Ways To Upgrade Your Press-Ups

Up your press-up

The humble press-up is the muscle-builder’s best friend and should be the ballast of every man’s body-weight routine. Without continual change-ups, however, even this most reliable of full-body moves can become tedious and ineffective. Luckily, as well as being one of the most accessible and useful exercises around, the press-up also boasts more variations than David James’ barnet. PT Scott H. Mendelson (completegymsnutrition.com) shows you how to gradually progress your press-ups through ever-more taxing techniques to build truly world-beating strength.

Level one: Knees on the floor press-ups

Those who can cheerfully piston their way through 50 floor kisses should skip through to level three or four, but if, for whatever reason, you haven’t been dropping down and busting out 10 of your best as frequently as possible, giving your knees a few scuffs might be advised. “Make sure your hands are two-to-four inches wider than shoulder-width apart and your finger tips are even with the top of your shoulders,” says Mendelson. The closer your knees are to your waist, the easier the press-up will be, so adjust according to your ability.

Big Boss Complete 20 reps with your knees on the floor at the distance from your hips they would be if you were performing a standard press-up.

Level two: Standard press-ups

“The standard press-up works the chest more than the triceps due to a wide hand width,” explains Mendelson. If you’re keener to build your arms than your pecs, he suggests keeping your hands at around shoulder-width. Descend over two seconds with no pause as your chest almost touches the floor, and then push back explosively to the starting position. “Make sure your hips do not sag towards the floor,” adds Mendelson. “Your body should remain in a straight line throughout the movement.”

Big Boss Execute 20 reps with perfect form.

Level three: Wide arm press-ups

Moving your hands out to three or four inches wider than shoulder-width will recruit more chest musculature due to leverage disadvantages. “Lower yourself over a four-second count with a one-second pause at the bottom of the movement – when your chest is one inch from the floor. Then push explosively up to the start position."

Big Boss To level up, complete 10 reps with perfect form.

Level four: Finger tip press-ups

Finger tip press-ups are not only great for hand strength – crucial for anyone who wants to lift big – but they also increase the distance your torso can travel by a couple inches due to the elevated hand position.

Big Boss “Your finger strength may give out long before your other muscles, so build up to five reps with the finger tips using a rapid tempo. Then hit 15 more press-ups using the standard hand position right away before graduating to the next level,” says Mendelson.

Level five: Clenched fist press-ups

“Clenching your fists on the ground, preferably on a mat, reduces the stability of the exercise, adding a great deal of challenge,” says Mendelson. Use a shoulder-width hand placement, descend over three seconds, pause for a second, and take a second to push back up to the start position.

Big Boss Hit 15 then, much like M People, move on up.

Level six: Weight shift press-ups

The ultimate press-up would involve using only one arm, but due to balance issues, learning the technique is as painstaking as building up the strength. As such, Mendelson recommends a modified version that incorporates changes in resistance as the set progresses: “Aim to shift a large percentage of your body-weight to one side while in the standard press-up position,” he explains. “As you lower (over three seconds, ideally) concentrate on your right side taking on as much of the load as possible.” Keep the pressure on the right side of your body as you raise yourself back up to the top position, and then shift your body-weight to the left side of your body. Over time you should be able to increase the load by piling an ever-larger percentage of your body-weight onto each arm. “As your strength levels improve you can try performing several consecutive reps on each side,” says Mendelson.

Big Boss Complete 10 reps with perfect form on each side and you’ll have progressed into an elite class of strength.

Sumber : http://www.menshealth.co.uk/building-muscle/bodyweight-exercises/upgrade-your-press-ups