Definition
A push-up (US), or a press-up (UK), is a common strength training exercise performed in a prone position, lying horizontal and face down, raising and lowering the body using arms and chest muscles.
Good form
- Lie on the ground and place your hands under your shoulders (triceps dominant) or slightly wider (chest dominant) than shoulder width.
- Keep your the body straight and raise the body up off the ground by extending the arms.
- Maintain the correct body alignment by imagining a straight line running from your head down to your ankles, so shoulders, hips, knees and ankles are inline.
Assisted version
You can do the same exercise on your knees. This will help you to reduce the weight. Try to keep the same straight line – a common error is to lift or to lower the hips.
The challenge
Start by having a high plank position and after one second, perform one press up then rest in the same high plank position.
After two seconds perform another two press ups and so on. Your result is the number of rounds done before you get too tired to hold the plank or to perform a good form press up or the final time.
Use a stopwatch to count the resting seconds and how many seconds you need in order to complete all the 55 press ups.
When you’re done, share your time with your friends and challenge them.
How many rounds are you able to do?