So, we talked about the Squat in our last post with great detail. It is an easy exercise you can do anywhere anytime .

Today we are pursuing an exercise known to many as the Push-up. My Franchisees in Brampton, Mississauga, North York, Etobicoke, Toronto, Oakville and Richmond Hill all agree that this is a major calorie burning strength building exercise staple. It is a must if you want results. You can do this in the comfort of your own home or away on business or on a vacation.

The Push-up

is primarily for the chest muscles. The secondary muscles working are the shoulders, triceps and a little bit of core muscles. A very effective exercise if performed properly, adding variations for intensity. Here are the variations;

-Reps/Duration, depending on your strength level, try 10 – 30 repetitions. If that is too easy or hard keeping count, time yourself for 30 seconds to 1 minute.

-Tempo, again, keep the body guessing (internal furnace on fire more) by changing the speed of how you perform the push-up. You can try super slow – 4 secs down, 4 secs up. Or how about – 3 secs down, then explode up for 1 second.

-Plyometrics, depending on your goal (explosive speed, fast weight loss, bigger muscle) you can try keeping your feet (toes) on the ground while exploding in the air to clap your hands. (Try on your knees as well. Still effective)

-Surface/Plane, You can either be on your toes feet together and hands (palms down) under the shoulders just 4-6 inches wider than the shoulders or feet wide or hands super wide or directly under the shoulders. For an easier version try on your knees, toes down. For a harder version try with 1 foot in the air.

Look out for our final exercise.