Press ups

COURTESY OF GLOBAL FITNESS

Major muscles used

• Pectorals - Middle and lower chest
• Deltoids
• Triceps

Performing press ups

• Lie on the floor, face down with hands placed at chest level, about 4-7 inches farther than shoulder-width apart.
• Keeping your back straight, push yourself up extending your arms, without locking your elbows.
• Hold for a brief second while flexing (squeezing together) your chest.
• Slowly lower yourself as far as you can, or until your nose touches the ground. Your back and hips should still be straight, while your elbows point out.

Be careful

• Don't allow your back to bend or arch. Keep your body as straight as possible.
• Don't just let your body fall back down to the floor. Resist your body's downward force by lowering yourself slowly.

Alternative exercises to press ups

• Bench press
• Bench press (Dumbbells)
• Benk knee press ups
• Decline press ups

Courtesy of Global-Fitness.com, your Online Personal Trainer

If you're having problems viewing these video demonstrations, you can download the latest version of QuickTime by clicking here, FREE of charge.

Latest health and fitness news

• Drinking tap water can make you fat
• 8 in 10 men will be overweight by 2020
• Swine flu could return to the UK with a bang
• Risks of breast cancer higher for skinny girls
• All women have an inbuilt fear of getting fat

Latest quizzes and tests

• Back & shoulder pain quiz
• Test your blood pressure knowledge
• Test your cancer basics knowledge
• Will you get diabetes?
• Do you have a healthy prostate?