Hi everyone!
For the longest time I always believed that push ups were only for the chest. Well only until recently was I told otherwise. Just by varying your palm position and varying your motion from up and down to side to side can you get a full back workout! Yes, a full back workout that works your upper and lower back!
Ok, so this is how its done. First, put yourself in a push up position. Now instead of having your palms down and parallel to your body, flip your palms up and position them horizontally to your body. You are going to want to spread your arms out quite far apart as it is very challenging to hold yourself up in this position. Now that you are in the set position, perform a push up but move your body from side to side. You can also do a standard push up going up and down as well.
If you tried it you can see how challenging it is. Be careful as if puts a lot of strain on your wrists so prior to trying this exercise, make sure your wrists are well warmed up and slowly put yourself into the set position. Then when you start the exercise, again go slow and if you feel pain at anytime in your wrists, discontinue the exercise.
Perfecting yourself at doing this exercise takes time so I suggest you only do a couple sets during your first few workouts that you incorporate this exercise. Gradually over time, your wrist strength will increase and you can then add more sets!
Want another variation of this exercise? Try a thumbs up push up. This is another variation of a push up that works your back and this is how its done. Put yourself in a push up position but instead of having your palms down on the ground parallel to your body, support yourself with your fists in a pound position at 45 degrees from parallel to your body and make sure to keep your thumbs up. You will need to spread your arms out farther than a conventional push up, similar to what was done in the previous exercise presented. Once you are in the set position, perform the push up going up and down.
As you can see, these are explosive exercises that enable you to workout out your back in the most effective way with no equipment at all! Implement these exercises into your weekly routine and develop more muscle, more definition and more muscular endurance!
