Pushups are not sexy. Unless someone is performing them on a stacked set of dumbbells that look to be perilously close to tipping, no one “likes” a video or picture featuring pushups. But. Pushups can be one of the most effective muscle building exercises for the chest, shoulders, abs and arms when performed correctly and modified for improved difficulty. 

 Before we get to some simple ways to improve the difficulty, lets do a quick check of your technique. Abs tight, hands under the shoulders, keep your head neutral- do not let your face drop to the floor and do not throw your head up and back on the way up, move from the shoulder blades. If you feel your pushups in your chest and triceps you are good to go. Got it? Good. 

 A simple way to add some intensity to a set of pushups is to perform hover pushups. Lower yourself to where your chest is touching the floor very lightly and hover there for 5-8 seconds before pushing up. Stay tight and tense through each rep and perform 3-10 reps per set. Don’t cheat yourself on the time either, use a stop watch if you have to but stay honest with it. Once you can perform 3 sets of 10 reps with an 8 second hold, place a 3-6 inch box under your feet and start again. 

 Challenge your ability to perform a ton of reps in a condensed time period. Set a stop watch for 2-5 minutes and see how many reps you can perform in that time. I would advise you to leave a couple reps in the tank on your first couple sets. You would be amazed at how slowly time moves during these sets. Keep track of how many reps you get and try to beat that number over a period of 3-6 weeks. 

 Adding a crawling motion in the middle of a set will also add a pleasant level of difficulty. Place your feet on a set of furniture sliders and perform 2 pushups then crawl forward taking 1 or 2 “steps” per arm and then perform another set of 2 pushups, crawl backward another 1 or 2 “steps” and repeat this forward/backward sequence until you have performed 8-12 total pushups. Keep your abs tight and don’t allow your hips to shimmy side to side as you crawl. 

 Next time you see some jackass performing a set of pushups on a set of broken glass or thumbtacks for the “likes”, bust out a set of hover pushups show him whats up. For some more challenging variations, check out my instagram page @heislertraining. Peace