Tag Archives: deltoids

Spiderman Pushups

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Hey there! It’s a new week which means it’s time for a new Home Exercise of the Week! This time I have a challenging upper body exercise for you to try called Spiderman Pushups.

Spiderman Pushups will work your chest, shoulders, and triceps, and the knee driving up towards your elbow will give your core a really good workout. If you have trouble doing the full pushup, you can start with the modified from-the-knees version which you can see in the video demonstration. 

Let’s take a look at the key performance points of Spiderman Pushups.

  • start by getting in to a full pushup position with your hands wider than your shoulders and in line with your chest
  • squeeze your abs and your glutes to keep your body nice and straight and to prevent your hips from dropping
  • now lower your body down towards the floor keeping your arms at about a 45 degree angle from your body
  • as you are lowering your body down towards the floor, lift your left foot off the floor and drive your left knee towards your left elbow
  • your knee should reach or almost reach your elbow at the bottom portion of the pushup
  • push your body back up while returning your left leg to the starting position
  • now repeat the pushup but this time drive your right knee towards your right elbow
  • return to the starting position and then keep alternating sides until you have completed your desired amount of reps or time
  • for a slightly easier modified version, drop down to your knees and perform the exercise from your knees throughout the set

So there you have Spiderman Pushups. It’s a tough one but once you get the move down it looks pretty cool and you will get those upper body muscles and core fired up!

Let me know how you do in the comments below or if you have any questions.

See you next week with another new exercise!

Pike Pushup

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Hello and happy Wednesday! It’s time for a new Home Exercise of the Week and this week I have a challenging variation of the pushup for you to try called the Pike Pushup.

The Pike Pushup primarily works your shoulders and triceps but it also works your upper pecs, upper back, and serratus muscles. I won’t sugarcoat it, the Pike Pushup is tough! It requires a fair amount of shoulder strength so start with regular pushups and other shoulder strengthening exercises and work your way up to this move.

Let’s take a look at the key performance points of the Pike Pushup.

  • start in a full plank position with your feet shoulder width apart and hands a little wider than your shoulders
  • while keeping your legs straight, walk your hands back towards your feet as far as you can without rounding your back and stopping just before your knees start to bend
  • keep your abs tight and bend your arms at the elbow to slowly lower your head towards the floor
  • stop just before your head touches the floor and then push back up to the starting position 
  • keep a slight bend in the arms and don’t lock them out at the top of the movement to keep tension on the muscles throughout the exercise
  • make sure to keep your head and neck in line with your spine throughout the movement as well
  • repeat for your desired amount of reps or time

So there you have the Pike Pushup. This one will take some practice but it is a great exercise to build strength and muscle in your shoulders especially if you are working out at home and don’t have any weights. And if eventually doing handstand pushups is a goal of yours then this is the exercise to start with!

Let me know how you do in the comments below or if you have any questions.

See you next week with another new exercise!

Gator Pushup Mountain Climber

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Hello, it’s Home Exercise of the Week time again! This week I have a great combo exercise for you to try called the Gator Pushup Mountain Climber.

This is a tough one that will take some practice but the benefits are great and you will look pretty bad ass doing them! The Gator Pushup Mountain Climber works your chest, shoulders, triceps, core, hip flexors, and it builds endurance. If you can’t do the full pushup right away you can drop down to your knees and do a modified pushup then come back up on your toes to do the mountain climber. This modified pushup position will take some of the weight off your chest, shoulders, and triceps and make the exercise a bit easier.

Let’s take a look at the key performance points of the Gator Pushup Mountain Climber.

  • start in a full pushup position (or modified if needed) with one hand in line with your chest and the other hand slightly forward
  • while keeping your abs and glutes flexed, lower your body towards the floor until you’re almost touching then push back up and stop just before your arms lock out
  • now lift one foot off the floor and drive one knee forward while squeezing your abs
  • return your foot to the starting position and then repeat for the other leg
  • now you’re going to walk the hand that is in line with your chest forward until your other hand is in line with your chest. You’ve now switched the offset hand position
  • perform the pushup and mountain climber as previously described and repeat for your desired amount of reps. The pushup combined with the mountain climber is one full rep
  • you can walk forward for the whole set or you can add an extra challenge by walking backward for the last half of your set 

So there you have the Gator Pushup Mountain Climber. It’s a fun variation of the regular pushup and mountain climber but it is quite challenging so take your time getting the technique down and start from your knees if needed!

Let me know how you do in the comments below or if you have any questions.

See you next week with another new exercise!

Medicine Ball Side to Side Pushup

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Hey there, it’s time for a new Home Exercise of the Week. This week I have an upper body exercise to show you called the Medicine Ball Side to Side Pushup.

This is a great exercise to work your chest, shoulders, triceps, and core. I’m using a weighted medicine ball for this exercise but if you don’t have one you can use any medium sized ball like a soccer or volleyball. The uneven position targets the muscles from different angles, challenges the core, and increases the intensity for one side. If you find this exercise a little too challenging from the full pushup position, you can drop down to your knees to complete your reps.

Let’s take a look at the key performance points of the Medicine Ball Side to Side Pushup.

  • start in a full pushup position with your hands wider than your shoulders and in line with your chest with one hand on the ball and one on the floor
  • descend towards the floor while engaging your abs and glutes (this will keep your back nice and straight)
  • try to get as close to the floor as you can and once you feel a good stretch in your chest muscles, push back up to the starting position without locking your elbows
  • from this top position push the ball underneath and across your body to the other hand and now you will repeat the movement for that side while keeping your abs and glutes engaged
  • if this is too challenging from the full pushup position drop down to your knees to complete your reps but just make sure to keep your hips down

So there you have the Medicine Ball Side to Side Pushup. Try adding this exercise to your upper body or full body routine to add an extra challenge and to hit those muscles a little differently. 

Let me know how you do with this one in the comments below or if you have any questions.

See you next week with another new exercise!

 

TRX Squat and Y Fly

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Happy New Year everyone!  I hope you all had a great holiday and now that 2019 is in full swing, I have a new Home Exercise of the Week for you to try.

I’m sure a lot of you have health and fitness new year’s resolutions so to help you out with that here’s a full body move called the TRX Squat and Y Fly.

The TRX Squat and Y Fly is going to work your quadriceps, hamstrings, glutes, shoulders, and upper back.  The TRX is ideal for this exercise but if you don’t have one you could also use a band attached to a door.

Let’s take a look at the key performance points of the TRX Squat and Y Fly.

  • grab the handles of the TRX and raise your arms up in to a Y shape keeping your arms fully extended
  • now step back until there is no slack on the TRX
  • keep your arms straight and lower them down in front until your hands are at shoulder height while at the same time leaning back and letting the TRX support your body weight (this will be your starting point)
  • keeping your arms extended, lower your body in to a squat while keeping your body weight on your heels
  • push up through your heels and as you come up out of the squat, raise your arms above your head in to the Y position pulling your body upright and squeezing your shoulders and upper back muscles
  • lower your arms back down to shoulder height while leaning back and repeat the movement for your desired amount of reps or time

So there you have the TRX Squat and Y Fly.  This is a fairly simple but very effective full body exercise.  Add this in to your full body routine to work multiple muscles and burn more calories.

Let me know how you do with this one or if you have any questions in the comments below.

See you next week with another new exercise!