Tag Archives: pushup

Suicide Pushup

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It’s Home Exercise of the Week time and this week I have a challenging variation of a pushup for you.  It’s called the Suicide Pushup.  It sounds pretty brutal and I’m not gonna lie, it’s tough, but there is a way to regress the movement to a more manageable version if you’re having trouble.

The Suicide Pushup works your chest, shoulders, triceps, and core so this is a great exercise to add in to your upper body or full body routine.

Let’s take a look at how to do the Suicide Pushup properly.

  • start by getting in to a plank position on your forearms and toes
  • lift your right arm and come up on your right hand and then lift your left arm and come up on your left hand (you will now be in a full plank position)
  • immediately lower your right arm back to the start position followed by your left arm
  • keep your abs tight throughout the whole exercise
  • on the next rep come up on your left side first and keep switching with each rep
  • you can also repeat the same pattern for a few reps and then switch or change it up on the next set.  Play around with the pattern and keep your body guessing!
  • to regress this exercise to an easier version you can rest on your knees instead of your toes.  Just make sure that your butt is down and your body is straight.

So there you have the Suicide Pushup!  It may sound very unpleasant and it is challenging but strong and toned pectorals, shoulders, triceps, and core muscles far outweigh the temporary discomfort.  You can do them slow for reps or fast in a timed set for a more cardiovascular component.  Have fun!

Side to Side Pushup

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Pump up your upper body with this Home Exercise of the Week!  The Side to Side Pushup is another great body weight exercise that will target your chest, shoulders, and triceps as well as promote shoulder mobility.

There are a few different versions of this exercise that you can do depending on your fitness level.  In the video, I show the basic regressed version that would be ideal for beginner to intermediate levels.  If you are an absolute beginner though, I would recommend just doing a straight up and down pushup from the knees without the side to side movement.

Let’s take a look at the key points to doing the Side to Side Pushup properly.

  • assume the pushup position from your knees or toes but instead of having your hands shoulder width apart, keep them together directly underneath your upper chest
  • make sure your body is perfectly straight (don’t stick your butt up in the air) and pull your belly button in towards your spine to keep your abs tight
  • move one hand to your side while keeping your other hand and feet or knees stationary
  • keep your body straight while performing the pushup and return to the starting position in the middle as you come up
  • repeat on the other side

So there you have the Side to Side Pushup.  Like I said, there are a few different versions and if you want more of a challenge then do the pushup from your toes instead of your knees.  For an even more advanced version, you can move one foot to the side at the same time as your hand.  This does take a good amount of coordination and strength however so make sure you are comfortable with the easier versions first before attempting this one!

Jackknife

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I have another core exercise for you for this weeks Home Exercise of the Week.  It’s called a Jackknife and it’s one of the more challenging ab exercises but once you get the hang of it you will feel how effective it is!

The Jackknife works all areas of your core as well as your hip flexors and at the same time it isometrically works your upper body muscles.  This exercise can put a lot of strain on your lower back if not done correctly so let’s take a look at the key points to doing it properly.

  • getting on the stability ball can be challenging so the best way is to put your hands on the floor and one leg up on the ball first then put your other leg up.  Your shins should be resting on the ball.
  • it is very important to keep your abs contracted by pulling your belly button in towards your spine.  This will help keep your hips from sagging down which will put a lot of pressure on your lower back.
  • once you have stabilized yourself, pull your knees slowly in towards your chest squeezing the abs and then return slowly to the starting position
  • if you find it hard to do this exercise with your hands on the floor, try using a bench to rest your arms on.  This raises you up a bit and can take some of the pressure off your upper body

So there you have the key points to doing the Jackknife effectively.  Add this to your routine and you will be well on your way to a strong and toned core!  If you want an extra challenge and some extra upper body work, try adding a pushup in between each roll in.  You can also do a side roll to target your obliques more but that is a video for another day! 🙂

Three Close Grip Pushup Superman

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This week I have a combination exercise for the Home Exercise of the Week.  Combination exercises are great to add an extra challenge to your workout and you can target many muscle groups in one move.  The more muscles being used the more calories you will burn and the higher your metabolism will be.

The combination exercise I would like you to try this week is the Three Close Grip Pushup Superman.  I say three pushups but you can definitely do more or less before the superman.  The idea here is to do enough rounds of this in a set so you get around 10 to 15 total reps of each.

With the Three Close Grip Pushup Superman you will be working your triceps and lower back muscles primarily but you will also be working your chest, shoulders, and upper back muscles.

Let’s take a look at the key points to doing this exercise properly.

  • start by doing the pushups from your knees if you find you can’t go down all the way on the pushup portion of the exercise.  You can build up to doing the pushup from your toes over time.
  • keep your abs tight and body straight the whole time (no bending at the waist)
  • throughout the pushup you will want to keep your elbows tucked in to your sides…this will allow your triceps to do most of the work
  • keep your head in line with your spine throughout
  • during the superman part of the exercise keep your arms straight out in front of you and raise them up as high off the floor as you can while at the same time lifting your straight legs up as high as you can
  • hold the superman for a second or two then go right back to your close grip pushups

So there you have the Three Close Grip Pushup Superman.  Your lower back and arms will thank you for this one but I’m fairly certain you won’t be thanking me once you add this to your routine! 😉

Side Tricep Pushup

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If laying down on the floor and building some great looking arms sounds appealing to you then you will love this week’s Home Exercise of the Week.  Of course laying down on the floor only won’t magically give you fantastic arms.  There is some work involved and that work goes by the name of the Side Tricep Pushup!

The Side Tricep Pushup is a wonderful exercise that can be done anywhere with no equipment required.  It can even be done in bed if your mattress is firm enough!

The primary muscles being targeted in this exercise are your triceps but you will be working your shoulders and core as well.  People think you need to build huge biceps to have great looking arms but what gives your arms size and the most shape are your tricep muscles.  They make up two thirds of your upper arm so if you want people to take notice of them, you will want to make sure that you are working your triceps regularly.

Ok so on to the key points to doing the Side Tricep Pushup effectively.

  • lay on your side with your feet stacked on top of eachother
  • place the hand of the arm you are laying on onto your opposite shoulder and tuck the hand of the working arm in to your armpit
  • keep your hand flat on the floor throughout the exercise and push up through the palm of your hand
  • you will want to try and get a full extension of the arm to fully activate your tricep muscles but this may be very difficult if you haven’t done this before.  Press up as high as you can while keeping your hand flat and over time your strength will increase to the point that you will be able to get a full extension
  • when coming back down you will want to stop just before your shoulder rests back down on the floor.  This will keep constant tension on your triceps throughout the movement.

So there you have the Side Tricep Pushup.  This is a great exercise to add in at the end of your upper body or arm workout to really burn them out!  Try doing a couple of sets of as many reps as you can and I guarantee it will be hard to wash your hair the next day!