The push-up isn’t just for hardcore military men – it’s a fabulous upper-body workout that doesn’t require any equipment and can work multiple muscles at the same time –and anyone can derive benefits from this easy move!

The major muscle groups involved are the chest, triceps, upper back and shoulders. Your core muscles (abs and back) are playing an integral part too, as they keep your body aligned and in plank position from head to toe.

Although there are many variations to the push-up, the standard movement can be described in a few simple steps:

Step 1: Lie on the ground, facing downward and place your toes and hands on the floor, keeping your body aligned with the ground. Your hands and feet should be approximately shoulder-width apart.

Step 2: To get yourself in the upright position, engage your arms, shoulders and upper back to lift yourself upward off the floor, keeping your body aligned parallel with the ground at all times. Hold this position for at least 1 second.

Step 3: Inhale as you lower yourself back down to the floor, stopping several inches above the ground, bending your elbows as you lower your weight. Do not touch the ground.

Step 4: Repeat the upward movement and push yourself away from the ground, exhaling as you come up. Your back should be straight and parallel to the ground at all times.

Repeat as many repetitions as you can, and try for 5-6 sets!

One mistake people often make when doing push-ups is to try to take some of the stress off their arms by using other muscle groups to lift their body, what we like to refer to as “the worm effect” because people look like they’re doing the worm as they raise their upper back first with their legs following. This is improper form and doesn’t provide the full benefit of the move. It’s important to have good form when performing a push-up, so work up to a standard push-up by doing some modified push-ups until you’re ready. The modified push-up is very similar but instead of lifting all of your body weight off the ground, you’ll keep your knees on the floor to provide support. You’ll keep your back in a plank position and just as rigid as you would with the standard push-up but you will be in a vertical position with the ground (rather than parallel).

Now try to do as many push-ups as you can for a minute straight, we had one guy in our class that did 76 in 60 seconds…try to beat that record!