How to Get Better at Push Ups

The push up is an age-old part of every workout routine. The technique is aptly named--you lay parallel to the ground and literally push up your body. This builds muscles in both the chest and the arms, particularly in the biceps. If you've never done push ups before or do not do them regularly, it can be easy to struggle through a few and get discouraged. But getting better at doing push ups is a simple process that will yield positive results in the form of physical fitness improvements.

Instructions

• 1

  Start small. Don't try to do 100 push ups at a time if you don't regularly do push ups. Try something like ten or fifteen a night for a week, and then continually ramp it up in increments every night thereafter. The muscles required to successfully do push ups will strengthen over time, which will result in it being easier to do them in the first place.

• 2

  Try abridged push ups, often call "girl pushups." Abridged push ups are performed by planting your knees on the ground instead of the tips of your toes. While this will dramatically reduce the amount of weight you are lifting with the push ups, it will still strengthen the same muscles. Over time, you'll be able to graduate to the full-fledged variety.

• 3

  Place your hands on the floor at shoulder-length apart. This will make sure your body weight is spread out proportionally and make it easier to do push ups. Not only will putting your hands too far apart or too close together make it harder to do push ups, it will also have less of a positive result on your muscles.

• 4

  Straighten your back. The proper way to position your body during a push up is to completely straighten your back and bring it parallel to the floor. By arching your back, you are just spreading out your body weight unevenly, which will yield less results in the long run. By simply doing push ups properly, you will get better at them over time.

• 5

  Do other exercises that work out the same muscles. If you're having a hard time doing push ups, try lifting small hand weights or bar bells. This will be an easier way to work out these muscles, which will eventually leave them ready to do proper push ups.