Push Ups

Muscles Involved:  main mover pec major, agonists pec minor, front deltoid, triceps; antagonists trapezius, lats, rhomboids, biceps; synergists abdominals and spine extensors

Directions:  Start by placing your hands under your shoulders with your fingers pointing forwards. Balance evenly on your toes. Extend your spine, look about a foot in front of you, and contract your abdominals. Inhale and keeping your elbows in, bend your elbows until your body is parallel with the floor. Exhale, extend your elbows and press up to start.

Types of Equipment: only body weight needed, although as progress, can add weighted vests and the like

Contraindications: Shoulder and wrist pain or injury. If pain in either joint, can alter hand position or stance (see below).

Safety alternatives: Can use knees as fulcrum instead of toes if upper body strength is developing. Hands can be placed slightly wider than shoulders to alleviate pain. Can be completed on knuckles or with push up bars to alleviate pain.

Challenge alternatives: Can be completed with push up bars to increase range of motion. Wide stance, narrow stance (tricep push ups), diamond stance, staggered stance, decline push ups all recruit slightly different muscle fibers. Negative push ups and plyometric push ups provide power and hypertrophy stimulus. Push ups completed with instability (i.e. with toes on balance pods or using a suspension trainer) or with added motion (i.e. traveling lateral push ups) recruit more muscle fiber for control.

Bench Press

Muscles Involved: main mover pec major; agonists pec minor, front deltoids, triceps; antagonists lats, rhomboids, biceps

Directions: Start by laying on your back on a flat bench. Make sure your neck and lower back are curved normally. If your feet don’t comfortably reach the floor, bend your knees and place them on the lower part of the bench. Gripping a dumbbell in each hand, raise your arms above your trunk with your palms facing away from you. Inhale and bending your elbows, bring the dumbbells down to your chest at the level of your nipples. Exhale, extend your elbows and return to start taking care to keep your hands even and not swing the weights.

Types of equipment: dumbbells, barbell, theraband, broom handle or other like item

Contraindications: Shoulder, neck, and wrist injury. Lower back pain or injury.

Safety alternatives: Start with a broom handle or theraband until proper motion is learned. If pain in shoulder or wrist joints, alter hand placement, or use dumbbells and alter hand placement. If neck or lower back pain, use a towel under the area to add support. Push ups can be used as a safety alternative.

Challenge alternatives: Bench press with a standard barbell. Wide or narrow grip bench press will recruit slightly different muscle fibers. Incline and decline bench press will recruit slightly different muscle fibers. Alteration of tempo (i.e. negatives or explosive press) can be useful for power or hypertrophy training.

Pec Flyes

Muscles Involved: main movers pec major and pec minor; agonists front deltoid, biceps, triceps; antagonists trapezius, rear deltoid, rhomboids, rotator cuff

Directions: Start by laying on your back on a flat bench. Make sure your neck and lower back are curved normally. If your feet don’t comfortably reach the floor, bend your knees and place them on the lower part of the bench. With a dumbbell in each hand, raise your arms above your torso and turn your palms to face each other. Maintain a slight bend in your elbows, inhale and extend your arms open. Make sure that your arms do not drop below the bench. Exhale and contracting your chest, return your arms to start position.

Types of equipment: dumbbells, pec fly machine (pictured), cable cross machine

Contraindications: Shoulder injury or pain (see below).

Alternatives for safety: If you have a shoulder injury or pain in the shoulder joint during the exercise, use either a pec fly machine or cable cross machine to complete this exercise from a vertical position.

Alternatives for challenge: Incline or decline pec flyes will recruit slightly different muscle fibers. Altering hand position (with palms facing towards or away from lifter) will recruit slightly different muscle fibers. Altering tempo can be useful for power development or hypertrophy training.