One of the classic chest exercises is the push up, so I created a push up workout routine for you that thoroughly engages your chest and abs.
I also have a couple more push up workout ideas at the bottom of this article. For an intro video on push ups, check out How To Use Proper Push Up Form.
Push Up Workout Instructions:
Push Up Workout Circuit:
What I enjoy about the following workout is that you hit your entire chest muscle effectively with the different hand positions, while engaging your shoulders and triceps as well. On top of the benefits to your “pushing muscles”, by alternating with abs movements, you can get an intense abs burn. If you think about it, a push up is like a moving plank, so you can get a very intense abs burn while still focusing on your push up workout.
A1. Wide Grip Pushup
A2. V Ups
For a video demonstration of V Ups, check out this video: V Ups Abs Exercise.
B1. Medium Grip Pushups
B2. Reverse Crunch
C1. Close Grip Pushup
My hands are not that close together, so feel free to do a diamond push up, or bring your hands a little closer together without putting too much pressure on your wrists and shoulders.
C2. Bicycles
Other Push Up Workout Ideas:
The above workout routine is just an example of many different options that are available. Here are a couple more push up workout ideas to try that use a similar framework as the jump rope workouts that I do:
1. “Pick A Number” Push Up Workout:
My favorite push up workout is very simple. All you do is choose a number, let’s say 150 push ups, then you do as many sets as you need to hit that number while resting about 30 seconds between each set. However many sets it takes you to get to the 150, than that’s how many you have to do. You can then either increase the number, or try decreasing the number of sets it takes you to get to the number you have chosen. This is the classic workout that I did every day for an entire year when I was a teenager, and I still do it now!
2. “Mix It Up” Push Up Workout:
One way to make the push up a little more dynamic is to choose 3, or 5 variations and complete a few sets of each. That’s a total of 9 to 15 sets of push ups that engage your chest, shoulder, triceps, and core slightly differently. If you haven’t seen my 10 Push Up Variations video, you should check it out (just be careful with the Aztec Push Up!).
Hope these ideas were helpful for you. If you try any of these workouts, please leave a comment below and let me know what you think!
