Pushups: an awesome exercise most people get wrong

Pushups are some of the best exercises there are. They require no equipment and work multiple muscles and joints. Depending on your strength, you can do them standing and pushing against a wall (easiest), from the knees (medium) or from the feet on the floor (hardest). There are many variations that add challenge and emphasize different muscles. Unfortunately, most people don't know how to do them correctly and either get a lousy workout or worse, hurt themselves. Here is what you need to know.

Pushups work your arms, chest and core, with a supporting role from almost everything else in your body. To do a correct pushup:

-Keep your body in a straight line. This applies whether you're working from your knees, from your feet, or standing up and pushing off a wall or counter. The hips should be in line with the knees and the head / neck. Don't let the positions of either change as you move up and down. Keeping your stomach muscles tight throughout the exercise will help you hold the position. Using a mirror is very helpful.

-Keep your hands under your shoulders and slightly wider than shoulder-width apart. If they are out under your head or even further, this exercise will be much harder and will probably hurt your shoulders.

-When you bend the elbows to come down, don't keep them out paralell to your shoulders. Bring them back at about a 45 degree angle from your body to avoid rotator cuff problems.

-Come down as low to the floor as you can while still supporting your own weight. Technically, a "proper" pushup means coming down close enough to the floor with your chest (not with you head - that should be higher than your chest, in line with the rest of your spine) to touch a fist placed below your chest's center. If you can't get down that far yet, just get as close as you can.

-If you are too tired to hold the correct position, stop and rest instead of trying to continue with bad form. This goes for pretty much any strength training exercise out there. It is better to do 10 pushups with perfect form that 20 that are out of alignment and sloppy.

-If you are having problems with your wrist hurting during pushups, try standard pushup handles or the "perfect pushup" rotating handles. With either, hold your wrist straight instead of letting them bend at the same angle they would if your hand were flat on the ground. Keeping the wrists straight and "neutral" will take the extreme stretching off the muscles and tendons in this small and vulnerable area of the body.

Good luck!

Personal Training in the Current Economy

Just about everyone in the U.S. is trying to get into better shape. One of the most effective tools for doing this is hiring a personal trainer, but private sessions with a trainer are expensive and in this economy many of us can’t afford to do it on a regular basis. Fortunately, many personal trainers are catching on to this and offer a variety of options for the budget conscious that you may not be aware of. Here are a few:

1) Train with a buddy. Many trainers offer pairs personal training for a slightly higher price than private training, meaning you’ll pay much less individually. Even better – your partner can help provide motivation when you’re not with your trainer. Any fitness training program will require good nutrition and cardio exercise on your own time. Your trainer can help you do everything right during your sessions, but can’t follow you home to make sure you’re eating right and getting in your walking / jogging / biking / whatever. Your buddy can help. Choose someone you get along with: a friend, coworker, family member or significant other.

2) Consider group personal training. A new trend in personal training is group training and boot camps. 4-6 people meet with a trainer. This format opens up fun options, like fitness games, challenges and drills that make sessions interesting and challenging. You get the professional attention, personalized plans, body fat and measurement monitoring and motivational tools, but the trainer is not breathing down your neck through every rep. Typically these types of sessions cost $15-25 per person, making it an affordable option especially if you want to train multiple times per week (for the best results).

3) If you have a crazy schedule, think about online personal training. Many trainers are beginning to offer online programs. Usually, you get the option to track your nutrition through the website, which is a super-useful tool in itself. You get trainer-designed workouts specifically designed for you, which you do on your own, on your time (usually with the aid of pictures or even videos). You check off your workouts as you do them so your trainer can keep tabs on your progress and help hold you accountable. If you have questions, you can ask them through email and often over the phone. I highly recommend that you choose a local online trainer so that you can meet with them either occasionally for pointers on your form, or at least for a first in-person session where the trainer can assess your needs and help you learn to do exercises properly. You can often get this introductory session free!

4) Whatever style of training you choose, most trainers offer referral incentives, usually in the form of free sessions or a percentage off your training for each person you refer (who also purchases training). If you have a lot of friends / family / acquaintances and don’t mind approaching them to recommend personal training, this may be a good way for you to save some bucks and still get top-notch fitness instruction. Choose a trainer with a good incentive program that you really like, so you’ll have no problem telling everyone how great your program is and recommending that they try it out too.

5) Some trainers, especially newer and independent ones, will consider bartering services for training. If you have special skills in marketing, massage therapy, or anything else a trainer might need and generally pay for, ask several different trainers whether they would provide free or discounted sessions for your work. You would be surprised how well some will respond!