Pushups are more of a compound movement (working more than 1 major muscle group) than people think. Most people tend to think of Pushups as strictly an arm exercise, but it's much more!
Pushups build strength in your arms, shoulders, chest, core, and to a slightly lesser extent, your hips and legs. You can put more emphasis on one group of muscles over the other by simply changing positions of your pushups.
How to do a standard pushup:
1- Start in a high plank position, w/ hands and arms in line with your shoulders.
2- Lower your body until your arm are at a 90 degree angle.
3- Push yourself back up to a high plank position.
4- Repeat
If doing a standard pushup is too difficult right now, watch the video above and do Modified Versions and work your way to doing standard pushups.
And if you can do a bunch (20+) pushups at one time, watch the video above and try some of the more challenging modified versions, including plyometric pushups & clapping pushups.
