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Pushups Provide Ultimate Upper Body Workout

Fitness Trainer Tess Yong says that the pushup, is the ultimate upper body workout. You work your chest muscles, whole arm and with a straight back, you work your back extensor muscles as well. So you're working a lot of multiple muscle groups.

Some pointers on proper pushup technique:

1. Stretch your wrists.

2. Tighten abs, keep your back flat and not arched.

3. Push from shoulder to contract chest muscle instead of locking elbow, which puts pressure on the elbow joint. So keep elbow soft and contract chest muscle by pushing from the shoulder.

4. Keep your wrists below shoulder.

5. If your hands are positioned closer together, you will be stressing the triceps muscle. With a little wider hand position, you stress your chest muscles.

6. Beginners can put knees down and use upper body to push up.

7. For those needing more of a challenge, elevate your legs on a chair.

Growing up in Korea, Tess Yong says she must have done a billion pushups because they did not have gyms.  So there is no excuse for not working out because the simple pushup can provide an incredible upper body workout.