Rock-Solid Core
Medicine-Ball Archbishop
Place your hands directly beneath your shoulders. The secret to perfect pushup technique is keeping your body rigid. "Your abs and lower back usually fatigue first," says Mike Robertson, M.S., C.S.C.S., a strength coach in Indianapolis. That's when your hips sag, which increases strain on your back instead of building your chest and abs.
When you place your hands on a medicine ball or Swiss ball, the instability causes your core muscles to work 20 percent harder than when you do pushups on the floor, report New Zealand researchers. So you'll train the muscles of your midsection and hips to remain stable longer. As a result, you'll be able to do more pushups and work more muscle.
How To Do It
A. Place three to five medicine balls in a semicircle and assume the pushup position with both hands on the ball to the far left. Your chest should be over the ball and your feet should remain in place throughout the exercise.
B. Move your right hand to the ball at right and do a pushup. Bring your left hand to that ball.
C. Continue moving right and doing pushups until you reach the farthest ball. Then work your way back. That's one repetition. (menshealth.com)
Exercise Steps
1 & 2 | |
3 |