TRAINING
IT’S NOT new and it can be performed anywhere without the need for equipment, yet there are few exercises to rival the plain old push-up when it comes to improving all-over body strength.
Performed correctly, it’s an exercise that builds optimal upper-body strength in the chest, shoulder and arms. Last year, a study in the Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research found the traditional push-up to be as effective as a bench press for building chest and arm strength. When trained athletes performed a six-repetition maximum of both the push-up and bench press exercises, the muscle-building results were the same.