The Bachelorette

In case you missed last night's installment of The Bachelorette, let me fill you in. There were several hunky guys doing push-up's in the park with their shirts off. If you don't normally watch this program, and I certainly don't blame you, you might want to reconsider. Just for the man-candy.

And speaking of push-up's, the form I witnessed last night was excellent. These guys obviously know how to execute a perfect push-up. And push-up's are worth their weight in gold. If you are not currently doing them, I recommend you get started right away.

In my classes, I usually start women off with a modified push-up. There are many ways of modifying in order to make push-up's doable for those with limited upper body strength. One possibility is to raise the level of your hands compared with your feet. The higher you place your hands in relation to your feet, the easier your push-up will be. So you can try wall push-up's by placing your hands at shoulder height against a wall, keeping your abs tight and your body in one straight line, lean toward the wall as you bend your elbows to a right angle and then push against the wall to return your body to vertical. Try a set of ten.

If wall push-up's are too easy for you, lower the level of your hands to the top of a sturdy table. Maintaining that exact same straight alignment through the body, from the crown of the head to the heels, try a set of ten push-up's.

If table push-up's are still too easy for you, place your hands on the seat of a sturdy chair or bench. And once the chair push-up's are too easy, go all the way down on the floor.

One mistake that I see women making whenever I ask them to do push-up's is the elbows usually flare out to the sides instead of staying close to the ribcage. This is a very common error which places the shoulder joint in an awkward position and raises the possibility of shoulder and rotator cuff injury. Whenever you execute a push-up, remember to hug the elbows in toward the sides of the body and slide the shoulder blades down your back. This will create a strong, stable position for your shoulder girdle and help you avoid pain and injury.

If you're not sure if your position is correct, maybe you can watch last night's episode of The Bachelorette on Hulu?

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