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Also avoid rounding your shoulders, which stresses the shoulder joint and can lead to injury, Raymond says.

Heres how to execute the perfect push-up:

Push-up muscles worked

A push-up is the ultimateupper-body workout.

Very few other movements hit such a variety of muscles without any equipment required, Caban says.

woman sweating in the gym

a certified personal trainer based in San Diego

Spend much of your day sitting?

Okay, seriously, why are push-ups so hard?

While push-ups dont require special equipment and are a staple of fitness classes fromHIITtoPilates, they are hard.

Woman walking on a treadmill at the gym.

Like, really hard.

Push-ups require substantial trunk and upper-body strength, Raymond says.

And a lot of muscles need to work together to perform a traditional push-up correctly.

Full body female athlete in sportswear using rowing machine during fitness workout in gym.

When you do a push-up, youre pushing up yourentirebody weight, which is not easy, she says.

Who are push-up alternatives best for?

Does Dancing Count as Cardio?

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a certified personal trainer based in San Diego

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Caban also recommends push-up alternatives for people who experience wrist pain or have issues with shoulder blade stability.

Happy woman dancing and listening to music near a green empty wall outdoor in the city.

As with everything, consistency is key.

So start with apush-up variationthat it’s possible for you to do and work from there, Raymond says.

TIP

To up the intensity, place your hands on a lower surface like a stair or aerobic step.

Healthy female training in the gym, performing a hip thrust.

This is one of my favorite ways to help people feel successful in a push-up, Raymond says.

Eccentric push-up

Raymond likes this variation because it strengthens all the same muscles as a push-up.

Push-up with wrist support

Many people struggle with traditional push-ups because it puts pressure on the wrists.

A young black woman doing post-run stretches in the park on the road amidst green grass and trees.

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