1) Starting on the floor in a hands and knees position, place your hands on the floor shoulder width apart. With your arms lined up under your shoulders, straighten out your body and raise yourself up onto your toes.
Your body should be making one straight line (on a diagonal plane) from your head down to your feet (the head being the highest point while your feet are the lowest).

2) Maintaining this alignment, inhale lowering your body down toward the floor until your arms form a 90 degree angle (in other words, arms perpendicular to the floor).

3) Exhale as you push your body back up to the starting position.
 
Form Pointers:
1) Be sure to keep your abdominals and lower back braced during the entire exercise.

2) Avoid letting the back sag.

3) Your neck is in neutral alignment while your head stays in line with your spine. Do not let your head hang down.

4) Straighten your arms but do not lock your elbows out at the top of the movement.

Training Tip: If you would like to incorporate more of the tricep area while doing push ups, keep your arms closer to your sides as you do the exercise (closer than shoulder width apart).

If traditional push ups feel too strenuous, try the modified version listed below.

Pectoral Muscles

The pectoral is a term relating to the chest. The "pectoralis major" is a large, fan-shaped muscle that covers much of the front upper chest. It begins at the breastbone (sternum) and the cartilage of the second to the sixth ribs and is attached to the collarbone (clavicle) to converge on the upper arm bone (humerus) just below the shoulder. Its main use is in moving the arm across the body. The "pectoralis minor" is a smaller, triangular muscle beneath the pectoralis major. It stems from the third to fifth ribs and converges at the shoulder blade (scapula), which it moves up and down.

Triceps Brachii Muscles

The triceps brachii has three heads (connective immovable muscle) and is the only muscle on the back of the upper arm. It connects the humerus (upper arm bone) and the scapula (shoulder blade) to the ulna (longest of the forearm bones) and is the primary extensor of the elbow. The three heads are the "lateral," the "medial," and the "long head.

Deltoid Muscles

The deltoid is the triangular muscle of the shoulder that forms the rounded flesh of the outer part of the upper arm. It passes up and over the shoulder joint. The wide end of the triangle is attached to the shoulder blade (scapula) and the collarbone (clavicle). The apex of the triangle is attached to the upper arm bone (humerus), about halfway down its length. Its strongest point is the central section, which raises the arm sideways. The front and back parts of the muscle twist the arm. The ligaments which connect the muscles to the bone endings are called "deltoid ligaments." Deltoid comes from the Greek word "deltoeides," meaning shaped like a (river) delta.

        Cathe TV

Click here to watch a video clip with detailed instructions on how to correctly perform this exercise.

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