Push Ups Are Awesome!

For fighters, you will require the muscles trained by a push up in your MMA career. Bracing from takedown defence, takedowns, as well as posturing up.

In my honest opinion, the push up is one of the single best exercises anyone can do! Its an easy exercise to do anywhere, it has no cost, and it takes bugger-all time to complete!

Not only does it work the pecs and the triceps during the movement, but the position also works your stability muscles in your wrist, your elbows, your shoulders, your core, your hips, your knees and your ankles! Its a total body workout!

Not only does it train for strength and stability, a study this year found that if you can do more than forty push-ups in under a minute, but you also had a significant reduction in incident cardiovascular events than if you were able to do less than ten pushups!¹ So this applies for all you non-fighters out there as well.

How to do a push-up.
Nothing fancy, lie face down, feet together, the hand is just under your shoulder with thumbs along your nipple line.

Roll your pelvis backwards and brace your lower back, hips and knees.

Push off the ground until your elbows lockout. Once it locks out, lower yourself with your elbow close to your torso until your chest touches the ground or is at least one fist-width from the ground.

If you need to rest, rest at the top with your elbows locked out.

Keep the trunk, hips and knees rigid like a plank, and maximise your stability efforts.

Remember, the goal is forty and above. If you are currently below that, spend the next period of time working on it. Avoid compromising form for repetitions.