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| The Road to 100 Fit Tip #5, 2008 —
Body Works
As anyone that has ever served in the military knows, you don’t need a lot of equipment or heavy weights to maintain your strength and muscle tone. Body exercises can do the trick. Here are three variations of push-ups that can be very effective in building and maintaining upper body muscle:
- Modified Push-Ups: Beginner Level
Assume a push-up position but instead of supporting your body on your hands and toes, drop down onto your knees. Perform the normal push-up motion, going as low as you comfortably can, ideally within two to four inches of the ground and then returning to the starting position.
- Normal push-ups: Intermediate/Advanced Level
This is the traditional push-up. You can increase the intensity of this exercise simply by varying the speed, the number of repetitions or the number of sets.
- High Intensity Push-Ups: Advanced Level
You can increase the intensity of your push-ups by using simple hand supports such as dumbbells that allow you to go deeper in the down position. There are also hand grips on the market that are specifically designed for this exercise. Of course, you can always pull a Rocky and do one-arm push-ups. (Be sure to see the accompanying video for my rendition of this.)
Usually 3 sets of push-ups with a 30 second to 60 second rest between sets, three times a week is sufficient. Once you can do 20 to 25 repetitions in all three sets, it is time to either increase the number of repetitions or move on to the next intensity level of push-ups.
Push-ups can be done anywhere, take only a matter of minutes to perform, and work virtually the entire upper body including, to a certain degree, the abs. Can’t get much better than that!
If you would like to view a video demonstration on the exercises in this fit tip, please
CLICK HERE.
Answer to last week's fitness quiz:
What is MHRS?
How the heck should I know. The acronym was supposed to be MRSA which, as we all know, stands for Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.
Answer to last week's Question of the Week:
What do woman want?(These are REAL people and REAL answers!)
D: To stay healthy, slim, young and respected with little effort!
S: Peace…in my personal and professional life. Peace of mind & spirit.
Women want respect….for what they do, what they sacrifice, all they are and all they strive to be.
K: It all. Looks, a lifelong partner, children, happiness, emotional strength.
This week's fitness quiz:
What is the difference between Dementia and Alzheimer’s?
NEW FEATURE! Question of the Week(Selected answers will be published. All answers will be posted on the Uncle Vic Message Board. Please answer in two sentences or less. Please include your first name or if you wish to remain anonymous, your intitals)
Again, what do women want?
Corny Joke of the Week:
Q. If it took eight men ten hours to build a wall,
how long would it take four men to build it?
A. No time at all it is already built
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