If you are British, I can bet that what Americans might call a push up, you are more likely to call a press up. But wherever you are reading this from, the general idea will always be the same. You are using your own bodyweight as the equipment in one of the most popular exercises to see in any gym or sports field anywhere in the world.
In part, this massive popularity that comes with the press up has led to so many different variations of it that now there are too many to even remember. But what is important to remember is that each variation is unique and therefore needs to be specifically selected for the right kind of exercise.
So let’s get straight into looking at some of the more popular variations and see exactly when and why you might want to use them:
I could go on. There are countless more variations, all with different benefits. The important thing to do is match the press up to the muscle group. So if you are training chest, you might want to try widening your grip. If you are doing triceps, narrowing the grip is going to be better. Often, a more specific type of press up will offer greater benefits.