Need a new exercise for your upper body to keep your workout exciting? Or are you trying to sculpt lean, sexy arms? Whatever the reason for your need of a new exercise you need to make sure that you add push-ups to your workout today.

Now it might seem weird that I’m telling you to add push-ups to your workout – right? They seem like such a simple exercise that there couldn’t possibly be so many benefits – I agree. However, push-ups are a great exercise to help you further your progress towards a flat stomach and build strength in your upper body.

Doing push-ups is going to help you build muscle (which we all know helps us burn more fat), and also helps our upper body become stronger. Unfortunately, many women lack necessary upper body strength, and push-ups are a great simple exercise to help you increase that strength.

Not only do push-ups benefit your upper body (chest, triceps, shoulders) but doing push-ups correctly will help to strengthen your core muscles.  Having a strong core will prevent back injuries and get you to that flat stomach faster.

I think my favorite thing about push-ups – they’re portable! Haha – yes – no equipment required! Plus, you can use your stairs, books, coffee table or even the couch to help you make them more difficult.  Personally, I also like to challenge myself and like to see how I get stronger – tracking how many push-ups you can do is a great way to do that. For example – lets say you can barely do one push-up (without going on your knees) – no problem. If you keep trying everyday (doing 10 push-ups on your knees and trying one push-up without being on your knees) – you’re going to see your strength increase and pretty soon you’ll be doing 5 push-ups without going on your knees. Seeing the increase in number of push-ups is an instant picture to show that your hard work is paying off and you are getting stronger.

So – what types of push-ups are there? There are 100s of different variations of push-ups, but I’m not going to show or tell you about all of them. This short video shows four of my favorite types of push-ups that are going to help you get stronger, sculpt lean, sexy arms, and get a strong, tight core.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3f3duOkpvk[/youtube]

**Side Note – If you don’t do push-ups with the right form or sag your lower back -they are going to prove to be no benefit to you – you will instead only hurt yourself. Make sure you start off slow and gradually and daily build your strength.**

Sometimes people bug me.

Today’s particular ‘bugging’ came this afternoon while I was at the gym.  I was doing my Supine Lat Pull-downs (FYI – My new FAVORITE exercise because it’s helping me do more pull-ups than I ever imagined possible – article coming soon I promise), and I look over at the guy next to me.

My attention was first drawn in his direction because of a slight odor that was not pleasant to my nose and of course I had to find the culprit.  He was sitting on some machine, in between sets, looking at his cellphone. [singlepic=11,275,200,,center]  Now, it bugs me when people are on their cell phone while they are walking around the floor of the gym (Come on! You can be unreachable for a 1/2 hour – you did it at some point in your life – make the commitment to your workout!)

No, this guy wasn’t talking on his phone, instead he found it of UTTER importance to look through all the pictures on his phone. Yes, he has probably never seen these pictures before, but it was at that moment, while in between sets, at the gym on a Monday afternoon, that he decided he MUST look at the pictures on his cell phone.

Okay, so I’m definitely overreacting as to how much this bugged me, but what does bother me are the people who don’t make the commitment to themselves while they are at the gym. You came to the gym to change something in yourself. To change your look, to lose weight, to build muscle, to get stronger – there was some reason WHY you decided to step foot in the gym. Whether you are walking on the treadmill for a 1/2 hour or lifting weights – there is a purpose for your trip to the gym.

If you want your goals to be successful, if you want to see weight loss results, then make sure you don’t lose your focus when you get into the gym. Don’t get distracted by your cell phone, don’t spend so much time trying to find the ‘perfect’ song on your iPod for your next set (do this before you get to the gym), don’t let everyone you know get you into a 15 minute conversation about who knows what.

Make your workouts successful and productive and you will see your weight loss goals achieved sooner than you think.

by Wayne Jones

Note from Melissa – Hello! Everyone has to start somewhere, no matter what you are doing. This article shows us 5 quick ways we can get started on our road to a flat, sexy stomach.

Muscle Building Tip 1: Nutrition. This has got to be one of the most important elements to muscle building. you have got to eat right to get into shape. Don’t eat a large meal an hour before a workout. If you feel that you need to eat something make it a protein shake or a couple of bananas. After the workout make sure you eat a mixture of carbohydrates and protein.
Muscle Building Tip 2: Warm Up. This muscle building tip is another important factor in building muscle. You must warm up correctly or risk injury. If you are injured you cannot train, it’s as simple as that. A quick warm up followed by 5 – 7 minutes of stretching will prevent injury and stretching after a workout will help prevent soreness, stretching will also help with flexibility.

Read the full story