Ten Kinds of Push-Ups to Build Your Upper Body

With all the fancy gyms dotting virtually every town and city you drive through, all of them with premium equipment and an endless stream of trainers roaming the floor, it's easy to forget that some of the best workouts require nothing more than your own body weight.

So, rather than stack and re-stack weights, try using the old school push-up as part of your workout. Unlike some of the more isolated movements you need to do with free weights, the push-up will address your entire upper body with each repetition. It's a great way to train with efficiency and intensity.

The movement has been around forever, and there is so much possible variety. The ten below are my favorites, and if done consistently, can produce great results.

1. Standard: Hands slightly wider than shoulder-width apart and feet together.

2. Wide: Place your hands well beyond shoulder-width and stretch the chest wide.

3. Diamond: With your feet together, place your hands in a diamond position using your thumbs and pointer fingers. Press your chest down so that your sternum goes directly on the diamond.

4. Side slides: With your hands starting close together, begin by extending your right hand far to the side. Lower your body down and back up, then return your hand to the close position. Alternate left and right.

5. Decline: With your feet up on one chair, extend your body straight out and place your hands on the floor in a standard position (you can vary your hand placement here to make it more challenging as time goes).

6. Atlas: Using two chairs, place them slightly more than shoulder-width apart. With your feet behind you on the ground, place your hands on the chairs. Lower yourself down between them, stretching to get your chest below the seat level.

7. Spiderman: With your hands in normal position, leave about 12 inches between your feet. As you lower your body down, drive your right knee up toward your right elbow, all the while keeping it about six inches off the ground. Return the leg to its original position as you push back up. Alternate side to side.

8. Clappers: In standard form, go down to the floor, and then push up hard, propelling your upper body in the air. Clap your hands quickly, and then return to standard form.

9. Crawls: Do a standard push up. Once you finish one, walk your right hand forward six inches. Do a push up. Then walk your left hand forward 12 inches. Do a push up. Keep crawling it out at this pace.

10. Dive Bombers: Feet and hands shoulder-width apart with your butt up in the air, forming a "V" shape. Drive your chest down toward your hands and continue past them, just brushing the ground. Move in front of your hands and push your chest and shoulders upwards, ending up in a sphinx-like position. Then reverse to the original "V" shape.