This is another post in our series of Fitness Saturday exercises and workouts appropriate to women in the second half of life. Personal trainer, group fitness instructor, and professional athlete Cassidy Watton, based in Malibu, California, is our fitness guru.
Summer is upon us. This means sleeveless dresses and playing better tennis and golf. In order to have the arms ready for these tasks, one must be proactive! This week’s exercise works a popular muscle—the tricep, or underarm. The Tricep Push-Up can be done anytime, anywhere. It is a movement with many modifications that leave room for improvement as you progress. Since this exercise is so simple and requires no equipment, you can do 3 sets when you have 15 minutes to spare, or simply take a few 30-second breaks to do it throughout the day. From active.com:
“Exercise improves attention, memory, accuracy, and how quickly you process information, all of which helps you make smarter decisions,” says Charles H. Hillman, Ph.D., an associate professor of kinesiology and community health at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Version 1. Begin by facing a wall, standing about three feet away. Place your hands and forearms on the wall in front of you. Your arms should be shoulder-length apart and parallel to one another. Relax your head, looking at the ground. Your head should be between your biceps. Keeping your elbows in, press down on your palms and away from the wall. You can move closer to the wall to make it easier, or farther away to make it more challenging. Complete 10 to 20 repetitions.
Version 2. Once the wall tricep push-up becomes too easy, you can move to the ground. On a soft surface, lie on your stomach with your forearms and hands placed down and out in front of you, shoulder width apart and parallel. Cross your feet and leave your knees on the ground. Tighten your core so that when you press up, your body remains flat in a plank. Press down on the palms, squeezing the triceps up. You can move the forearms closer to your body to make it more challenging. Repeat 10 to 20 times.
Version 3. The setup is the same in this final version as it was in Version 2. However, the movement is performed on your feet with the toes tucked under, instead of on your knees.
