Should women do push ups? Our short answer is… of course!
Our female clients have sculpted beautiful feminine looking arms, shoulders and chests by including push up variations in their workout program. And they don’t just outperform many of the men in their lives… They look smashing in a sleeveless gown too!
But we could tell you that until we’re blue in the face and you still might not believe us. Why? Because we have different naughty bits and that apparently kills our credibility.
[voice from another room: he means “because we’re guys”!]
Instead of telling you how girls should train, we decided to ask female fitness expert Flavia Del Monte to weigh in on the subject.
Here’s what she had to say…
Hah! And there you have it, straight from the source. And holy crap, did you see the arms and shoulders on Flavia??? Did she look great in that sleeveless top or what? Did she look anything less than feminine and fantastic? That is what push ups will do for you.
Here’s a summary of the main points Flavia gave for perfect push ups (guys, you can benefit from these too…).
- Keep your shoulders over your hands
- Tighten the core
- Get a nice straight line from head to foot (or to knee)
- Lower to the ground under control
- Press off the ground forcefully
What if you can’t do a push up yet? No worries. You can work with the starter version. WE would never call it a “girl’s push up” — but Flavia did… All the same cues apply as the regular push up, but you’re contacting the ground with your knees instead of your feet.
And what if you’re an old pro at the push up? Flav has you covered. Try the “walking” version. It’s a great core builder, and it adds variety and interest to your workout. As you reach the top position in your press, shimmy the hand and foot on one side of your body over a few inches. Then bring the opposite hand and foot along too so that you end up back in your perfect starting position, but a few inches over from where you began.
So what are you waiting for? Get to work!
Ladies, do you do push ups? If yes, what sort of results are you getting? If no, are you going to try them now? Let us know in the comments. We’ll ask Flav to drop by and answer any questions you might have.
Enjoy your next push up workout!
Get more Female Specific training ideas <— click here
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{ 33 comments… read them below or add one }
this is whats called a “woman’s push up” haha
Matt Wichlinski´s last [type] -> Coaching- consider the process
I absolutely do push ups, and I love them! When I started, I couldn’t do more than one on my feet, and now I do all sorts of variations up on my toes the whole time. My strength increased really quickly, and I progressed from having to drop to my knees after a few reps to pushing out 10 on my toes in no time. I really notice the drop off in strength in my core and my shoulders if I don’t do any for a week or so. I’ve found pushups to be one of the most valuable ways of increasing my core strength after having a baby, and boy oh boy, do they do wonders for my triceps!! I tell every woman I know to do them.
Push ups ROCK!!! My favorite variation is the Hindu pushup (similar to a bomber pushup). It’s a great overall exercise!
yes I do push ups, no I don’t do them often enough, or enough of them! thanks Flavia for the timely reminder!
I have never done this so-called “woman’s” push-up! I would like to know her entire work-out routine, though, because she is exactly what I would aim for! Plus, she is absolutely gorgeous, wow!
How often should we be doing pushups per week? I do it (probably not enough) once a week and still find it so hard to get my chest down to the floor after a number of years. Flavia is a wonderful adorable coach. Let’s see you more often! Rosalie
@ Rosalie
I recommend doing push ups twice a week. Try with your knees off the ground, even if you can’t bring yourself back up….you will gain strength through trying.
I make sure all our female boot campers hit some type of pushup every training session. Although they hate you guys for the pillow twist
Ladies love the push ups here in Jersey…
John´s last [type] -> TACFIT- 6-A-Day
Great Video! But what was up with that dude on the bike who was all coming by and then made sure to stop and watch the show.. CREEPY!!!! But I guess that goes to show a fit woman working out is very hot!
I will start to work harder on my push ups for sure!
Hello Flavia !
Je vous vois un video de votre body perfect beauty soulders !
Ruddy
We do a push-up challenge every month at my karate class. Rules are that once you drop your knees you are done. You can rest in the up position or a downward dog position. Last challenge I did 76 pushups and I’m a 39 year old woman. I have built up slowly and steadily and found that I have to do them 3-4 times a week to keep the numbers rising. Pushups are amazing!!
“Women’s Fitness Expert”????
Jeez, gimme a break. Since when did Flavia become an ‘expert’?
By virtue of her marriage to Vince?
There are dozens of real, certified female trainers out there….
Holly Rigsby, Kim Lyons, Zuzana (BodyRock) who are in way better shape than Flavia,
and what’s more, are actually certified.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not trying to pull Flavia down. But you can’t mislead your viewers into thinking she’s an expert, when she isn’t one.
@ Sasha
Hey Sasha, I am a certified personal trainer who has also been working out with weights since 2004 after hiring a personal trainer who taught me almost every basic move out there.. meaning I had a lot of time practicing before I became certified. I also am a certified nutritionalist with a mater level certification and a Registered Nurse, which has given me an extensive knowledge of how muscles function.
My bad. I apologize.
Wouldn’t it be better if you listed out your certifications instead
of a generic ‘Women’s Fitness Expert’ title?
Sasha,
What would have been MUCH cooler is if you’d asked first instead of assuming and accusing…
Cheers,
Adam
Thanks everyone for your comments! I really appreciate your time and compliments. Any questions, feel free to ask.
Flav,
Thanks so much for taking the time to drop by!
Absolutely, thanks for having me!
Hi Flavia, I know that this is a little off-topic, but I’m wondering whether sit-ups should be a part of my workout?
I’m only asking because I’ve been told (by people who I greatly respect) that doing sit-ups can give you a ‘mock tummy’, a concentrated blob of muscle on your abs.
Is this true?
Is there any way to avoid it?
Thanks in advance, Flavia!
@Emilia
Great question. Sit ups are a MUST! If you don’t train your abdomen, your lower back has absolutely no support….a strong core means a stable back. If you have weak abdominals, you will be prone to injury. My training program has A LOT of sit ups, crunches, twists, planks.. you name it…it’s there. They are also very strategically set up to hit each section of your core. Your core really is the foundation to the body. I have a pretty good six pack going on right now, although I don’t quite understand what a ‘mock tummy’ is…it sounds ugly and there is no way working your abs does anything ugly to your mid-section!
Thanks so much! That’s good advice, I’ll add the sit ups into my routine and I’m definitely going to be adding pushups in too!
: ) Thanks a bunch!
Great advice, thank you! I’ll add them into my workout routine, as well as the pushups!
Thanks again! : )
Hey Flavia,
Thanks – you make push-ups look easy! I preferred your hair darker, but blonde suits you too
You are looking GREAT!
After not being able to do them EVER, I have worked hard at mastering push-ups and can now do about 15 in a row (Woohoo!!) – it’s true, once you get the strength to do ONE, the number of reps you can do builds quickly if you keep working at it. And yes, I did start with “women’s push-ups” and built it up from there. Just a hint if you’re still trying to master these… being able to hold a Plank for a while really helps too.
m,i like it ! kazkada darydavau po 10 lengvai…reikia vel pradet
I had been doing push ups (girl variety, 8 to 10), which took me a few months to get to from just being able to hold the plank. So. then in September of 2010, I started modifying to standard and experimenting with lifting one hand off the floor. I was also just handing from chin up bar, not much progress there but could hand for about 45 seconds. Then after a few weeks I developed serious shoulder pain and now have limited range of motion on one side. This is really painful and inconvenient. I cannot hardly put a coat on by myself. Physical therapist told me to just keep doing internal and external rotation exercises with band and rows with very light weights. Do you guys have experience recovering from injuries like this? Any suggestions? Also, ow to prevent in the future (I did not have any kind of accident).Thanks for all the interesting info, even although it exceeds my capacity at present, it is always inspiring.
Hi Jamie,
When dealing with an injury, it’s important to follow the advice of your health care professional (in this case your physio). They are the only ones who can put their hands on you directly and ensure that you’re getting the best advice for your situation. Once your injury is rehabbed, I can recommend a rock-solid resource to help ensure that your shoulder STAYS healthy. It’s our friend Dr K’s shoulder pain / health program…
-> http://www.bodyweightcoach.com/go/shoulderpain/
Hope that helps.
Cheers,
Adam
She is gorgeous!!! OK I’ll keep working on them:)
I just put a post on my site about push-ups for beginners. We showed the knees down version and the incline version (courtesy of Jim Smith). I had not seen the walk-over version. These are terrific ideas for beginners, men and women both. Thanks.
Thanks again everyone! As for injuries, make sure you are warmed up before attempting any exercise. A good warm up makes a world of difference and keeps your chance of injury low!! Think about the muscle you are about to train and warm it up specifically as well as the whole body.
i.e. Walk on for 5 minutes. Shoulders…..do some arm circles in both direction and some shoulder shrugs.
Hope that helps
Nice Videos, keeping it simple… but why so serious? hahaha
For a moment I thought the guy on the bike [1:05] was gonna run you over.
Thanks for providing simple info that I can show my female clients.
Hello Flavia ! Thanks for your video and helpful tips. I know from your video that push up is grate for boobs.Is this just for young women only or busy moms can try it ?
I can do ten reg push ups, but after watching this video, I wasn’t doing them correctly. My stance is all off… with that in mind, once I correct it, will I begin to improve my numbers? I need to be able to do at least 18 in a minute, that’s my Air Force requirement…