Tip 58: Push-up Variants

We continue today with push-up tips. This tip is VERY overdue, in case either of you (yes, I have 2 readers now) were looking for it last night.

-Clap push-ups
     Most people are familiar with this type of push-up. Beware of stress on your elbows in diamond, be careful if you want to put your hands higher than your head on this one.
     Go down as normal (for first one) and explode up such that your hands get off the ground high enough for you to clap and return them to their positions to catch you. After the first one you want to think about minimizing your time on the ground, so don't go down slow here, just push up really hard.

-Full body clap push-up (I don't know if there's an accepted name for these or not)
     I have only done these with wider spread legs and normal hand position, but I'm sure the principles apply. I would advise against going with anything other than a flat, stable surface for this one.
     Go down and push up hard and get your whole body up in the air. Clap as with the clapper push-ups and return to the ground. You want to keep your body straight the whole time, so be mindful of this while you are up in the air. Make sure your legs get off the ground an equal amount (don't twist).

-Push-up mountain climbers
     Any hand position, feet together. Can put your feet above your head, but as always, proceed with caution.
     This one is pretty straight-foreword. Do a push-up, as you are on your way up, bring one of your legs up so your knee is as close to your chest as possible. Alternate legs. To make it slightly harder, keep the leg you will be pulling up off the ground and extended while you go down.