This article was co-authored by Laila Ajani. Laila Ajani is a Fitness Trainer and founder of Push Personal Fitness, a personal training organization based in the San Francisco Bay Area. Laila has expertise in competitive athletics (gymnastics, powerlifting, and tennis), personal training, distance running, and Olympic lifting. Laila is certified by the National Strength & Conditioning Association (NSCA), USA Powerlifting (USAPL), and she is a Corrective Exercise Specialist (CES). This article has been viewed 3,394,138 times.

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To do a push up, first place your hands shoulder-width apart on the floor. Then, extend both of your legs so you’re resting on your toes. Engage your core and make sure you’re not arching your back. Your body should be in a straight line from your head to your heels, which will make your push ups more effective. When you’re ready, lower down to the floor, keeping your elbows in toward your ribcage. Now, push down into your hands to raise yourself back up to the starting position. Do as many push ups as you can while still maintaining good form. As you build strength, doing push ups will get easier and you’ll be able to do more of them. For an easier push up variation, keep your knees on the floor and cross your legs over each other. Then, lower yourself down to the floor and push yourself back up like you would for a regular push up. To learn more from our Personal Trainer co-author, like how to do variations on the pushup, keep reading the article!