[Basic push ups done over and over really make me want to gag! These guys aren't having any fun and that just isn't fair!]

Okay, maybe I’m being a little over dramatic, but…

To learn a new and exciting push up workout, keep reading…

Push up workouts are a staple of the history of exercise. The military uses push ups, every sports team uses push ups, and any joe at home does push up on the living room floor.

Push ups are an effective way to increase your upper body strength, but after awhile they get boring and actually lose their effectiveness if you’ve increase your ability to do them with ease.

What to do?

Switch things up by doing push up workouts with push up variations. Making small changes to the way you do your push ups will give you a challenge and keep things interesting.

You will also be able to see more of a definition in your chest and arms because of these changes.

Are traditional push ups child's play to you?

When you perform a certain move in your daily workout, your body gets used to it. It uses less strength and burns less calories, the better you get at them. All you need is the slightest change of position or increase in intensity to make your push ups harder to complete.

If you can bust out more than 50 push ups without batting an eye, its time to try one of these different push up workouts:

Plyometric push up:

This is done like a regular push up only instead of just pushing up slowly, you push up explosively, so explosive that you push your whole body in the air and your hands leave the floor. Land carefully back into regular push up position and repeat.

One handed push up:

This is exactly how it sounds. You may need to balance better by moving your legs farther apart or putting one knee on the floor.

T push up:

Perform a traditional push up but when you come back up, rotate your body and point one hand up to the ceiling. Return that hand back to the floor and perform another push up. This time, rotate your body to the opposite side and point the other hand up to the ceiling.

Diamond push up:

For these push ups the challenge is in the placement of the hands. Put your thumbs and forefingers together to form a diamond on the floor. Now do your push up workouts. If you notice, your triceps are getting worked much more in this variation and that helps get rid of under arm flab.

One legged push up:

The same as a traditional push up but with one leg up in the air. It is harder than it sounds.

Decline push up:

Place your feet on a bench or an exercise ball behind you and get into push up position. This elevation of the feet will place more weight on your upper body making these killer push up workouts.

See any that pique your interest? Why not mix and match. You’ll feel the difference right away and you’ll see the difference in your upper body strength in not too long.

Sometimes it’s important to get out of our workout rut and try something new. All the above push up workouts are also great six pack exercise.

For more great push up workouts and variations, check out our Turbulence Training review.

Ah, yes, it’s under arm flab!

Some women I know with a wicked sense of humor refer to it as “their wings” because their arm flab flaps and jiggles (say that 5 times fast) when they walk or jog. Cool, now I’m up to speed on what females call certain body parts when their talking amongst themselves.

Then… as I’m channel surfing I happen to see this infomercial:

[I know what your thinking and I want you to stop it! We're a PG-13 group here. By the way, who approved commercials for adult toys during the day?]

If products like the one above are making it past the cutting room floor then there must be some serious concern out there from the ladies about getting rid of their wings?

Before I go any further, this topic reminds me of Marty Web.

For those of you who have read Fit Over 40, by fitness author and expert Jon Benson, you’ll be familiar with Marty Web’s story. For those that haven’t, no problem. Here’s a quick synopsis:

She was the 59 year old housewife who was 80 pounds over her ideal body weight. Her wings were flapping in the wind with loads of arm fat. Marty kindly shares her story in Benson’s book of how she transformed her body and recaptured her toned, beautiful arms.

NOTE: My apologies to anyone who found that summary offensive but I just wanted to paint a quick picture of the situation. From this point forward, we will substitute wings for more descriptive terms, promise.

Leaving out the tear jerking moments, here are the basics of what she used to melt away the body fat, especially on the back of her arm.

Nutrition

A common misconception about body fat is (especially on the back of your arms) you can turn it into muscle.

Ha… I wish!

Fat doesn’t turn into anything. It can be used for energy or for the creation of soap products to supplement Tyler Durden’s income for Project Mayhem (Fight Club on cable this past weekend… I couldn’t resist).

Low insulin nutrition is vital to lowering your body fat. Eating more protein-rich foods, foods that are not processed, and plenty of vegetables are the corner stone of keeping your insulin levels low and in check. I’m starting to sound more primal everyday!

For ladies, the “back of the arm” bodyfat is often the last bit to go.

Work Those Wings

I mean, train your triceps!

Women (and guys are way more guilty) often mistaken biceps for being bigger and better then triceps.

WRONG!

The triceps are the foundation of any good looking toned arms. But to work them you need to work all three heads of the muscle- long, medial and lateral head.

Sure there’s a ton of different machines to use at the gym but you can still get work done at home with a classic body weight exercise called the push up.

Craig Ballantyne, author of the Turbulence Training system, has many different workout programs that include the push up and other cool bodyweight exercises. If your interested, check out our review of his program here.

Push ups are great for working all three heads of your triceps but here’s a few tips to bring you past the beginner stage:

[Really, I have to get a new video camera and demonstrate this stuff. It's inexcusable! For now, you'll have to settle for these grainy animated gifs from my buddy Roddy over at myfit.ca]

On Your Knees

If you cannot do a push up with your legs straight, start by doing them on your knees.

But don’t rest there!

Work your way up to straight-legged push ups (see below) for maximum benefit to your triceps.

It’s All in the Hands

Do a set with your hands facing away from your body, a set with your hands facing toward your body (fingers pointing toward you) and your final set with your hands in the “normal” push up position, facing the same direction as your body.

This will work the three heads effectively and keep you and your triceps pumping!

If your looking for inspiring stories about struggles with weight loss then check out Fit Over 40 Review. By my last count there were over 50 stories just like Marty’s above about the tribulations with fat loss and living a healthy lifestyle.