Real women do pushups, part 2: Video reviews

After my previous post urging women to do pushups, I started looking around YouTube to see if I could find some good videos that showed fit females demonstrating full pushups -- that is, on the hands and toes.

It's harder than I thought, but not impossible.

The first ones I stumbled on were several videos of buff bodybuilder women with huge muscles showing one-armed pushups, pushups with men on their backs and other feats of strength.

No, no, that's not what I'm going for. Too intimidating for us average women who just want to strengthen our upper bodies.

Then I found a couple that encouraged women to stay on their knees while doing pushups.

No, no, that's not right, either. We can do better than that!

I also had to wade through the videos of women taping themselves and posting them to show off how many pushups they can do. These are great morale builders, but not so good for learning proper technique. You have to look at some of these videos with a skeptical eye because the person in the video may not be doing it right.

Overall, the videos I trust the most come from personal trainers. They know what they are talking about, and they know how to break down the movement so you can learn how to do it right.

So, without further ado, here are some of the videos I found and my critique of them. I'll start with the ones featuring females, then I'll highlight a couple of good ones with male instructors.


Push Ups - Correct Technique Discussed



This is a wonderful step-by-step instruction of proper pushup technique. It shows a still photograph of a female in the frame, with fitness trainer Liz Harper and her husband doing a voice-over. Liz uses a little yellow circle to point to each body part, and she analyzes how each part should be positioned and how it is affected.

This video is really easy to follow. The still photographs allow you a really good look at what a female body should look like when doing a pushup.


CrossFit Push-up Standards



I like this one because it shows a fit female named Annie doing proper pushup technique. The video shows two views, which helps you watch her form from two different perspectives. It also shows some examples of improper technique so you know what not to do. Pleasant music plays in the background.


Weekly Challenge - Pushups



This video is a nice example of a fit -- but not bodybuilder -- woman who can do pushups. This is a nice one to watch if you just want to see a woman who can do it. She varies her hand positions several times.

However, I don't recommend this video for technique. It advocates doing as many pushups as possible as fast as possible. This goes against other videos I have watched, and other things I have learned about fitness. Exercise is not about doing reps fast; it's about doing them right.


Women Only Boot Camp "Push up / Mtn Climber workout"



This is a good video of a female instructor doing full pushups in combination with mountain climbers, a difficult-looking leg exercise that I might just have to try.

This is what I would call an intermediate video. She starts off showing a couple of three-quarter (on the knees) pushups, then goes right into full pushups, and says, "You know the rules for pushups." So you should watch one of the beginner videos and learn the rules for pushups before you try hers.

I checked out several videos on her You Tube channel, and she has a lot of good exercises for women, but I did not see one explaining how to do full pushups at the beginner level. So I had to look elsewhere for that.


Push up, push-ups for Women and Men: BodySpex Fitness



This is a great video for complete beginners. This is a male instructor, but he does specifically address women. He also breaks down all of the components of a proper pushup.

I especially like the way he starts out instructing you to be on your toes, and he recommends getting strong enough to do full pushups as quickly as possible. He also shows you how to do them on your knees, and how to build the strength to transition from the knees to the toes.


Chest Workout: Pushups for the Complete Beginner



In this video, the instructor, Scooby, does a great job of breaking down pushups for the complete beginner. He doesn't specify whether he is talking to men or women, which is great. Ladies can get a lot out of the information in this video without being intimidated -- and so can men. Scooby gives both the three-quarter and the full variations, along with good tips on form and technique.

What do you think of these videos? Have you found any others on the Web? If so, send me the link!