Pushup With Shoulder Press

Give The Shoulders All They Can Handle With This Compound Exercise

Do a pushup set, pop up to your knees, and do a set of air shoulder presses.  That’s really all there is to this exercise.  If you are used to lifting weights, the first set or two of air shoulder presses are going to feel a little silly.  All I can say is stick with them.

This combination makes one of the best compound exercises you can do for the whole chest and shoulder area.  You work the chest, triceps, and front of the shoulders with the pushups.  The shoulder press works the main part of the deltoid (shoulder) muscle.

Technique

• Pick a number between 10 and 30. 
• Do that many pushups.
• Pop up to your knees and do twice that number of shoulder presses.
• Repeat 3 to 5 sets without rest.

Keep In Mind...

• Keep it moving.  Keep the pace of the movements brisk.
• Like I said, if you are used to lifting weights, the shoulder presses without any weight are going to feel pointless at first.  Stick with it.  The combination of the movements will make your arms heavy before you know it.
• Reach for the sky.  Get those arms up.  When they start getting heavy, you're going to want to shorten the movement.  Don't do it.

Modifiers

Instead of pressing the arms up in a vertical movement, bring them over your head and clap just like a jumping jack – but you’re not jumping obviously, you’re on your knees. 

This is a great change to work the rotational muscles in your shoulders instead of the pushing muscles.

Also, you could always add dumbbells.  If you get to the point where doing 5 sets of 20 push ups and 40 air shoulder presses without rest is too easy, and I know a lot of you tough guys (and girls) are already there, grab a pair of dumbbells. 

Like any good compound exercise, you never have to put the weights down or find them to pick them back up again.  You just keep moving.

To make them part of a real boot camp workout, put some 50 or 100 yard sprints in between sets.

I'm challenging your to try these right now.  You'll like these if you try them.  Get on the floor right now and do 3 quick sets - 15/30, 17/34, 19/38.

It'll take you 5 minutes.  Let's go.