JACK LALANNE REALLY ISN'T CRAZY

Three days ago the number one emailed article about fitness was The New York Times’ “The Art of the Pushup.” I have to say I was roped in after spotting the picture of Jack Lalanne, 93, in a red spandex onesy doing pushups on his fingertips. Can you blame me?

The article talked about how the simple little pushup is an ultimate measure of your body’s fitness. It states that that a 40 year old woman should be able to do 16 pushups and a 40 year old man should be able to pump out 27. Where do you stand on this scale?

I personally love the pushup for the same reason the NY Times’s sources are touting it as one of the best a total body exercises. With one simple move you are required to push the weight of your entire body up and down with your chest, shoulders and arms while keeping your core tight and legs stiff. Love it, cant get enough of them even in my own workouts.

If you can do about 20 regular oldschool pushups in about a minute, then I think you are ready to go to the next level. Here are some fun ways to “kick it up a notch” like Emeril.

Put both feet on a physio ball, both hands on the floor and pushup (see above pic.)
Try both feet on a bench with hands on the floor (decline pushup.)
Try one hand on a medicine ball the other on the floor, feet on the floor (stability pushup).
And the ultimate demonstration of super human strength, drumroll please… each hand on it's own large physio ball and feet on the floor. If you can do 5 or more pushups in this position, call me at (646)596-7638. I will train you for free for a week. Actually, you can train me at that point b/c you are more then likely in better shape than I am.

So in conclusion your gym teacher (and Jack Lalanne) had it right all of this time. Sticking with the basics really can yield the greatest results. Well, that and a great diet, dedication and tons of water. You didnt think I would let you off that easy, did you?