Staying in shape / Push-ups for upper body muscle."

It's as if I've not been exercising for years. My chest aches so bad as if I hit it so hard. I can remember when I did push-ups some months back, my arm got swollen and I thought I was sometimes serious until I came to understand it's the reaction of the pushups I did. I came to understand that my body reacts to some exercises and it's always for the best. I do see improvement after the pain which makes me say;

No pain, no gain. You must feel pain before you gain in this life no matter how soft you may take it. Why am I bringing this up? This exercise is about chest, shoulder and arm build up. That's why the pain is concentrated around this area because of how I did it and how many times I did it.

Outfits for this exercise

This may not be necessary but I'm adding it in case those who haven't been doing this exercise want to try it for this course. For push ups, you can actually wear any clothing you feel comfortable with so far as it doesn't tighten your arms and chest or hand which prevents free movements of the limbs. The clothing I wore was;

• A jogger that is free and doesn't constrain my thighs.
• A free t-shirt that won't tighten my chest or arms.
• Sport shoes to prevent slippering when trying to balance your whole body on your hands.
• Some people wear gloves to prevent stones but I'm always comfortable without gloves as my hands get to feel the ground and I'm able to lift my body with it.

Last week I didn't take the instructions squarely so I told myself to take the repetitions squarely and not overdo the programs. I started with the push-up for shoulder. We were required to choose the level of exercise we want to do while carrying out the programs, either soft, normal or hard. I love going for hard things because I've been used to the soft or beginners level so I choose the hard level.

Level	Hard
Repetitions for round 1	10x
Rest time	10 seconds
Repetitions for round 2	10x

Shoulder and upper back push-ups.

This was the first push-up I did before moving to the more advanced pushup programs. As the instructor did, I did so. I positioned my body in a slanted horizontal manner with my waist almost above my head and my legs spread to my sides as seen in the instructor's demo. I then placed my two hands apart from each other on the ground, getting ready to press down and move upwards.

Initially, it was as easy as I didn't feel it but as I did the 7th time, I began feeling the pains in my hands as it was shaky. I managed to complete the program and rested for 10 seconds.

The hard level program was exactly what I did with my shoulders broadly going down with my head to touch the ground. It is more like the chest push-up but different in body positioning as this has a target to be felt. The pain is expected to be felt around the broad shoulders and upper back, that's why the program is concentrated in these areas.

I rested for 10 seconds. This seconds were counting in my mind in the absence of a timer. Though it wasn't exactly 10 seconds but I rested before continuing. I wonder how people do this hard level to 100. I'll get there with time. The second round was difficult for me though I forged ahead into completing the 10 repetitions. It was difficult because my hands were shaky. Going down and coming up wasn't easy but I made it so easy with the music I listened to.

Chest and Back Push-Ups.

This was the second program I completed. I'm used to this one because it's something I've been doing everyday and I choose the hard level.

Level	Hard
Round 1	10 Repetitions
Rest time	10 seconds
Round 2	10 Repetitions

This program is carried out by placing a balance on your body and hands. Your whole body places its weight on your hands while your hands do the movement of lifting your body up and down. It's not really that easy especially if done by weighty people.

So I did this program by planking my body with my waist lowered below my head compared to the first program where my waist was slightly above my head in the position I placed myself on the chair for support.

After ensuring I positioned myself like this, I took to placing my hands on the ground and then spread it so my chest and body can go down in-between my body and then I'll see space to take it up again. I did this consistently for 10 times and then rested for 10 seconds. I did this same mind count for the 10 seconds and then rested.

It wasn't that easy but I pushed through, down and up. Going down is easy but up needs much strength and endurance which are the core qualities of this program. I did the hard level program which was placing my legs high up on a chair to support my body while my body was down in a plank form. This was really hard indeed

The pain is to be felt around the chest region, coincided by the arms. The full chest is actively involved as the position the body attains gives makes the chest enclosed in a tight fitted corner. When the body goes up, there's a contraction around the chest region and when the body goes down, there's a relaxation of the chest muscles. It becomes rigid because of the lowering.

This is the pain I'm still feeling around my chest region which means the program was done well. I then moved over to the next program which the concentration is around the arms and hand.

Parallel push-ups

The next program was even more difficult. It was the hardest because it involves moving your arms from a height to support your body going down the height. It's just like trying to climb a height and then someone is dragging your legs to pull you down. As you go up with your hands, the person drags you down. Now you're trying to drag the person up with the person's weight.

This is how the hard level program was. I involves placing your on two chairs enclosed with your body in the middle of these chairs. The chairs act like guards you're holding to support your movements up and down. It wasn't an easy program so I did the normal level.

I couldn't do the hard level 😂. My legs were stretched forward while my hands were on the chair. I did go up and come down 10 times. Wasn't that easy though but I survived 😂😂.

Level	Normal
Round 1	10x
Rest time	10 seconds
Round 2	10x

Successfully, I completed the programs and I have so much peace of mind she satisfaction that I completed them as outlined in the instructions given. My experience doing the programs is outlined below