Push-ups tone up chest muscles and shoulders and strenghten the mid-section. Here are some details on how to perform some basic push-ups.

There is nothing better than building muscle to boost your metabolic rate and in the process getting a muscular physique. The golden rule is that the more muscle you have, the higher your metabolic rate because muscle has a higher rate of calorie consumption. Exercises that use body weight are a great way to build muscle and can simultaneously increase endurance, improve cardio respiratory performance and burn fat! Push-ups, squats, pull-ups, lunges are a few of the body weight exercises which effectively help you train your entire body and can be performed anytime and anywhere. Today we shall discuss push-ups and how they can help you tone up your upper body.

Push-ups not only recruit the muscles of the chest, shoulder, arms and upper back but also recruit muscles of your midsection for balance and stability..

Here is how to perform a basic push-up:

• With your feet together, place your palms on the floor with your elbows fully extended.
• Keep your back, hips, and legs in a straight line.
• Lower your body slowly towards the floor and stop when your elbow joints are in line with your shoulders.
• Pause for a moment. Begin straightening your arms to return to the start position.
• Inhale as you lower yourself toward the floor and exhale as you push yourself up from the floor.
• Always keep your back straight. Stop doing push-ups when your lower back gets tired. Don't sag in the middle as this could lead to injury.

If the basic push-up is difficult for you then you can perform push-ups with your knees touching the floor and build it from there. If the basic push-up is easy then you can try advanced push ups by keeping legs or hands on a stability ball.

Even 10 minutes of body weight exercises everyday can help you enhance your fitness levels significantly and get you closer to your goal of acquiring a good looking body.