The push

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1Press-up

2 to 3 sets of 8 to 12No kit needed

Set up

Hands a little wider than your shoulders, on whichever surface you're using
Body in one straight line from head to heels, middle braced
The further your feet are from the surface, the harder it is

The movement

Lower your chest towards the surface under control, until it's a few inches away or gently touching. Then press yourself back up until your arms are straight. Slow down, honest up.

What to get right

One straight line, head to heels. No sagging in the middle and no backside in the air
Elbows travelling back at about forty-five degrees, not flared straight out to the sides
The whole range. A short, bouncy press-up builds a short, bouncy press-up

Easier

Move up the ladder, not down: a wall first, then the edge of a worktop, then a sturdy bench, then the floor. Each step is the same exercise at a kinder angle

Harder

Lower the surface, and eventually the floor
Then a floor press or a bench press with weights, though you'll not need that for a long while

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2Overhead press

2 to 3 sets of 8 to 12A pair of dumbbells

Set up

Stand tall, feet about hip-width
Weights at shoulder height, palms facing forward or slightly in
Middle braced, ribs down, so your lower back can't arch to help

The movement

Press the weights straight up overhead until your arms are at full stretch, then lower them slowly back to your shoulders. Press up, not forward.

What to get right

Shoulder blades set, shoulders down and long. No shrugging up towards your ears
Ribs down throughout. If your back arches to get the weight up, the weight is too heavy
Slow on the way down. That's where the strength is built

Easier

One arm at a time, so you can watch it
Or go back and live on the straight-arm raise from the shoulder chapter a while longer. The control comes first, and the strength is built on top of it

Harder

More weight, grown by the rules
A barbell in a gym, once the dumbbells are easy and honest

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3Straight-arm raise

2 to 3 sets of 8 to 12, slow and cleanA light plate

Set up

Stand tall, feet about hip-width
Middle braced gently, the way you learned at the back, so your ribs don't flare and your lower back doesn't arch to help
Arms hanging down in front of you, elbows soft
Shoulder blades set down and back

The movement

Keep a soft, slight bend in your elbows the whole way, never locked out straight, the same easy unlock you keep in your knees. Raise the weight slowly up in front of you, on up past shoulder height and all the way overhead until you are reaching tall. Then lower it just as slowly back down under full control. As it comes overhead, let it settle a touch in front of straight up rather than forcing it back behind your head. Slow up, slow down, and no swinging it.

What to get right

The shoulder blades gliding round and up as your arms rise, and no shrug
The shoulders staying down and long the whole way
The weight a touch in front of dead overhead, where the shoulder has the most room and the least pinch
The lift coming from your shoulders, not from leaning back and swinging the weight up

Easier

Raise only to the height where your shoulders stay down and easy, even if that's no higher than shoulder height to begin with, and let the top come back as the control grows
Or go back and live on the wall slide a while longer, then return to this

Harder

A light weight in each hand, once the shared-weight version feels easy, so each shoulder works on its own and the weaker side can have the extra it needs
Then, once that overhead reach is strong and clean, letting the weight travel a little past vertical at the top, easing it gently back beyond straight overhead so the shoulder gets a soft stretch at the very end of its range while it's still under load

Read yourself

Fix the roots

The six moves all fifteen

The programme

Easier

Harder

Easier

Harder

Easier

Harder

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