PUSHUP TO BENCH MORE

A QUICK TRICK FOR KNOCKING OUT A NEW MAX

Use the pushup to warm up for your heaviest set of bench presses (do warm up sets on the bench, too, of course). It obviously prepares your muscles for the pressing motion. "It also stimulates your core musculature isometrically," says Joe Stankowski, C.P.T., a trainer in Grand Rapids, Mich. That means that it teaches your hips, lower back, and abs to stay tense and fire together during the bench press - the key to lifting more weight.

 One thing: Don't turn the warm up into a pushup workout. "You don't want to fatigue your chest, shoulders, and triceps before your work sets," says Stankowski. Limit your pushups to two to three sets of 8-12 slow, controlled reps between warm up sets with the bar.