Khloe Kardashian has been looking fierce lately, and her intense sweat sessions with trainer Gunnar Peterson undoubtedly have something to do with it.
How intense? Well, Peterson recently shared the secrets of Khloe’s fitness plan with E! Online, explaining that the celeb knocks out plyometric pushups on the regular.
What the heck is a plyometric pushup? Your ticket to amazing arms, says trainer Chase Karnes, C.S.C.S. A pushup in which you lift your hands off of the ground at the top of the movement, plyometric pushups build explosive strength throughout your chest, shoulders, triceps, and core. And women who are trying to get fit fast (show of hands, please?) can rejoice in the fact that the high-intensity move recruits a greater percentage of your muscles’ fibers compared to regular pushups, he says. The result: You build more muscle (and burn more calories) with each rep.
Ready to take the plyometric pushup challenge? At the beginning of your next workout (when you’re still daisy fresh, not tuckered out), try the following:
Get on all fours on an exercise mat. Place your hands on the mat slightly wider than and in line with your shoulders. Your body should form a straight line from ankles to shoulders. Squeeze your core and lower your body until your chest nearly touches the floor. Then, keeping your core engaged, explosively push up through your arms so that your hands lift off of the floor. Keep your elbows slightly bent as you land, moving straight into lowering again. That’s one rep. Complete four to eight sets of one to six reps, resting from 90 seconds to two minutes between sets.
Sound hard? Because they are. In fact, correctly completing a plyo pushup requires you to already have some pretty solid upper-body strength going. So if you’re new to the fabulous world of pushups, start by mastering the classic move and these seven pushup variations.
More from Women’s Health:
5 Exercises You Should Be Doing Way More Of
The 4-Move Dynamix Ball Workout
The Best Workout for a Toned, Tight Butt