Now, I know some of you out there are not feeling the push-up (men and women included). I totally understand, however, please hear me out. To some people, the push-up is like the treadmill. It's boring. It's the same thing over and over again. It's not challenging enough. These are all good excuses on why the push-up "doesn't work." The only acceptable excuse here would be risk of injury.

I must confess: I LOVE PUSH-UPS! They are simple. They are effective. And they work. Push-ups help build the entire body, just not the upper body. Men, women and kids can do push-ups with no problem. Your strength will increase. Your back and arms will become more defined. Your core will be engaged throughout the entire movement.

The good news: there are countless examples of different push-up exercises. In the video below, I show you five different push-up exercises: regular push-up, modified push-up, one leg push-up, shoulder tap push-up and clapping push-up. The first two push-up examples are for beginner and intermediate levels (modified and regular push-ups) while the last three push-up examples are for advanced levels.

Each push-up exercise starts with the hands being directly under the shoulders.

1. Start in a plank position with your arms and legs straight, shoulders above your wrists.

2. Take a breath in, and as you exhale, bend your elbows out to the sides

3. Lower your chest toward the ground.

4. Stop as soon as your shoulders are in line with your elbows.

5. Inhale to straighten the arms.

This counts as one rep. If this is too difficult, do this exercise with your knees on the floor, which you will see as the second example in the video.

Making dynamic movements, such as raising one leg, tapping your shoulder or clapping your hands add plyometrics to the push-up. Your regular push-up becomes more powerful and increases your cardio level during the exercise. Do three sets of 10-15 per push-up exercise and you'll be ready for whatever the day brings you.

Please give push-ups another try. Add a little flavor to your exercise routine and modify when needed. Now, drop down and gimme 20...and say LAYOP at the top! ;-)