You are not judged by what you say - you are judged by what you do!

All gyms have them - you probably have seen them - the "flexing muscles" in front the mirror!!

Sure working your arms nearly every day to show them off in the summer is good for anyone’s ego. But when you have got legs like twiglets and a weak core to hold your body true and square, you’re no real use to man or beast.

So let’s go back to basics, with simple things you can do without going to the gym.

The British Army has a standard fitness test throughout for all careers and all ranks called a P.F.T. (Personal Fitness Test) - also known as a B.F.T. (Basic Fitness Test). It consists of 2 minutes doing press-ups, followed by a short rest and then straight into 2 minutes of doing sit ups. After another short rest, you then do a mile and half run as quickly as possible.

Even though this is not a great distance, it is ideal to measure and record your progress of fitness, and to test you mentally to get you pushing yourself as hard as possible around the distance.

Throughout this series – Back to Basics - we are going to focus on these three exercises to get them done correctly so that you have the basics to build on, because even though they are simple, many people struggle to do them correctly.

Remember quality is better than quantity....... So let’s get started.

The press-ups

Something so simple is so easy to do wrong. So working from your head down:

The Head

Keep looking slightly forward. Avoid dropping the head down or turning your head to the side.

The Hands

Your hands should follow the line through your shoulders, but apart from that, your hand placement is up to you. The wider they are, the more you will work your chest. The closer they are, the more you work your triceps.

Your Body

Keep your body in a straight line – shoulders, hips, feet (or knees for the modified version). No dipping of your hips or raising your bum in the air! Even when you start to tire, keep your body straight.

Legs and Feet

Keep your legs straight, no knees on the floor (unless you are doing the modified version). Remember, you are doing these press ups for a reason – not to make things easy! Place your feet in the most comfortable position – either right on the tips of your toes or with a bend in the toes. Feet should be pretty close together – but nothing more than a few inches apart.

The Move

Start with your arms straight and then lower yourself leaving a 3-4 inch gap between you and the floor.

Raise yourself UNDER CONTROL until your arms are straight again.

Make sure you keep the body in a straight line.

Now you have done one press!

The partner

If you are lucky to have a training partner, their closed fist is a perfect spacer to have underneath. They can also help with the counting and encourage you to keep going.

The Time

The two minutes you have is not long. Work hard and give it your all. See how many you can do with GOOD technique.

All you need is motivation aggression and determination.

See you soon for SIT UPS.