A Proper Push-Up!

1. Lie chest-down with your hands at shoulder level, palms flat on the floor and slightly more than shoulder-width apart, your feet together and parallel to each other.
2. Look forward rather than down at the floor. The first contact you make with the floor with any part of the face should be your chin, not your nose.
3. Keep your legs straight and your toes tucked under your feet.
4. Straighten your arms as you push your body up off the floor. Keep your palms fixed at the same position and keep your body straight. Try not to bend or arch your upper or lower back as you push up.
5. Exhale as your arms straighten out.
6. Pause for a moment.
7. Lower your body slowly towards the floor. Bend your arms and keep your palms in fixed position. Keep body straight and feet together.
8. Lower body until chest touches the floor. Try not to bend your back. Keep your knees off the floor, and inhale as you bend your arms.
9. Pause for a moment. Begin straightening your arms for a second push-up. Exhale as you raise your body.

[source: eHow]