I'm pretty dang sure you're not doing one of the best strength exercises available.

What makes it a favorite in my books?

It doesn't beat you up like many standard barbell strength exercises do.

In fact, you can do this movement every day without it hampering your recovery.

And, best of all, no clunky or expensive equipment required. It can be done anywhere.

So what is this great muscle and strength building exercise I'm talking about?

Push-ups.

I know, I know...

It's easy to dismiss push-ups as "too easy".

They haven't challenged you since sixth grade PE class.

So let's see how we can make them tough again:

* Elevate feet on a box.

This increases range of motion. And, as we all know, moving resistance over a greater distance is an excellent way to add difficulty into your training.

* Use gymnastic rings.

The first time you move from push-ups on the floor to ring push-ups, the instability of the rings will challenge your entire core and upper body muscles to a degree you haven't experienced before, making you shake like Robert Downey Jr. during heroin withdrawal.

* Use parallettes.

Not only can you use a neutral grip (which most people find easier on their wrists) when doing push-ups on parallettes, the larger range of motion produces some amazing chest pumps.

* Add external resistance.

Self-explanatory. A weight vest or plate on your back will do the trick.

* Wrap a resistance band around your upper back.

The band offers a unique training effect in that the movement becomes harder the closer you get to the top. That means you have to keep pushing all the way up.

* Vary movement tempo.

Try slowing things down to a 3- to 5-second eccentric. Keep everything from your neck down drum tight and resist gravity on the descent.

10 push-ups done this way is a whole different animal than 10 regular push-ups.

You can also add a 3-second pause at the bottom as another way of varying tempo. Pausing limits the assistance you receive from something called the stretch reflex (elastic energy stored in the muscles).

And then there's the holy grail of push-ups training, planche variations. But at that point, you'd be breaking away from off-ice training and delving deep into gymnastics training territory.

That said, no longer can you insist how banging out push-up after push-up feels effortless.

Give these training techniques a shot and let me know what you think. I'm sure you won't be disappointed.

For a training program involving hard push-up variations - and lots of other great muscle building exercises - visit:

NextLevelHockeyTraining.com