It’s hard to not include the old-school push-up into your workout. After all, there are very few exercises that are as efficient and can work multiple muscles in a single movement like the push-up. You might think that the push up is a great upper body exercise that works just your chest, shoulders, triceps but if done correctly it also strengthens your core mucsles. The beauty of this exercise is that it requires no special equipment and can be done anywhere, anytime.
Though the push up may seem like a very simple action, anyone who has ever attempted one knows that it can be quite challenging at first. To get it right and maintain the correct form in any exercise is essential. By perfecting the correct form when doing a push up can prevent injury and guarantee that you target the correct muscles and that you get the most out of the exercise.
- Start on all fours and place your hands directly under shuolders, slightly narrower than your shoulders (this is more shoulder friendly)
- Focus your eyes on your fingertips while gripping the ground
- Extend both legs out straight with feet together or approximately shoulder width apart
- Point your belly button toward your face (posterior pelvic tilt) and align les spine and kneck.
- Make a “Tssss” sound via tension breath to tighten your whole body and inhale as you lower to the ground
- Corkscrew your shoulders into their sockets and visualize making an “X” on your back
- Maintain a straight line alon your les, spine and kneck
- Row your body toward the floor while moving as one unit, with zero sagging or hunching
- Keep your elbows in fairly close to your rib cage—no chicken winging allowed! Keep biceps close to your body.
- Pause momentarily at the bottom
- Keep your core engaged as you start to push back up.
- Visualize sending compressed air from your belly out through your palms as you power back up
- Approach your setup and each single rep with intent
Take it slow
Whether you’re practising against a wall or have progressed to the floor, you can improve your strength considerably by slowing down the movement as you lower your chest to the ground. Your muscles will have to work harder under contraction to support your body. My advice is to get as low as you can go and hold the position (in what’s called an isometric hold) as long as you can. Once you feel like you can’t hold it anymore, gather all your power and push back up to your starting position—maintaining a straight back and strong core the entire time. This will strengthen the relevant muscles and help you master that push-up.
Make it harder
Other variations of the push up to make it a little harder or use different muscle groups:
- Do a single-leg push-up (with one leg raised)
- a decline push-up (with both feet elevated on a bench)
- a plyo push-up, pushing up with enough force for your hands to leave the ground.