Do the Common Uncommonly Well
The push up is a basic, foundational movement that has been a staple in gym classes, military training, and often used as "punishments" for many years. Due to its foundational and accessible nature, it is a movement you can perform at any level and almost anywhere! Most people overlook the importance of performing and mastering the movement because it is "easy" or "basic". However, the push up when done correctly, is an incredibly demanding, full-body movement that engages as many stabilizers as possible. Push ups should be regularly incorprated in any strength & conditioning program to reap the many benefits, with an emphasis on performing them correctly.
Mastery of the classic push up is a prerequisite for the handstand push up. The handstand push up is the "sexy" variation of the typical P.E.-style push up we all know, that when performed in free space is an extraordinary feat of strength and balance that even a barbell can't touch. Very few athletes have mastered the push up and unfortunately, no matter how many reps you do if you aren't doing them correctly, you won't see the benefits. The standard for the “perfect” or “honest” push-up is one that “moves slowly from full extension to a point of maximum depth without ‘reaching’ for the ground or perturbing the body’s taut, rigid, straight-line posture, and then returns rigidly to full extension.” If every rep is performed honestly, you will build superior midline stability, shoulder strength, mobility and resiliency, athleticism and relative strength.
Honest Push Ups:
Simple, but not easy. Here are some tips to perform push ups correctly!
Hand Placement:
Hands should be placed at shoulder level, just outside the shoulders. When hands are planted on the ground, you should attempt to rotate them like screws in the floor (left hand counterclockwise & right hand clockwise). This helps develop tension through the shoulder girdle as you descend. This tension is important for strength development and for maintaining the rigid posture from head to toe.
Elbows:
Elbows should be close to the body- think about making an "arrow" with your head and elbows instead of a "T". Rotating your hands into the floor will help with elbow placement.
Full-Body Tension:
Creating tension through the whole body is critical for a perfect push-up. Keep the outward pressure on the hands. Brace your abs like you’re about to take a punch. Squeeze your glutes together. Flex your quads. Maintain this tension throughout every rep.
Proper Scapular Movement:
One of the main athletic benefits proper push-ups provide is movement through the full range of motion of the shoulder blades. As you descend, your shoulder blades come together to full retraction at the bottom. As you come back up, your shoulder blades separate completely at full extension. This full range of motion is a great technique to improve anyone’s shoulder mobility and health.
Common faults we want to avoid:
Reaching your head towards the floor as you descend, losing your midline and letting your belly and hips sag towards the ground, bouncing hard into the floor to help get out of the bottom, and shortening your range of motion (not touching chest to deck or locking out elbows at the top).
Push-ups are challenging for many athletes because the exercise requires moving a significant amount of one’s body weight through the range of motion. There are many variations to help master the movement while keeping in mind some of the tips listed above- add a bar to elevate your hands off the ground or use a band to add some assistance from the floor. Regardless of the variation you are working on- be sure to keep it real and perform honest push ups.
