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Optimal strength and results come from mastering the proper push-up form

Optimal strength and results come from mastering the proper push-up form



Even though push-ups are a staple of almost all fitness regimens, many people don't do them properly. The push-up may be incredibly hard on your body when done correctly, testing even the strongest people's strength.

To demonstrate our point, try performing a push-up with the proper form suggested in the article below. Additionally, add two pauses to the movement: one at the top and one at the bottom. As you can't rely on momentum, this lowers the chance of cheating. But let's start from the beginning before we go into further detail.

Push-ups are not a beginner exercise.

The push-up is not a novice exercise, despite what many individuals and trainers believe.  It's not a move you should use to lay the groundwork for your foundation; rather, you should utilize it only after you've built up some of the main foundation. Push-ups are, in fact, a really difficult and complex workout. Of course, only if you perform pushups with the appropriate form.

The majority of people complete a lot of bad reps that have no purpose because they aren't even conscious that they are cheating while they are performing. Even the fittest of the fit can find them challenging to do when done with appropriate form. It requires a lot of power, agility, stability, and kinetic awareness.

You press up 70% of your complete bodyweight when you do push-ups. While performing this movement, you must use a lot of effort to coordinate your entire body's motor skills. Few coaches would suggest forcing a novice to use the same load percentages when executing reps with free weights. It would be impossible to learn the correct push-up form using these numbers.

In this article, we attempt to list the most typical training errors and provide instructions on how to properly execute push-ups.

Rotational movement is involved in push-ups.

It's important to remember that the push-up moves in a circular rather than linear fashion. Your feet serve as a pivot point around which your entire body revolves. Instead of the body bobbing in a linear motion, this causes it to move in a sort of semi-circular motion.

Keep Your Line Straight

The majority of individuals concur that using the right push-up technique places your body in a largely straight line. Although this is unquestionably accurate, many individuals mistakenly believe that the top of the glutes, along with the ankles, knees, and shoulders, are the sites of alignment.

Don't make that error. The ankles, knees, hips, shoulders, and head must all be in alignment for a perfect push-up to be performed. In actuality, raising the glutes slightly above the rest of the body would align the hips with the other four joint points.

Keep the Natural Curve

Maintaining the spine's natural bend is important, particularly in the lumbar area. Your hips will be below the other points of alignment if your back is strongly flat.

In fact, the right push-up position closely resembles the right standing position, which also has a natural bend in the lumbar spine.


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You should pull your abdominal muscles in and maintain your hips up to completely eliminate any possibility of an anterior pelvic tilt and severe lordosis (inward lumbar curvature). Don't allow your stomach protrude below your torso.

Instead of contracting your glutes, engage your quads.

Many trainers would advise you to squeeze your glutes to lower the likelihood of cheating. While squeezing the glutes is undoubtedly a good thing for specific workouts, it shouldn't be used for all routines. In actuality, it is entirely incorrect to perform push-ups in this manner.

It would be lot better in this situation if you contracted your quads.

By stimulating the core muscles and activating the hip flexors, this offers a far superior kind of activation. Your spine and hip extensions are directly resisted by your quadriceps when you contract them. Along with your core, your quads and hip flexors help to stabilize your spine.

The plank emphasizes this in particular. The hip flexors become more active when you tighten your quadriceps, balancing the forces of extension. This is particularly beneficial when doing push-ups with weights. Another advantage of tightening your quadriceps is that you'll be less likely to flex your knees in response to gravity's tendency to drag them down.

Maintain Your Hips Up

It's usually a good idea to maintain your hips high rather than low when thinking about your posture. Higher hip position results in more activation of forces that impede extension. Please note that this is not a suggestion for making push-ups simpler. Instead, it makes the movement more difficult.  Even while the position is far from optimal, there isn't much of a risk to the integrity of your spine.

The focus will instead be on the spine if the hips are positioned too low, which will result in less activation of the necessary muscles. The range of motion for the push-up is greatly reduced as a result of this body stance, which makes it simple to cheat during execution. Additionally, even though you'll certainly perform more push-ups, the quality of those push-ups will undoubtedly be subpar.

head and neck in the right positions

Packing your head and chin is another error that people make frequently when executing push-ups. That should be avoided as it shortens the cervical spine. This compression affects shoulder function, alignment, and brain communication in a negative way. Maintain a neutral head and neck so that your spine is in a straight line.

Elbow Placement

The biggest error is flaring the elbows to a wide open position with the arms at a 70 to 90 degree angle. Your joints and muscles are being openly invited to sustain both acute and chronic injuries. Despite the fact that many trainers advise the 45-degree angle, which is a slight improvement over the 90-degree angle.

Your scapulae should be fully retracted and rotated towards your spine to achieve the perfect posture. The elbow should go significantly closer to the torso and assume a 10 to 20 degree angle in order to accomplish this.

placement of the shoulders

The shoulders can be positioned more effectively when the elbows are in the right place. Your chest expands when you retract and depress your shoulders while simultaneously twisting your scapulae in the direction of your spine.

This enhances the movement of the shoulder and the interaction of the scapula and humerus.

Positioning the Feet

The location of the feet during a push-up is one of the most usually disregarded details. However, when it comes to good execution method, it is among the most crucial.

It's imperative that you exert as much effort to keep yourself on your toes. The balls of the feet should ideally not touch the ground. The majority of the weight should rest on the toes.

Your feet should be practically at a straight angle to the floor while performing a push-up. You can make small modifications before, during, and after the reps to ensure that your body is positioned properly by experimenting with foot placement.

Mechanical Hand

Direct your fingers in the air. As it retracts the scapulae rather than pulling them up, the shoulder can be better centered. Additionally, it supports the elbows so we may tuck them in and encourages the recruitment of the lats. comparable to how the feet perform in squats, the hands perform a comparable function in push-ups.

Depth and Motion Range

When performing a push-up correctly, your body should be just millimeters off the ground. Naturally, this increases the difficulty of the workout while also causing hypertrophy.

The upper chest and the head perform the majority of the movement because it is rotational in nature. Therefore, only the upper portion of your body is permitted to make any contact with the floor when you are at the bottom of the exercise. Avoid putting your lower chest, stomach, hips, or knees on the ground.

In fact, if done correctly, not even the upper body should contact the ground. Your body is in an odd posture due to the mechanics of the action and the fact that the majority of the joints are locked in, producing a stable framework, making it impossible to reach the floor completely.

The Ring Exam

The ring test can be used to determine your true strength and form. See how many pushups you can complete while using the rings. Compare that amount to the most conventional pushups you can perform. If the number is less than 80% of the typical push-up count, you should evaluate your form. Most likely, you've been executing regular push-ups incorrectly.


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