PUSH UPS!

 

Although I had received lots of requests to write similar posts about other exercises I felt the urgent need to tell you about push-ups. The thing is I am not happy with the exercise technique that people use at the gym: in most cases (85%) they do something hilariously wrong, ineffective and potentially causing injury. While a barbell is only approached by those who are more or less aware of the way to use it, push-ups are considered an exercise for everyone since all you need to use is your own weight – and no equipment at all. Strange as it may seem, it is the simplicity of the exercise that makes bad push-up techniques so common.

Let’s begin.

Remark number one: all the photographs used in the article are by me. This was the best way to demonstrate the technique – the one that is close to ideal – and to emphasize the most important aspects of your body position. What makes me as a perfectionist even happier is that all the images are very similar in style.

1. What are push-ups?

There is a number of different push-up techniques. If a technique is different from a standard one it does not necessarily make it wrong. In most cases different techniques are applied to achieve different goals. For example, keeping your elbows right by your sides during push-ups allows you to focus on working triceps instead of chest muscles. This article is not about it.

This article is about standard push-up technique allowing you to work your chest muscles without injuring your shoulder, elbow and wrist joints.

The key aspects of a proper push-up position are as following:

(1) Ensure your body is in a straight line and keep your head in neutral alignment with the body. Look straight down at the floor.

One of the most common mistakes people make when doing push-ups is having their head up and dolefully fixing their eyes on the ceiling.

(2) A very important thing to remember when doing this exercise is to keep your hands far enough apart to allow your forearms to be  athwart with the floor in the bottom position.

In the bottom position your arms should be placed as shown in the picture. Here is another mistake to avoid: if you place your hands a bit narrower the exercise won’t be very effective for working your pecs (chest muscles) because your body will distribute the load between a number of additional muscles and levers. If you can do many push-ups easily then performing the exercise with a narrow-hand position (hands placed very close to each other) puts too much stress on all the joints involved and potentially causes injury.

2. This picture is about correct push-up position too. Top view:

(1)The next point is another critical aspect of the correct push-up technique and I will emphasize it more than once. Your hands must always stay placed closer at the mid-chest level. Avoid making “bows” – this is what will happen if you place your hands closer to your face. Your chest muscles are so large that you have to make them work – and work efficiently – which can only be done with the correct hands position. When doing push-ups with proper technique you should feel as though you are “pecking” the floor. “Bows” will only put extra stress on the upper back and neck muscles that are already tight from excessive seated office or computer work.

Remark number two: if you have certain postural disorders there is no need in extra work on the tight large chest muscles that are already developed. In fact what you need is to develop your back muscles while stretching your pecs. This is a general recommendation that is very hard to follow. However, if you have constant neck pains and headaches consider consulting a physiologist and correcting your work-out plan.

(2) Doing the last push-up in the set (especially if you feel it is difficult for you) control your shoulder position. When stressed your shoulders tend to get closer to your ears putting extra stress on your neck and upper trapezius muscles which are anyway tired. Try to stretch the head and neck in line with your body while pulling your shoulders towards your legs.

(3)and (4) As a rule, it is not easy for newbies to find and maintain correct straight body position. Their body is either too arched or too sagged in the lower back area. There are two important points focusing on which you will be able to learn correct push-up technique. (3) You need to “lock” the tension in the deep core muscles that belt your body? acting similarly to a cylinder or a piston. You also should stretch your body in a straight line from the top of your head to your heels (4).

3. There are also some tips about your foot placement. It often happens that trainers teaching you to do push-ups insist on their “favorite” and “very special” foot position. There are three main variations of foot placement:

- narrow;

- broad (feet are shoulder width apart but not more than that);

- one foot is placed on top of the other.

The terrible truth about foot placement is that it does not add extra load for your chest muscles workout during push-ups at all. Chest press is a different story but we won’t discuss it now. Just keep in mind that these rules are only applied to push-ups.

The thing is your feet placed shoulder width apart make it easier for your deep core muscles to keep the body straight. It is because they are stabilizing it – at least in horizontal position. Classic narrow foot placement is a bit more difficult, especially for men with massive shoulders and chest. Doing push- ups with one foot placed on top of the other is even more difficult BUT it only impacts your abs workout and the exercise difficulty in general. This variation of foot placement does not have anything to do with the efficiency of your chest muscles workout.

4. Now let’s talk about hand position. If you do 10-15 push-ups then the palms-flat position will do. Your hands are placed correctly if (see paragraph 1) your palms are at a 90-degree angle to the forearms and forearms are at a 90-degree angle to the floor as well. If you don’t have any problems with this joint and it is flexible this technique is quite safe.

If you are strong enough to perform more push-ups or prefer decline push- ups which make the radiocarpal wrist joints deal with more weight of your body it is recommended to use handles. You can also use dumbbells with square-shaped ends (round dumbbells will tend to roll away (Captain Obvious (с)).

When doing push-ups with the use handles or bars make sure your wrist placement allows your forearms to be at a 90-degree angle to the floor while your knuckles point approximately towards the floor. Correct grip means that your thumbs perform their “gripping job” absolutely correctly.

When your hands are placed incorrectly (as shown in the picture with crosses and a chart) all the body weight is put on the end of the forearm bone that is “sagged” on the ligaments while you push handles with your flat palms. Can you imagine what is happening to the radiocarpal wrist joint at that moment? If it hasn’t been injured yet you are quite lucky.

5. Moreover, if you use handles/bars and your wrists are positioned incorrectly it is quite difficult to keep your forearms at a 90-degree angle in the bottom push-up position:

Therefore, both radiocarpal wrist and your elbow and shoulder joints suffer. As you can see, correct wrist position is beneficial for all the upper body joints.

6. Are there any ways to make this exercise easier?

You can do push-ups with your hands placed on an elevated surface (for example, on a window ledge or on a bench or on a fence). However, in this case it is still important to follow the correct technique guidelines mentioned before:

- hands must be placed closer to your mid-chest level, not to your face or neck;
- body should be straight, feet are placed on the floor (flat or on the toes – it doesn’t matter)

- make sure your shoulders are not pressed against your ears but rather tend to move towards the floor and your back 

-maintain proper hand position (width is very important).

A knee push-up is another modified version of a standard push-up.

It is important to always put something soft under your knees (for example, a sport mat or a towel folded three times). The Knee reconstraction is an expensive procedure.

When doing this exercise it is not critical whether your body is straight from the top of your head to your knees (3) or your lower back sticks out a bit – the former will only make the exercise more complicated because if your body is straight your abs work too. The most important aspect to pay attention to is your hands position: width (1) and height (2). Also make sure your head moves down along a straight line (4).

7. This is the correct body position for knee push-ups. Just a reminder: you should feel as though you were pecking the floor with your shoulders pointing opposite directions.

Why do I spend so much time explaining this exercise technique? Simply because NO ONE can do knee push-ups properly

8. Here is another mistake:

This is what a person doing push-ups in a wrong manner looks like. I may be a bit exaggerating and you are just placing your hands at your neck or head level… during the exercise or at the very beginning. Anyway, these are bows, not push-ups.

In most cases what I see (especially when I watch group fitness classes for women) is women starting from seemingly correct position but then sliding backwards and using their leg muscles rather than chest muscles.
No doubt it makes the exercise easier but these are not push-ups.

The line (5a) shows how your head moves starting from the initially correct up position. Another line (4a) shows the trajectory of the forearm moving to an incorrect position. This is (4a) what you should avoid. If you can’t change the way you are doing push-ups try to check the initial knees and hands placement. In the up position your hands must be placed at the mid-chest level (3) and stay there till your body reaches the bottom position (without shifting demonstrated by the (3a) mark).

9. How to make the exercise harder?

All you need is to place your feet a higher then a floor level. The higher your feet are the more our chest muscles loading (it will only work if you follow the body and hands placement guidelines in paragraphs 1 & 2).

The feet position rules from paragraph 3 can also be applied to this body position: performing the exercise with one foot on top of the other or having your feet on an unstable object (e.g. a large rubber ball resist ‘Swisse’ ball) will only make your deep core muscles work and develop but the effectiveness of your chest muscles workout will not increase.

However, using handles will make the exercise more difficult by simply increasing the range of motion (push-up depth).

What’s the most interesting about it all?
You can try using all these nuances of the push-up technique right now, without leaving the room you are in, and see if you had been doing the exercise in a proper way before you read this article