The perfect PUSH UP
Always challenging, and some what technical… if you like to get technical.
So when a client came to me with “I want to be able to do 20 push ups on my toes” I jumped into action and researched the progressions of a push up.
While push ups are included in so many work outs and are so well known, they aren’t as easy as they look..... there are so many small errors that occur when performing the push up. I personally find them forever challenging and have to make sure I do them often.
So let’s discuss push-ups, some of the common errors, corrections and later the progressions;
*** Error - arm position - hands are too high and wide.
*** Correction - set up in an arrow position rather than a T position
*** Error - sagging hips (caterpillaring) - hips drop below chest level.
*** Correction - abdominal are key here as the primary stabiliser and needs to stay engaged. Cue here a posterior pelvic tilt, tuck the bum under, curling the tail bone, tuck the chest downwards, tightening the abs and pull the hips a little higher, bringing the body into a straight line position and locking it into place to avoid the hip sag.
When the hips sag it gives the illusion that a full range of motion is achieved when actually we need the chest to touch down between the hands first
*** Error - stopping short - not having full range of motion and strength. The extra % of body weight at the bottom of the push up makes it so much harder the deeper you go
*** Correction - regress and practice, working on body position and muscle activation of the abdominals and glutes.
No matter which level of push-up you're performing, always setup in the "arrow formation." Basically, this means that if you took a snapshot from the aerial view the push-ups position would look like an arrow, not the letter T. This position is easier on the shoulder joint and leads to higher activation of the pecs and triceps.
Only perform variations that allow you to keep your core stable and prevent excessive anterior pelvic tilt and lumbar extension. In other words, regress the exercise to a variation you can do correctly and progress from there.
If you tend to produce an anterior pelvic tilt (APT) during your planks or push-ups, then focus on a posterior pelvic tilt. (meaning tuck your tail bone under pulling your pelvis to the front)
Only perform variations that allow you to use a full range of motion. In other words, regress the exercise to a variation that you can do correctly and progress from there.
Move up gradually through the progressions.
No one likes to regress! But if you seriously want to master the push up... it’s the only way.
PROGRESSIONS coming soon, stay tuned
Tonya
