How to do a push-up?
#1 What is a push-up?
The push-up is the most fundamental bodyweight exercise for our upper body. It builds our pushing muscles, namely the chest, shoulders and triceps, making this exercise a major component of many fitness tests and physical assessments.
The push-up is also a foundational move in Calisthenics training. Every pushing skill you’ve ever seen, such as planche, handstand, or handstand push-up stem off this basic compound exercise.
The great thing about the push-up is that you can do it anywhere! All you need is the floor and gravity, and you are good to go. Unlike the pull-up, which is also equally as important exercise for a well rounded physique, pull ups require a bar, or gymnastics rings, that we don’t always have access to.
#2 How to do them correctly?
Hand placement:
Start in a high plank position with our hands slightly wider than shoulder width apart. Having our hands too wide can make the exercise quite uncomfortable on our shoulders, whereas having them very narrow will make the exercise slightly harder and put more emphasis on our triceps. If we’re just starting out, sticking to shoulder width apart will be our best choice to maximise our strength and muscle building potential.
Alignment:
Core and glutes engaged to create a straight line from head to toe. This ensures that our lower back is not arched, avoiding any unnecessary pressure placed on the spine. Hands right underneath our shoulders, neck is in neutral position, looking straight down between our hands.
The groove:
We lower the chest toward the floor by bending our elbows to roughly a 45-degree angle from our body (the angle should look like the wings of an airplane, when you look at it from above). As we reach the bottom, our hands must remain underneath our elbows. We then push back up explosively to our starting position, until our arms are fully extended.
#3 What are the common mistakes?
To get the best out of this exercise and reduce the risk of injury, we need to avoid doing push ups with flared elbows! That is a very poor, and vulnerable position for our shoulders to press from, which can lead to impingement and potential rotator cuff tears. Try to avoid doing that at all costs!
#4 How to scale to my level?
We can perform push ups on our knees, or we can elevate our hands to adjust the difficulty of the push up. Both of these modifications will make the exercise easier to match our strength, it’s up to the individual which variation they want to go for. Knee push ups are great option for those who can almost do full push ups, but want to increase their repetitions, whereas the elevated option works for everyone, as we can choose our own progression levels accordingly.
Watch our full push up tutorial:
True Beginner Calisthenics Program
Starting calisthenics can be scary and intimidating at times, but we are here to guide you through every step of the way, and show you that anyone can enjoy the art of bodyweight training. Regardless age, gender or fitness level, Calisthenics is for anyone who wishes to explore what their body is capable of doing. Bring out you inner child with fun and exciting workouts!
