Exercise Technique - Push-Ups

When you want to “push” someone, do it right.

Seriously. Despite the fact that I have a lot of requests for similar posts on other exercises, I really needed to write about push-ups. Yes, I am not satisfied with the technique of performing exercises in the gym, practically, in the performance of any person :) But 85% do something spectacularly ineffective and dangerous. When it comes to the barbell, people who are more or less knowledgeable approach it, but anyone can do an exercise with their own weight, such as push-ups, and no equipment is needed for this. Oddly enough, it is precisely because of its simplicity that there is a widespread violation of technique, with everyone doing it their own way.

So, let's begin.

First caveat: as an athlete, I have always been bothered by the use of other people's and “random” photos from the internet, so I have long wanted to realize the idea of drawing myself and using my own photos and my own model. Moreover, this makes it easier to demonstrate a technique that is close to perfect, to emphasize what is important in this part of the pose, and what pleases my perfectionism even more—all the photos are in approximately the same style.

1. What exactly are “push-ups”?
There are many different techniques for this exercise. Different techniques are not always incorrect techniques. Most often, different exercise techniques have different goals. For example, push-ups with elbows pressed against the body work the triceps rather than the chest muscles. We won't be discussing those here. This article is about classic push-ups, which are designed to effectively work the chest muscles without damaging the shoulder, elbow, and wrist joints.

Key points for correct body positioning:
(1) The body is stretched out in a straight line. The head is an extension of the body. Look straight ahead. Mistake: One of the common mistakes in this exercise is what I call “Yaroslavna's lament,” when the head is raised, and the eyes are fixed painfully on the ceiling.

(2) A very important point, one of the most important in this exercise: your hands should be placed at a width such that in the lower position of the push-up, your forearms should be perpendicular to the floor. By the way, the “forearm” is the part of the arm from the elbow to the wrist, not what you might think. In the lower position of the body, the hand placement should be as shown in the photo and in the schematic image of the body.
Mistake:
If your hands are slightly narrower, the exercise will not be as effective for working the chest muscles, as the load will be distributed by the body between additional muscles and levers. If your hands are very close together and you can do many push-ups easily, this is a fairly traumatic load with negative consequences for all the joints involved.

2. This picture also refers to the correct body posture. View from above.

(1) A very important point about proper technique. I will repeat this several times. Your hands should be at chest level at all times. Avoid “bowing,” which happens every time you put your hands at face level. Only when your hands are positioned correctly will the large chest muscles be engaged, which are so large that you need to make them work and work effectively. When performing push-ups, you should feel as if you are “pecking” your nose at the floor. “Bows” put even more strain on the muscles that are already tense from office work or working at a computer, causing even more damage to your posture.

Second caveat: with some posture problems, you don't need to work on your already developed and tight pectoral muscles. On the contrary, they should be stretched, and the back muscles should be developed. This is a general recommendation that is very difficult to apply, but if you suddenly have constant neck and head pain, consider visiting a physiotherapist and adjusting your program.

(2) During the last repetitions (push-ups) in the set, especially if they are difficult for you, control the position of your shoulders. When tense, they tend to move toward your ears, involving the neck and upper trapezius muscles, which are already tired from physical work and everyday life. Try to pull your head up, in line with your body, and your shoulders down towards your feet.

(3) and (4) As a rule, beginners find it very difficult to achieve and maintain a straight body position. They either arch their back too much or bend their lower back excessively. Two important points to focus on during the exercise will help you perform it correctly. (3) Fix the tension in the deep core muscles that surround the body and work like a cylinder or piston. And stretch the body in a straight line from the top of the head to the heels (4).

3. A little about foot placement.
Very often, you can see a scene where coaches insist very seriously on their “favorite” and special foot placement during push-ups. There are three main foot placements:

The scary truth is that foot placement plays no role in working the chest muscles during push-ups. The situation is slightly different with chest presses, but that's not what we're talking about right now. Just keep in mind that these rules only apply to push-ups.

The only difference in foot placement is that feet placed shoulder-width apart slightly ease the task of the deep core muscles in keeping the body upright. This is because they stabilize its stability, at least in a horizontal position. The classic narrow foot placement is slightly more difficult, especially for men with large shoulders and chests. Placing one foot on top of the other, as shown in the picture, is even more difficult, BUT only for the abdominal muscles and for the overall performance of the exercise. This foot placement does not affect the effectiveness of the chest muscles in any way.

4. Now let's talk about hand positioning.
If you are doing 10-15 push-ups, it is normal to push up on your palms. With the correct hand position (see point 1), the wrist bends at a maximum of 90 degrees in relation to the forearm, and if you have no problems with this joint and its flexibility is not impaired, this technique is quite safe.

If you do more push-ups, or push-ups in a “reverse” or “lower” incline, when the wrist joints bear the weight of the body, it is better to do them on your hands. You can use dumbbells with square or shaped weights; round ones will slide apart
((c) Captain Obvious).

When doing push-ups on your hands or handrails, your wrists should be positioned so that your forearms are perpendicular to the floor and your knuckles... Those with which you intend to strike your opponent should be facing the floor, or at least in that direction. With the correct grip, the thumb performs its “gripping” function perfectly.

Whereas in the incorrect position, as shown in the picture with crosses and a schematic diagram, the entire weight of the body falls on the end of the forearm bone, which “sags” on the ligaments, and the hand rests with the entire palm on the handles. Can you imagine what happens to the wrist joint at this moment? If it is still intact, then you are lucky.

5. Moreover, when the hands are positioned incorrectly on the handles or crossbars, it is quite difficult to maintain a right angle in the forearm in the lower body position.

This affects not only the wrist joints, but also the elbow and shoulder joints. In other words, it is beneficial for all the joints in the upper body to position your hands correctly.

6. What are some ways to simplify this exercise?

You can do push-ups from a raised surface: the higher it is, the easier it is. For example, from a windowsill. However, in this case, you must also follow all the points listed for correct technique:

You can do push-ups from the floor “on your knees”:

Important point: always place something soft under your knees, such as a sports mat or towel folded three times. Knee pads are very expensive.

When performing this exercise, it is not particularly important whether your body is stretched out in a straight line from your knees to the top of your head (3) or whether your buttocks are slightly tucked under. This nuance only complicates the exercise by engaging the abdominal muscles when the body is stretched out in a straight line. The most important thing is to make sure that your hands are positioned at the correct width (1) (see also point 1) and height (2) (see point 2), and it is equally important that your head moves down in a straight line (4).

7. This is the correct body position in the lower position when doing push-ups “from the knees.”
Remember that you should feel as if you are poking your nose into the floor, but your elbows should be pointing out to the sides.

Why is so much attention and so many photos devoted to this exercise?
Simply because no one... NO ONE does it correctly in the “kneeling” position.

8. Error

This is exactly what someone who does push-ups incorrectly looks like. Maybe this is a slightly exaggerated version, and you only raise your arms to neck or head level... Or maybe they were there to begin with. But these are bows, not push-ups.

Most often, I see (especially in group women's workouts) when women seem to be in the correct position, but then “slide” back and simply work their leg muscles instead of their chest muscles with each push-up. It's definitely easier, but it's not a push-up.

Line (5a) indicates the trajectory of the head's movement from the initial correct body position in the upper position. Line (4a) indicates the trajectory of the forearm's displacement into the incorrect position. And this displacement (4a) should not even occur. If you can't do it any other way, check the initial position of your knees and arms. Your arms should be in the upper body position at the level of the middle of your chest (3) and remain there in the lower body position, without shifting as at point (3a).

9. How can you make the exercise more challenging?

Simply move your legs to a higher level. The higher your legs are, the greater the load on your chest muscles, provided that you follow all the rules for positioning your body and arms described in points 1 and 2.

All the rules from point 3 about foot placement also apply to this body position: standing on one leg or placing your feet on an unstable object, such as a large rubber ball, is related to engaging the deep core muscles (abdominals) in the exercise and developing them, but not to increasing the effectiveness of the load on the chest muscles.

However, push-ups on gymnastic bars, unlike push-ups on the palms, complicate the exercise, as they simply increase the range of motion, i.e., the depth of the push-up.

UPDATE: Only one girl noticed the lack of depth in the push-ups in the pictures. And yes, she is right. Since the floor level is not specified in the pictures (technical problems with photography and drawing), I deliberately chose this option for clarity. HOWEVER, deeper push-ups, when the hands form an “M” shape, the forearms are perpendicular to the floor, and the elbows are higher than the body, are correct and normal. The only limitations may be due to individual elbow injuries and individual mobility (flexibility) limitations.

That's all for today.

And you know what's most interesting?
You can try out all these technical nuances right now, without leaving your room, and check whether you've been doing push-ups correctly until now 😎
Artemus Vazhui