How to Perform the Perfect Push Up
Exercise Spotlight: The Push-Up
Push-ups are a great upper body exercise and can be performed any time or place including your home, the beach, park, hotel room, you name it!
Equipment needed: None, just your bodyweight
Muscles worked: pectorals (chest muscles), deltoids (shoulders), triceps (back of your arms), abdominals
If you are a beginner, start with wall push-ups. If you are looking for more of a challenge, create a decline position with your feet on a chair, coffee table, or couch to increase the body's workload against gravity. For an additional challenge, go for tempo (3 counts down, 1 count up) instead of speed.
How to Perform the Perfect Push-Up:
1. Start in a high plank position with your head, neck, and spine in a neutral, aligned position.
2. Stack your shoulders directly on top of your wrists.
3. Close your feet together for more glute activation or open your feet no more than hip width apart for added stability.
4. Ensure your lower back is protected by drawing your abs inward toward your spine. This prevents any arching in your lower back.
5. Maintaining a neutral spine and bracing your core, lower your chest as far as your strength allows. Whenever you are doing pushups, you always want to lead with your chest first not your face.
6. As you lower the chest, bend your elbows slightly back and in towards the body. This ensures you are properly activating the triceps.
7. Once you have reached your point of greatest resistance, extend your elbows and push your body weight back up to the starting position.
Challenge yourself to do at least 3 sets of 10, 3-4 days/week. Once you have achieved this, you can increase reps and sets.
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