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The Official Push-Up Checklist (AVOID MISTAKES)

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Rating: 4.0; Vote: 1

Up is one of the most commonly performed exercises in the gym, unfortunately it is also one of the most often misperformed exercises. In this video, I-m going to give you a step by step checklist to make sure that you are nailing every piece of the pushup correctly so that you get nothing but gains and avoid the pains that come from doing this wrong. The first thing that is helpful to do however is to see the similarities between the pushup and the bench press. If you visualize the movements, they are essentially the same in terms of the mechanics of the press except one is done with a barbell as the resistance and the other utilizes your own bodyweight. If you work your way from the top down, you will want to be sure that you-re fixing each area of the chain that could present a weakness. It starts at the head and neck. When you bench press you want to avoid pushing the back of your head into the bench as you press the bar up. This often occurs as people try and generate a counter force to the bar being pressed away from them. On the pushup the head is often driven downwards. The reason here however has more to do with visually trying to cheat the rep. Making your eyes think they are closer to the ground than your body actually is. In either case you want to keep the head in neutral throughout the exercise. Next is the shoulders. It is important on both the bench press and the pushup that you unshrug your shoulders prior to starting the repetition. This puts your shoulders in a better position and with less likelihood for impingement. It also naturally helps to correct the position of the elbows during the descent which is something that we will cover later. The next place to focus on is the upper back and scapulae. You need to realize just how important this area is if you want to perform a bench press or pushup with maximum force generation and stability. Just as you would not attempt to perform a max vertical jump off of an unstable base like sand, you would not want to try and press from one either. The stability of tightening the shoulder blades and squeezing them together is something that can improve the force with which you can push off of them. Be sure to tighten yours and keep the bar over this area at the beginning and end of every rep. Finally, the last set up checklist item is the activation of your glutes. On the push-up in particular, this will create a rigidity in your entire body that will make the transfer of force much more efficient and less likely to be lost at any point in the press. Really squeeze your glutes tight or drive your feet into the floor if you are pressing and you will find that you instantly increase the strength you have on the lift. When you begin the press the most important thing you can do is focus on the position of the elbows as they relate to your body. Instead of letting the elbows flare out to the sides be sure to drop them from the horizontal about 30 degrees. This will once again protect your shoulders and actually put you into a more biomechanically strong position to push from. Finally, the bar path is critical. Most have heard that the path of a bench press is straight. That is true but that doesn-t mean that it is straight up and down. To perform a bench press properly you want to press on an angle, from low on your chest to back up directly over the position of power and stability that we talked about already. Pausing at the bottom of each rep here will reinforce that you got here with control and not momentum. The details like this matter no matter what exercise you-re doing. If you-re looking for a complete program where we put the science back in strength on every exercise to create the best results you are capable of, head to the link below and
Date: 2022-04-22

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Comments and reviews: 10

sulezraz
One of the most commonly mis-performed exercises. -
1: 04 Head/Neck - Neutral Position-
1: 57 Shoulders - Unshrug them, want the shoulders back and down. Puts the elbows in a better position to perform as shrugging causes elbows to flare. -
3: 13 Upper Back - Consciously pull your shoulder blades together and make them tight, as that-s where you-re going to be pushing off and generating force in the opposite direction. -
4: 24 Glutes - Actively contract glutes to create more total body tightness in order to -plug the energy leaks-. -
5: 31 Thoracic Spine - Glute activation and upper back tightness fixes the position of the Thoracic Spine to get proper extension and chest out in front as opposed to the shoulders. -
6: 15 Elbows - Tuck in elbows, about 30 degrees off the horizontal. This helps protect shoulders. -
7: 51 Body Path - Going down during rep drift forward a little so hands are lined up along the lower chest line at the bottom to get the best power output. -
9: 20 Tempo - Pause briefly at the bottom of movement.
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sport
Holy shit man. what a difference! Ive been doing pressups on an almost daily basis the last month or so, but i was doing it wrong, i wasnt moving forward when i went down and my shoulders were pushed forward and shrugged, for a while ive been only managing around 12-16 pushups a time and havent been able to push much further than that. This time i tucked my shoulders back and down, and i was barely able to do 1 pushup without struggling, after i kept trying for about 10 minutes and taking a quick break each time i struggled to push back up i was able to do more and more and after each break it got so much easier. This is really hard for me to do though cos ive had a hunched back and tilted head for YEARS and its not easy to fix after such a long time. Big props jeff -
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Ray
You're a national treasure Jeff, I wish I watched this video years ago. I started watching your videos because I had lateral pelvic tilt, and it was your instruction that allowed me to rebuild my core and now I'm lighter than when I was in my twenties and stronger than I've ever been by orders of magnitude. I'm still working on those lower abs but I'll get there. They are there when I get a little dehydrated. My only concern is being underweight, but I keep those snacks handy and I try not to obsess too much about the scale. Thank you very much. I do fist push ups to strengthen my wrists. I do wonder what you think about fist push ups. Smiles!
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AtoZbodyfitness
Although there are different variations for a pushup, the best way and right way is to keep the back flat while keeping ht hips level with the shoulders, keeping the knees bent as well, and when you move to do a pushup, move slightly forward and down in an arcing motion and then return to the original position. always press from the palm and the tips of the fingers and imagine you are trying to press through the floor when performing the pushups. make sure to keep the knees slightly bent and also the hips/glute area higher. you will get a great pump out of this.
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Juan
I have watched a number of videos on pushups and other calisthenics as I start my fitness journey. I must say I have learned more about proper pushup form in this video that in the others I have watched. It was clear and to the point. I did not have to stop and back up the video to understand what you were saying at any time. Thanks for the info!
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Akash
Should the palms be completely flat on the ground or should it be in a cambered/cupped position? Which is more effective for building strength and for wrist joint health?
I do weighted pushups with about 60kg additional weight on my back so want to protect my wrists while also making gains.
Thanks in Advance
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Brandon
I wish I could work out with you I learn so much I am 43 and played hockey when I was in high school but as with anything life happens last November I was 235 now in December I am 175 I try and work out with what I have available to me and the push up is my go to I learned a lot from this video thank you
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Danielle
I feel like tightning glutes is one of the most common cues in the fitness industry but also the most misunderstood. I used to tuck under WAY too much and I had poorer mobility when I did so than without. So the glutes have more to do with the feet pressing the floor than any squeezing I've ever done.
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Chris
Hello Jeff!
I'm using PushUp-Bars for my workouts becaus of a history tendonitis and other wrist issues. Is there anything that differs from what you advised in this video or anything else I have to pay attention to while using PusUp-Bars?
Greetings from Germany
Chris
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APS117
I've watched countless videos trying to correct my form with no avail. I literally mean countless. This one did it. The clear explanation of the -preparation- before the push up, took me instanly from hardly doing 20 to 40, right after I watched the video. Thanks once again!
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