The pushup
remains one of the great bodyweight exercises for building upper body
strength while stressing stability and total body awareness.
Muscle
Groups Emphasized
– Chest, shoulders (deltoids and stabilizers), triceps and core
musculature
Ideal
Form
• Place hands
on the ground, just wider than shoulder width, fingers pointed straight
ahead. Arms fully extended.
• Come up onto
your toes, legs fully extended and feet together.
• Keep the chin
drawn in and neutral, eyes looking at the floor. (Profile should be a
straight line from base of skull through the heel.)
• With the
palms firmly planted on the ground, bend the elbows out wide (90 degrees
from the side of the body) and take yourself to the floor.
• Chest, abs,
hips and thighs move to the ground together as one. (No sagging hips!!)
• Pause at the
mid-point (upper arms parallel to the floor).
• Push yourself
away from the floor to full arm extension.
• Repeat
Other Notes to Consider
• Inhale on descent, exhale as you push
away from the floor.
• When lowering to the ground, develop
awareness of the chest stretching while the shoulder blades retract
(come together).
• Work to keep the shoulder blades
depressed throughout the movement (prevent them from shrugging upward).
• Keep the spine long and neutral – tight
trunk!
• You
dictate the movement – don’t let the movement dictate you.
• Be aware of your flexibility and
mobility! If you have limitations, correct them so that you can move
with the most efficient, effective form possible.
• Pushup variations include:
• Pushups from the knees
• Incline Pushups (hands on wall or Smith
Machine)
• Decline Pushups (feet elevated)
• You can also vary hand placement
- hands together - (“diamond” pushups) hands wide, hands above or below
the plane of the shoulders
Or elbow tracking – i.e. elbows at
45 degrees to the trunk or lined up parallel to it.
Christopher
“Doctor” Warden, CSCS traded in his lab coat, latex gloves and
microscope in the late 90's as part of a transformation from
pencil-necked geek to, well, freakishly strong not-so-pencil necked
geek.
His ability to understand and teach the technical aspects of
fitness, coupled with his passion and intuitive sense -- hey, are we
sure this guy's not Spiderman? -- have made him one of the most coveted
trainers in NYC.
When he’s not busy studying, writing or
transforming client physiques, Christopher loves traveling, snowboarding
and chillin’ with his family and friends. You can learn more about him
and his training insights by visiting his
fitness and
self-empowerment blog.
