Push-Ups: Hands Down, One of the Best Exercises You Can Do 

 

One of the oldest forms of exercise in recorded history, is the push-up. It has been around for thousands of years and performed by warriors in ancient India as part of their training. While still in use by militaries around the world today, the push-up has become one of the most basic and recognizable exercise of any fitness program.

For many, a push-up may seem inadequate compared to the infinite options you may find in a gym. However, there certainly remains a high level of respect and regard for the push-up in the strength and conditioning world and there is a good a reason it remains a staple in military fitness to this day.

Not only is this exercise accessible for all, but it is also easily one of the most dynamic and effective bodyweight exercises you can perform. The basic push-up works the pectoral muscles, triceps, and deltoids while also maximizing core and shoulder stability.

Now, you may or may not be aware that the humble push-up is one of the standard measures of many fitness tests for entrance and continued service in our military branches.

Because of the push-up’s accessibility and connection with our nation’s military it has become a symbolic movement for supporting those who have served. As veteran suicides and mental health issues have increased, these push-up challenges have been instrumental in raising funds and awareness to help support our service members, veterans, and their families when they need it the most.

While a great exercise to show support and build strength, the push-up can also be difficult for many people to perform properly or understand how to progress to their abilities. Follow the four progressions below to determine your ability level and learn the proper form.

The Wall Push-Up

• Assume the starting position with feet and legs together, standing about 2 feet from a wall with your arms straight out in front of you. Your palms should be on the wall at about shoulder-level height and shoulder-width apart, with finger pointed toward the ceiling. If you feel like you’re reaching too far, move your feet closer.
• Bend your elbows and begin to lean your body toward the wall until your nose almost touches it. Ensure your back stays straight and your hips don’t sag.
• Push back to the starting position and repeat the process for multiple reps as long as you can keep proper form

 

Bench Push-Up

   

• Find a couch, bench, box, countertop, or other object to place your hands on
• Extend your legs behind into an elevated plank against the object
• Make sure your shoulders are over your wrists and hands shoulder-width apart
• Slowly lower your body while keeping your head aligned with your spine and back straight
• Press back up until your arms are fully extended, without locking out your elbows
• Repeat this process for multiple reps as long as you can keep proper form

 

Knee Push-Up

   

• Start kneeling on the floor
• Extend arms into a high plank position
• Make sure your shoulders are over your wrists and hands shoulder-width apart
• Slowly lower your body while keeping your head aligned with your spine and back straight
• Press back up until your arms are fully extended.
• Repeat this process for multiple reps as long as you can keep proper form

 

The Push-Up

   

• Start by getting into a plank position
• Make sure your shoulders are over your wrists and hands shoulder width apart
• Slowly lower your body while keeping your head aligned with your spine and back straight
• Press back up until your arms are fully extended
• Repeat this process for multiple reps as long as you can keep proper form

Proper form is key to maximize your progress and minimize risk of injury.

With these push-up positions your body should create a straight line from your feet/knees to the top of your head, keep your abdominals and glutes tight making sure that your stomach and hips are not sagging down to the floor. Keep your feet together and legs straight, having the legs and feet together helps to keep the glute and abdominal tension.

Spread your fingers out apart in order to create a wider more stable base for yourself, the wider the base the stronger and more stable the structure.

Pro tips:

With fingers spread apart, actively grip the ground/wall/bench to increase tension and stabilization.

To create an even more stable base and maintain proper form, we want to create a little torque. At all times throughout the push up be sure to actively push your hands into the floor and rotate outwards ever so slightly creating a little external shoulder rotation in order to maximize tension and stability. This corkscrew rotation technique will help take your push-ups to another level and it should be applied to almost all push up variations in which your hands stay in contact with the ground at all times.