The push-up could be called a powerhouse of a body weight exercise. The push-up works almost every muscle of the body. During a push-up you are working your chest, deltoids, triceps, core, glutes and legs. Now the push-up seems like a pretty simple exercise. Get into a plank position, lower your chest to the ground, and push yourself back up. Simple, right? As a trainer this simple exercise, is one of the most common exercises that we see performed incorrectly. So, here are tips to help you perform the push-up correctly and get the most out of the exercise.
- Hands slightly wider than shoulder width apart. This will help take some stress of your shoulders to engage the chest and deltoids.
- Feet can be together or slightly apart from each other. Start where you are comfortable. If you are just beginning push-ups split your feet apart. This will create a greater base increasing your stability.
- Engage your abs. This is crucial. To do so, suck your belly button in towards your stomach and keep them engaged during your push-ups.
- Activate your glutes. While performing push-ups squeeze your butt-cheeks together.
- As you lower yourself down, your head and hips should stay in alignment. Keeping them aligned will keep you safe and get the most out of your push-ups.
Finally:
If you can not perform a push-up on the ground, start with performing incline push-ups. Use a bench or a chair to begin with and slowly work yourself to performing push-ups on the ground. It doesn’t matter where you are, it matters where you are going.
Written by GUADS staff member Patrick.
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