by Kerry Taylor

Not too long ago I wrote a blog on finally achieving your first pull up. Just like the pull up, the push up is a very tough body weight exercise to execute properly. When asked to do a push up, people can sometimes do something that resembles a push up, but not a complete, full range push up. Here is a simple way to progress yourself to achieve your first, or multiple, full push ups.

Before we get to the how, let’s look at what does the proper push up look like?

1. The starting position is a high plank position, core braced, glutes clinched like you have to go to the bathroom but you have to wait in line. Slowly lower yourself to the floor until your arms achieve 90 degrees or your chest touches the floor. Then, drive back up, keep the body in a straight line from head to heel. The key is to create as much tension as possible from head to to.

2. Make sure your body from above looks like an arrow and not a T. Similar to a chest press position.
Some of the faults we usually see:

Arms put in a T-position instead of being in the arrow or teepee position.
The head bob. The head should not bob up in down as you move your body up and down in a push up. That will cause unneeded stress in the neck.
The concave body position. Fight to keep that body in a straight line. I would prefer you be in a slightly conveyed position as you work on bettering your push ups.

T- position vs Arrow

Now that we discussed the Do’s and Don’ts, here is a simple way to achieve your first push up. Play with the angles to start. The starting point will be different for everyone.

Depending on where you are on your journey, start on a wall and, over time, slowly bring the hands lower, so you are working your way to eventually get to the floor. Shoot for 10 successful reps before you head to the next angle. Once you make your way closer to the floor, we can start to incorporate 2 push up variations.

1. Knee Push Ups

Doing exactly that, push ups from your knees. All previous rules apply.

2. Eccentric Push Ups

Performing a push up like you normally would, BUT come down slowly all the way to the floor (3-5sec). Then, perform a knee push up to come up and start over.

As you progress, do not go into a knee push up, just perform a regular push up to come up.

If you have a tough time keeping your hips in line with everything else, apply more core work into your routine. Simple ones to work on are the plank series. Starting with a low plank (from elbows) and progressing to high plank. Also adding in the side plank and its variations. The key with any plank variation is that you really focus on creating that tension throughout your body and not just laying there in that position until the time is up.

Now, how do I put all this in to play?

A1. Push Up Variation- you choose your angle to work at. Perform 3 - 4 sets x 8 - 10 reps

B1. Eccentric Push Ups- 3 - 4 sets x 4 -5 reps

C1. Front Plank Variation- 3 x ALAP (as long as possible, max 60s)

C2. Side Plank Variations- 3 x ALAP per side (max 60s per side)

Start applying this and you will soon be on your way to achieving your first push up and stacking reps on top of each other.

Until next time, continue to live life 1 degree above the rest!