The Pushup

Body weight exercises are unrivaled in their simplicity and serve as a necessary foundation to any fitness program. Achieving true mastery of one’s own body weight has numerous benefits that transfer into other areas of fitness— balance, coordination, core stability and strength. These movements require no equipment, can be performed anywhere and have variations that are often limited to the imagination of the person performing them. So, although you may be in a hurry to load up the barbell, remember that without a strong foundation of the basics, your house (or garage) of fitness will eventually fall.

Let’s start this discussion with one of the most fundamental movements – the pushup. There’s a ton of variations to this simple movement, such as the elevated pushup, dive bomber pushup, and handstand

pushup. But, before you start trying the newest fad you’ve seen on YouTube, it’s important to learn the nuances of the basic pushup. How hard can it be? You just lower your body to the floor and push back up, right? Well, yes and no. While doing lots of pushups with that standard can be helpful, you’ll see better results (as in, more gains) if you adhere to the following points of performance:

Points of Performance

Stack the arms

Place your hands on the ground approximately shoulder width apart, keeping your fingers pointed forward. Roll your shoulders back and down to pack them tightly in the socket and stack the arms

– shoulders directly above your elbows and elbows directly above the wrists.

Complete the plank

Torque the hands Creating torque with your hands promotes tension throughout the upper body but, perhaps most importantly; it keeps your shoulders externally

rotated and prevents the elbows from flaring out too far. You can try this quickly at home to see what I mean:

From a tabletop position (hands and knees), stack the arms with the fingers forward and, without allowing your hands to move, slowly turn the pits of your elbows to face forward. You’ll notice that your shoulders naturally begin to turn to the outside and even move down into the socket. In addition, you will feel the rear part of your shoulders and upper back begin to tighten. For my military folks – stand up with your arms by your side naturally. Then, move into the position of attention and notice how the pits of your elbows turn forward your shoulders move back and down. This is a more secure, preferred position for the pushup. At ease, everyone.

All too often, a person will be seen doing pushups by leading with their head (we call them “neck scrunchers”) or dropping their hips (known as “saggers”). Be honest, at one time or another you have been “that guy” or “that girl.” It’s ok, next time you are at a gym simply look around – you are not alone. But, you have the ability to separate yourself from the pack by leading with the chest.

When you are ready, begin your rep by pulling your chest to the ground in a controlled motion as opposed to just dropping down. Controlling the descent will help you keep awareness of your body, as it should be moving as one piece with your elbows tracking more towards the hips than the shoulders. Continue this controlled descent until your chin, chest, and hips touch the ground at the same time.

Once you are at the bottom of the pushup, your body should be in an arrow position. What do I mean by this? Well, from a bird’s eye view, your body will resemble an arrow – your head as the tip of the arrow extending out approximately 45 degrees to the arms, with your body serving as the spine of the arrow. This position is much preferred to the commonly seen T position. The arrow position will keep the focus on the pectorals and triceps while reducing strain on the rotator cuff and labrum.

Push to full extension

The moment is here – time to drive the body upwards in a display of awesome power! Push through the ground until your arms reach full extension and you find yourself back in the starting position. Just make sure that during ascent that you maintain the straight line, rigid posture and you will have performed a true pushup.

When done correctly, the pushup is a full body movement that, once perfected, can lead to impressive gains of strength. Now that you have followed along and performed a true pushup, how many more can you do? Can you make it to 50?

References

Cannon, Kelsey. “10 Secrets to the Perfect Pushup.” Men’s Health. 11 Dec 2014. https://www.menshealth.com/fitness/g19547153/10-secrets-to-the-perfect-pushup/?slide=1 Glassman, Greg. “The Pushup.” CrossFit Journal, Issue 07. March 2003. http://library.crossfit.com/free/pdf/07_03_Pushups.pdf

Tom Meehan has over a decade of experience in the fitness industry and has trained a vast array of athletes, ranging from homemakers to professional MMA fighters to members of the Special Operations community. He holds numerous certifications from CrossFit, the International Sports Sciences Association (ISSA), and Dragon Door Kettlebells and has recently achieved his Associate’s degree in Exercise Science from the International Sports Sciences Association (ISSA). He is a combat veteran of the United States Air Force, serving six years as a TACP/JTAC, completing two combat deployments, one of which was featured in the documentary The Fighting Season by Ricky Schroder.

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Prior to his military service, Tom was the head CrossFit trainer for Capital MMA & Elite Fitness in Loudoun, VA. He also spent three and

a half years as a civilian police officer for the City of Alexandria, VA Police Department, where he received the Gold Medal of Valor, Chief ’s Commendation, and Virginia Chiefs of Police awards.

Currently, Tom lives in Navarre, FL and works as a military contractor. He spends his off time working out in his garage gym, hanging out at the beach, and playing with his dog, Ruger.