It is amazing how many people are not very good at the Push Up. It’s ok, because you have been taught how to do it by just going out there and doing Push Ups, hoping that time and repetition will eventually lead to you being able to do a good Push Up.
This is equivalent to a teacher saying, “It looks like you are really struggling to read. So just sit there and try to read until it just happens.” I am sure all of you reading this were not taught this way.
What did they do? They broke down the words into letters and taught you to sound them out. The accumulation of letters and sounds made up a word that you could eventually put together as a whole, which is how you read.
(I now just realized I assumed that all you reading this do not have an understanding how reading works, which makes no sense whatsoever. My bad.)
How does this Sesame Street lesson apply to Push Ups? Just like a word, the Push Up is made up of many different moving parts. Each part needs to be worked on so when you put all the parts together you will be able to complete a kick ass Push Up that will be the talk of the local Five and Dime.
3 Parts of a Push Up
1) Creating Tension
The ability to create good tension is where most people will struggle. We are great at creating tension in places like our lower backs and necks, but we don’t want tension there, we want it through the trunk and hips. This will place the body in the correct alignment, which will make doing the Push Up much easier.
To do this you want to:
- Make sure lower back is not excessively arched
- Set the upper back by thinking of screwing you hands into the ground.
- Connect the hips and torso: think of lightly drawing the belly button back to the spine.
2) Planks For Days
A great way to practice creating tension and getting yourself into the right position is by doing plank variations. When you look at a Push Up it is really just a plank with a press. I know, I just blew your mind.
Here are plank progressions to mastering the Push Up.
1)Straight Arm Plank 2) Plank 3) Bottom Position Push Up Iso Hold 4) Plank w/ Pledge 5) Push Up March
3) Push It, Push It Real Good
The last step in being able to do a kick ass Push Up is making sure you have the upper body strength to complete one. The truth is, if you are able to master the first two steps, you will already be able to do a Push Up at this point.
This step really just makes you absurdly good at Push Ups so you can do Push Ups with bands, chains, small woodland creatures, or really anything that will add resistance to this exercise.
1) Dumbbell Floor Press 2) Dumbbell 1 Arm Bench 3) Cable 1 Arm Press
If you do these three steps you will most definitely be able to do a Push Up.
Love to hear your thoughts.
Much Love
Josh
