WHAT
- The push-up is a simple and highly effective foundational movement, serving as an essential building block for loaded pushing, as well as inverted moves such as the handstand.
- It is widely regarded as a benchmark movement for upper body strength and is easily adaptable for any level of fitness.
HOW
- Start in a plank position with arms straight, shoulders above wrists, and body in a straight line. Engage the core and glutes.
- Keeping the shoulders over the wrists, lower the whole body towards the floor, dropping comfortably as low as you can.
- Push the body upwards and return to the start position. Repeat for desired reps or time.
WHY
- From a very early age, the ability to push our body away from the ground was a pre-adaptation to crawling. In fitness and sports training, the push-up is, therefore, a foundational movement – which means that you can build other bodyweight skills upon it.
- Any bodyweight-supported exercises can be demanding for your wrists and hands – which is actually an excellent reason to perform them. However, take time to warm up the wrists with some gentle mobility if you’re planning to do more push-ups than usual.
- As your strength improves, play around with hand position and speed of movement (e.g. close or wide grip push-ups, or explosive push-ups). Practising these variations will build high-levels of resilience and decrease your injury risk.
- When progressing with the push-up, remember that it’s not about scoring points, but instead to develop skill and control. Make push-ups an integral part of your training program and watch your strength improve quickly.
OTHER EXERCISES:
HOW TO PERFORM THE BAR HANG FOR INCREASED CORE STRENGTH AND BODY CONTROL
HOW TO PERFORM THE BURPEE PULL-UP FOR EXPLOSIVE POWER AND ENDURANCE
