How to do a Perfect Push Up

A lot of people think that the push up is just a chest exercise but when executed well it is more of an integrated total body movement. Our goal is maximise the result or adaptation response from every movement or exercise we do. We want to create as much power as possible with the move so it technique is very important.

Effective, Efficient and Safe Push Up Mechanics

Arm Position – Traditionally push up are down with elbows flared out at 90 degrees. By bringing the arm in closer to your side you shorten the lever so effectively you are covering less distance.

Elbow Position – Elbow should track over wrist to make for a much safer exercise. This is especially important for all your hitting and throwing athletes that don’t want to blow out their elbows.

Hand position – We want our shoulders packed so cork screw your hands into the ground

These things make it much safer on the shoulder and elbow joints and because you will be working at a mechanical advantage you can really engage more muscle and make your push up training far more intense by progressing to weighted push ups and several other push up variations that challenge the system slightly differently. In your warm make sure to include some glute and upper back activation exercises which will help you engage your lats and glutes to create more tension and stability through the body.