3 + 1 For Better Pushups

Let's all just agree. Pushups are awesome. They work muscles from your head to your toes.

 

Whether you are doing pushups on your toes, your knees, on an incline, or a wall these tips can help you get more out of your pushups.

 

1. Don't let your elbows flare out

It all starts with proper hand placement. Your hands should be directly underneath your shoulders (or slightly wider) at the top of the pushup. As you lower yourself down, think about keeping your elbows lined up with the middle finger on your hand. When the elbows flare out, you place more stress on the shoulders.

 

2. Push through your pits

Focus on pushing with your armpits. This sounds weird, but will help you better recruit the muscles in your chest and triceps, gets the lats (the muscles on the side of your back) involved, and helps to protect your shoulders.

 

3. Never let your butt go over your head

This is just good life advice in general, so there's that. It will also help you avoid a common problem of "piking" your hips up. Keep your butt muscles tight, your chin off your chest, and lower yourself down chest first. This will give you a better range of motion and a more effective pushup.

 

Bonus Tip- Hand Release Pushups

If you find you are having trouble going all the way down, try hand release pushups. Lower yourself all the way down to the floor, when you are all the way flat reach your arms out to the side like you are an airplane, bring your hands back to just outside your chest, and then push up.

This will help you not only get lower in your pushups, but also helps you keep your elbows from flaring out. Plus any time you can go airplane it's a good thing.