Tuesday 14 June 2016

5 Simple Tricks For Mastering The Perfect Push-Up

Guido Mieth, Getty Images

Push-ups remain a standard move in fitness classes everywhere for a simple reason: They work. Sure the exercise works your arm muscles, but it’s also great for your core and chest. “It’s a full-body toner,” says celebrity trainer Astrid Swan. “You are strengthening your shoulders, triceps, biceps, back, chest, core, and glutes. Engaging all of these muscles at once means you are upping your metabolic rate, burning a significant amount of calories, and you’re helping to improve your posture, too.”

Simply put, the push-up is one of the best bodyweight exercises you can do—and there are plenty of ways to make the move beginner-friendly or more challenging. Here, Swan breaks down three basic push-up variations, and the essential dos and don’ts that’ll help you master every one.

First, let’s talk form. Here’s how to fix (and avoid) the five most common push-up mistakes.

1. Place your hands in the proper position.

“Common mistakes I see are having your hands too wide, or turning the hands in or out, which can lead to wrist and shoulder pain,” says Swan. Your palms should be under your shoulders or slightly wider, and your wrists and hands should point directly forward, she explains. For the standard push-up you want to have your palms flat and flushed against the floor.

2. Don’t forget to engage your core.

“Letting your belly go is a big no-no,” says Swan. After all, you’ll need to keep your core tight in order to maintain one solid line from your head to your toes.

3. Keep your hips lifted the entire time.

“Letting your hips drop down before your chest lowers in a common issue,” says Swan. Keep your hips lifted throughout the movement, and if you notice they tend to “sag” toward the floor, lower to your knees in order to maintain proper form. If you need more support try separating your feet to create a wider, sturdier base. When you’re feeling stable and want to kick things up a notch, move your feet closer together.

4. Use your breath.

Since a push-up challenges your entire body, you’ll need to use your breath to get you through it—meaning don’t hold it. “Lower down slowly on the inhale, and exhale as you press back to starting position,” says Swan.

5. Keep your neck neutral.

Many people either look up at their reflection in the mirror or drop their heads down and look in between their feet. Neither is correct. “Your head is neutral, in line with your spine, and with a small tuck of your chin,” says Swan. Pick a spot on the floor just in front of your hands and focus on that.

Now here are three super-effective push-up variations that work your arms, abs, and chest.

1. A basic push-up: Start in a high plank position with your hands flat on the floor about shoulder-width apart. Keeping your body in one long line, bend your arms and lower yourself as close to the floor as you can. Then push back up to a plank. 

Justin Steele; modeled by Astrid Swan. Hair and Makeup by Sacha Harford at NEXT ARTISTS

2. With knees on the floor: This is great beginner-friendly variation of the basic plank—it will help you master proper form and work up to building a full range of motion. You’ll follow essentially the same motion as the basic push-up, but with your knees on the floor and feet up in the air behind you. The one important rule to remember: “Roll over to more of the top knee/thigh to protect your knee caps,” says Swan.

3. The triceps burner: The standard push-ups mentioned above will fatigue your chest and shoulders fairly quickly, but by narrowing the position of your hands, you can target your triceps instead. “Place your hands slightly closer than shoulder-width apart and keep your elbows glued to your sides,” says Swan. As you lower yourself down and back up, make sure to keep your elbows close to your torso, which allows your triceps to pick up a lot of the slack of the movement.

Justin Steele; modeled by Astrid Swan. Hair and Makeup by Sacha Harford at NEXT ARTISTS

You may also like: Try this 10-minute plyometric workout you can do at home:

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