Push-UPS to increase and build real strength
these days, push-UPS are either ridiculed, considered useless, or, even worse, forgotten altogether. This is a huge mistake and we need to fix it as soon as possible.Why do you need push-UPS? push
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UPS are great for your shoulders and chest. Push-UPS not only improve the chest muscles, joint work of the shoulder blades, shoulders and elbows, but also help to open the upper back. One of the reasons we have so many shoulder problems today is that we don't pay enough attention to proper push-up techniques.
Push-UPS are great for the core muscles. If you want to be strong, you absolutely need a bench press. But one of the features of the bench press is that in this exercise, the back plays an important role, because the spine is your connecting node. This is how you combine the upper and lower parts of your body. If your spine is weak or unstable, it will affect your ability to perform push-UPS correctly.
You can do them anywhere. There is always enough space for a quick push-up workout.
How do you do push-UPS?
I can't tell you how many "experienced" athletes I've worked with who completely don't understand how to do push-UPS properly. Here are some areas to focus on:
1-Upper body
Too many people want to think in absolute terms. Either they want their elbows to spread 90 degrees apart, or they'll twist them up a lot at the sides. None of the options fit your shoulders.
When the elbows are excessively spread out on the sides, a large load is placed on the shoulder joint. This is also an incredibly biomechanical disadvantage, so this course of action will make you worse off, not better off.
On the other hand, holding your elbows firmly to your sides is not a good idea either. While most of them do this with the intention of sparing the shoulders, what ultimately happens is that this position causes the humerus to slide forward in the joint fossa.
Instead, find a balance. Bend your elbows at a 45-degree angle or just "make an arrow".
2-lower body
This part is simple. Just keep your lower body tense. Sure, you can squeeze your buttocks, but you don't need to go all the way to the high threshold when you do a standard push-up. Instead, find the normal amount of stress for the task at hand.
3-cortex Muscles
This is probably the most important part of the body when doing push-UPS. Find and hold the neutral position of the spine. If you put a PVC pipe or Board on your back, you should have three points of contact:
1) the back of your Head
2) Upper back
3) Buttocks
Getting into this position can be relatively easy, but the hardest part is staying in it when you're actually making a move. You usually see a lowering of the body and a lowering of the head to the floor. Instead, fix your spine and you will not only get a great upper body workout, but also a great core muscle workout.
4-Natural movement
Most people do push-UPS unnatural and not athletic. If you're thinking of "pulling" your shoulder blades together as you go down, stop!
When most people think about bringing their shoulder blades together, they inevitably distort the correct body position. At this point, they continue to descend, and all this movement (and tension) is transferred to the shoulders.
To fix this, consider making the movement sporty again. Don't think about bringing your shoulder blades together. Just think about the simultaneous movement of the buttocks, shoulders, and elbows.
But if you are really trained to put your shoulder blades together first, you may have to think about the opposite: first bend your elbows. It sounds counterintuitive, but the idea of bending your arms at the elbows first usually helps improve movement in a few repetitions.
How do I make push-UPS harder?
It's funny when someone says: "Push-UPS are easy! Can't we find a way to make them harder?» Then, when you actually watch them do push-UPS, their hips drag on the floor, their shoulders sway everywhere, and their neck bulges out like an 80-year-old with osteoporosis.
Push-UPS are not the most beautiful exercise, but first learn how to do them correctly before looking for new challenges. Once you do this, there are three ways you can usually go to complicate them:
1-force-oriented Complication
Use them if you want to become a real strongman and just become super strong. These include anything that increases external resistance:
- Heavy rings
- Heavy chains
-weighted Vests
- Weight weights on the back
Just put any weight on your back and you will get a great strength exercise.
2-stability-oriented Complication
These are great options if you want to "protect your body from bullets" and make sure everything is in balance. It's not uncommon to see super-strong guys who have shoulder or lower back problems, so stability-oriented exercises can remove these weaknesses and fix them for a long time.
Stability-oriented complications will include any exercise that contains elements of instability: push-UPS with an unstable surface. And push-UPS with hands on medical balls.
3-Complication, focused on rotation
Strong athletes tend to get stuck in the sagittal plane (perform exercises only forward-backward, left-right). If this becomes excessively frequent, they lose access to their frontal and transverse planes, which can cause injuries.
To correct this, variations of push-UPS with offset can be crucial for restoring torso rotation. Push-up options in this category may include: variations of one-hand offset on a stuffed ball and push-UPS with one-hand support.
Depending on your needs and goals, there are many different options at your disposal. And if you want the best, just change your accent every 2-3 months to help build a strong, well-balanced and bulletproof physique.
