Coach Rozy WEDNESDAY EXERCISE OF THE WEAK: THE PUSH-UP

Exercise of the “Weak” – Push-Up & Variations

By

Mark “Coach Rozy” Roozen

They’re old-fashion, thought of as boring and I hear folks say even “time-consuming”. Yes, they’re pushups. You know the exercise! We all have done them. We use to do them in gym class to test our physical fitness or when we work with Tactical Athletes: fire, police and military, it’s their favorite punishment for the a cadet who messed up during a drill or practicing some procedure. Most of us were happy to abandon such training as soon as we graduated from grade school or were strong enough to bench press a modest amount weight in the gym.

But the PUSH-UP is, and always will be, a great exercise to build up chest, shoulder, back and arm strength. It’s super to use as a building block for upper body controlled motion.

We all DO or HAVE DONE PUSH-UPS – here is how to do a push-up correctly.

Lie on the ground on your stomach. Place your hands slightly wider than shoulder width with hands pointing forward. THE ELBOWS SHOULD BE CLOSE TO THE TORSO.

Maintain proper back position – DO NOT LET THE HIPS DROP. Brace and engage the core. Press through the floor and move the body in an upward movement. The hips and shoulders must rise at the same time.

Lower yourself, under control to the start position, keeping the body straight. THE SHOULDERS SHOULD NOT ROUND FORWARD.

Perform set number of reps and sets for workout.

When a normal push-up gets easy, you can add one of these variations to your program.

1) Wide-grip pushup 

Target area: chest.

Start from a  normal pushup position but spread your hands wider than shoulder length. This will force your chest to pick up the brunt of the work from your triceps and shoulders.

2) Narrow-grip pushup (Diamond pushup)

Target area: triceps.

Do a normal pushup with your hands just a few inches apart from each other underneath your chest.

3) T-pushup

Target area: full-body workout.

Start from the pushup position. Take one hand off the ground and raise it straight up in the air (making a T-shape out of your body). Keep your eyes locked on your raised hand. Repeat for your other side. Add dumbbells to the routine to increase the intensity of the workout. “T-pushups hammer your entire upper body,” says Yeung. “Not only are you targeting your chest, but you’re also strengthening your shoulders, opening up your thoracic spine [midback], and building rotational power through your core.”

4) Single-leg pushup

Target area: intensifies work on upper body and core.

Lift one leg up off the ground and do a set. Switch legs on the next set.

5) Feet-elevated pushups

Target area: intensifies work on upper body and core.

Do a normal pushup, but with your feet elevated on a stable platform like a box or bench. The higher the platform, the more you’ll work your shoulders, chest, core, and scapular stabilizers (the muscles that connect your neck, midback, and shoulders).