The Perfect Push-Up

Once considered to be the ultimate exercise for strengthening the upper body, the push-up is now being featured as a core workout based on form rather than the “how many you can crank out” model. Done with correct form, the push-up is a full-body experience that includes the core muscles.

Begin with a plank, facing down, on hands and balls of feet. This is where you start to organize your body. Avoid dropping your head, squeezing your shoulder blades or over-arching your low back. See Photo A and note that incorrect positioning could greatly diminish the value of the exercise.

To correct this misalignment, lift the back of your head up toward the ceiling while still looking down. Your head should align with your spine. Next, widen the shoulder blades as if they were wrapping around your arms. Then pull the lower abdominal wall up toward your spine. This should be a small lift that puts the pelvis in a neutral position (Photo B).

As you begin to lower your body, turn your attention to your shoulder blades (scapulae). Avoid pinching the scapulae together (Photo C). The goal is to stabilize the scapulae by widening them using the serratus anterior muscles, which assist in stabilizing the scapulae. Once in this position, focus on bending your elbows to lower your body and avoid leading with your chest. Remember, this is a full body exercise, so activation of the lower abdominals is important. Only lower halfway down to keep the body in neutral position (Photo D).

When executing a push-up with correct alignment, pectoralis major, anterior deltoid, serratus anterior, triceps, erector spinae muscles (back), obliques, rectus abdominis and quadricep muscles are all being used! With mindfulness and technique, 10 push-ups done correctly outweigh 50 done incorrectly.