Push Ups are the most basic form of exercise that you all of you must have tried one time or the other. They develop the pectoral muscles and triceps, with benefits to the deltoids and the midsection as a whole. Push Up works on the upper section of the body and help in strengthening your torso as a whole.
However this exercise, however basic it may seem, should be carried out in the right manner. So we lets evaluate the right form to do pushups, various forms of pushups and their effects on body parts, and the common push up errors.
POSTURE:
Start with lying upside down. Now with feet close together rise up with hands a little wider than your shoulder width. Your fingertips should be pointed straight ahead, and make sure you keep your back flat and your head in natural alignment with your spine. Assume the Push-up starting position with your elbows locked. Lower yourself by bending your elbows until your chest almost touches the floor. Come back up by pushing through the floor. Exhale as you push back to the starting position.
Important points to be noted while performing repetitions:
1. Don’t take your hands out to wide. Put your hands slightly wider than shoulder-width.
2. Chin should be tucked in, i.e whole of the body should be in a straight line. Your neck must stay inline with the rest of your spine. Don’t look forward as this can lead to neck injuries
3. Don’t bend your back. No pressure should be felt on back. Try to form a straight line from shoulders to ankles.
4. Lead with your chest. The basic and best form of push ups is up and down in a vertical manner. You might find many people leading with their heads and going forward while going down, before coming up. This can lead to neck injuries.
Common Errors while doing push-ups:
Here are some of the most common Push-up errors you’ll see.
1. Looking Forward: Hyper-extending your neck can cause neck injuries. Keep your neck inline with the rest of your spine from start to finish.
2. Letting Your Torso Sack: Your body must be in a straight line from ankles to shoulders.
3. Elbows Out: Increases the torque on your shoulder joint. Tuck your elbows at 45° angle to your body.
Types of Push Ups:
We can variety of push up forms having affect on different parts of the body. The closer your hands are together the more you will engage your triceps, the wider apart the more you will engage your chest and shoulders.
Basic pushups
Basic pushups will work your chest area, triceps and rear deltoids. These are already explained above.
Close-Grip Pushups
Close-grip pushups mostly work the tricep muscles, the inner chest and the trunk muscles. Use the same starting position and breathing pattern as the basic pushup. Bring your hands together and form a triangle with your index fingers and thumbs. As you go down to the floor, your elbows should go to the side, which incidentally puts more stress on your triceps and inner chest. At first, close-grip pushups might strain your wrists, so make sure you stretch appropriately and start off slowly.
Wide-Grip Pushups
Wide-grip pushups will work your chest, rear shoulders and parts of your back muscles. Again use the same starting position and breathing pattern as the basic pushup. Your hands should be positioned beyond shoulder width, with your fingers pointing frontward. The wider position emphasizes the tension on your shoulders and lengthens your pectorals. Wide-grip pushups are more demanding, so you will tire more quickly than with other pushups.
For starters, doing pushups might not be a easy task. Atleast sustaining them for say 15-20 repetitions might be difficult. So in the beginning you can start with knees-feet on the floor and rest process remains the same.
As you grow in strength and stamina you can move from basic pushups onto harder forms.
1. Try having your feet on a elevated place (say bench) with hands down on floor. Lower your body till your nose almost touches the ground.
2. Try with gym sidebars. Place your feet on bench and hands on 4”sidebars. Now let your body fall in between those sidebars in a controlled manner. Gradually come up.
3. One legged pushups: Place your one foot on top of the other and do pushups.
4. One handed Pushups: As ROCKY BALBOA does them. Have your feet wide, one hand on the back while you do push ups on the other hand. However, this is bound to put a lot of stress on your one arm.
5. Use of push up band: Many gyms nowadez have this push up bands. These are basically resistance bands that increase the resistance as you come up.
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