PUSH UP
Elbows IN!!: Protects gleno-humeral joint (shoulder). There is NO place for wide grip push-ups in fitness training.Shoulders down.Exhale as you extend the elbows.Full elbow extension – activates the serratus anterior, which in most people,lacks innervation. Anyone who isn’t used to push-ups must initially learn to fully extend the elbows on each repetition. This will strengthen the serratus anterior, and reactivate it, which is crucial for shoulder and scapular rehab/imbalances.
However, once your ‘core’ has reactivated, I.E. rectus abdominus,transverse abdominus,obliques and serratus,it is ok to cheat a bit, especially if you do 600 reps weekly, as I do. Lastly,it is also important to counter balance this pressing exercise with an appropriate pulling exercise, which MUST be performed in the same plane of motion.I like the horizontal row with resistance bands.I do my push-ups in sets of 30,so I pull in sets of 30, also for 600 reps weekly. Why? To minimize the risk of developing shoulder injuries – I am balancing the workload on my internal shoulder rotators with my external shoulder rotators.
HAND STEP-UP
- Be very careful that your feet don’t slip.
- Try to keep your hips level, without them dropping from side to side
- Keep glutes tight
- Neutral spine
