Quickly Become a Push-Up Master

I’ve been working on my pushups. So we’ll dedicate today’s Movement to getting better at them.

First off, I’ll name this exercise “king of all upper body workouts”. Some may argue bench press, but here’s my defense of the pushup…

  1. You can do a set anywhere. The gym, home, office, park, or before you head to the pool, it’s versatile.
  2. There are plenty of ways to scale or progress the movement.
  3. Works the shoulders, chest, and arms, and you also have to brace your core.

However, the movement tends to be a crux for many people. No matter if you’re working on getting your first rep, or on a mission to 100, here are some tips that will help you master the push-up.

Elbows Down

If we were about to brawl and you went for a good shove, the elbows wouldn’t flare up high, nor would they tuck into your side. There is a happy in-between where your arms make a V shape (see below.)

 

Vertical Forearm

A little tip from some strong people I know… for any pressing movement (bench, shoulder press, push-ups, etc.) you want to stack the wrist and elbow, so the forearm is vertical (the stock photo below nailed a bad one!)

Grease the Groove

If you want to get more reps, you’ve got to do more reps.  The grease-the-groove strategy will help you get there.  I wrote this program for Murph prep a few years back (why the dates are off), and it will help you a ton this year as well.

Less is More

We often get caught in the trap of thinking more is better for getting stronger.  But especially for this exercise, fewer but great reps beat out lots of sloppy ones.  So here are some tips to progress your push-ups for your current strength level.

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