Push-ups aren’t too complicated as far as exercises go, but that doesn’t mean they’re easy. As fatigue increases, errors tend to appear.
To fix these mistakes, I spoke with Sherri McMillan, owner of Northwest Personal Training in Vancouver, Washington. Below are four of the most common push-up mistakes she’s encountered over a career spanning more than 35 years, along with her expert advice on how to fix them once and for all.
Four common mistakes when doing push-ups
If you need a refresher on form, start with our guide on how to do a push-up.
1. Unhook the lumbar area
In a perfect world, your shoulders, hips, knees, and ankles would remain in a straight line during the push-up, but often the lower back is the first area to sag, allowing the hips to bend and pressure to build up. at the base of the muscles. spine.
Avoid this problem by squeezing your glutes at the beginning of the movement and curving your tailbone downward to activate your core and lower back muscles, and deliberately keep your hips and pelvis rock solid.
“Think about keeping your back flat and long at all times,” says McMillan. “Keep your neck neutral at all times by looking directly at the floor,” rather than craning your neck to see your reflection in the mirror.
2. Hurry and don’t repeat
When doing 10, 20, or even 30+ pushups, it can be tempting to perform them as quickly as possible. Why is this a bug? Because you’re unlikely to perform the exercise with a full range of motion (arms completely straight at the top, chest just off the floor at the bottom), which means your muscles won’t train through their full range and miss out on gains. that could have been obtained with a perfect form.
A simple solution is to forget about the rep goal and instead work against the clock. “Use a count of 1 to 2 on the up phase and a count of 2 to 4 on the down phase,” suggests McMillan.
3. Widening the elbows
The position of the hands and elbow are essential for a good push-up. If your hands are too narrow, you will force your triceps to support most of the weight. If it is too wide, your elbows will flare out, making it difficult to retract your shoulder blades.
The ideal, says McMillan, is to keep your hands shoulder-width apart and your elbows close to your body from the first repetition to the last.
Why is it useful to retract the shoulder blades? Because by retracting your shoulders and keeping your elbows close to your body, you will better activate the large muscles of the middle and upper back, the rhomboids and latissimus dorsi.
These antagonist muscles work in conjunction with the pectorals when performing a push-up, helping you generate maximum force from the first to the last repetition.
4. Exaggerate with your hands
To start a push-up you place your hands under your shoulders, right? Well, not so fast. In fact, your hands should be placed closer to your midline, at the level of the middle of your chest, to give you the best opportunity to power each rep, says McMillan. Any more and you’ll be asking more of your core to hold everything together.
To get your hand placement right, McMillan recommends starting on the floor, chest down. He places his hands directly next to his pecs so that his thumbs brush against his chest. If you can muster the energy, move up from this position to your first rep; Otherwise, press your knees into the floor to help you get into the starting position. Ready? Come on.
Sherri McMillan is the owner of Northwest Personal Training in Vancouver, Washington, and an international fitness presenter, personal trainer, fitness columnist, and author of five books and manuals, including Go Get Fit: The Winning Way to Lose Fat and In shape more than forty.
Accredited through the Health & Fitness Association, McMillan holds a bachelor’s degree in Exercise Physiology from the University of Windsor and a master’s degree in Exercise Physiology from the University of British Columbia, both in Canada.
Throughout a career spanning more than 35 years, she has received numerous industry awards, including 2010 CanFitPro International Fitness Presenter of the Year, 2006 IDEA Fitness Director of the Year, 1998 IDEA Personal Trainer of the Year and CanFitPro Fitness Presenter of the Year 1998.
