#360fit: Lifestyler - The power of the push-up

Josie McKenlay 08:34 14/07/2016
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  • Essential exercise: Push-up.

    No matter what sort of fitness class you attend, there is no escaping the push-up in some form or another and with good reason: if it was the only exercise you ever did, you would be getting many benefits.

    It’s a compound exercise which means that it does more than one thing; it’s a true multi-tasker. Essentially, it is an upper body strengthener for the arms and chest, but it also works the core and is excellent for pelvic/shoulder stability, improving posture and body awareness.

    As it is a weight-bearing exercise, it also improves bone mass. It is a popular warm-up in martial arts classes and a bit part of military physical fitness training.

    It appears in a couple of forms in Pilates and even pops up in yoga in the form of Hindu push ups, part of the Sun Salutation and used to link postures in the more vigorous styles of yoga.

    Technique

    The push up is one of the most difficult exercises to perform perfectly even though we all know that basically we need to bend the elbows lowering the body towards the floor and then push up.

    It is probably the one exercise I have to correct the most in class. Here are seven ways to perfect your technique and make this exercise more effective:

    1. “Screw” your hands to the floor to create torque to ensure strong arms: wrists face straight ahead and then you “screw” them away from one another. They won’t move, but you will feel the tension build. It will have a positive effect on the shoulder position too.

    To also engage the lats, imagine you are holding a 1,000 dirham note in your armpit.

    2. Hold an imaginary apple between chin and chest: this will ensure that your neck is in line with the spine. People often let their heads hang.

    3. Pull hands and feet towards each other which will help to engage the core and keep your hips and mid-section from sagging. It will also keep the shoulders away from the ears.

    4. Utilise the glutes by squeezing the buttocks to again help support the pelvis and lower back.

    5. Have your feet together and squeeze to activate the muscles in the legs.

    6. Use your breath: inhale down, exhale up. Exhaling automatically encourages the core muscles to contract, aiding the push up part of the exercise and ensuring that your hips don’t get left behind.

    7. Resist gravity: it’s almost as though you are pushing yourself away from the floor as you lower down so that you don’t just drop down.

    Variations

    BEGINNER: On your knees in a diagonal line from ear to knee through shoulder and hip; knees bent with heels towards tailbone to stay off knee cap.

    Start with one perfect push up and build to 30. Then try a few of the following variations.

    ADVANCED: So many, but here are a few ideas:

    Raise one leg to work the glutes and challenge core stability.

    One-armed push ups.

    Put your feet on two small balls or a stability ball.

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