Despite being a very basic bodyweight exercise, push-ups remain a staple in muscle and strength-building training programs. Why? Because this simple compound exercise is excellent for pumping up the pecs and strengthening the upper body muscles. Plus, it can be done practically anywhere, from the garden to the gym. However, mastering the movement isn’t easy and, if you aren’t doing them correctly, you won’t be reaping its full rewards.
Brushing up on your form is the best way to ensure you get the most out of your push-ups and will help you on your way to achieving your first one. In a recent Instagram post, Certified Fitness Trainer Lauren Pak shares a simple tip that will help improve your form, so you can do push-ups like a pro.
Lauren's push-up hack
One common mistake people make when it comes to push-ups is their elbow positioning, flaring them out to the sides at a 90-degree angle. While you may be able to accomplish a few push-ups like this, it’s not a stable position and can put a lot of strain on your wrists and shoulders, causing a potential injury.
“Instead of letting your elbows flare out to the sides, which is a less strong and stable position to press from, think about “corkscrewing” your hands on the way down,” Lauren writes on her Instagram post.
What she means by this is twisting your elbows inwards as you lower yourself to the floor. What this does is take your elbows from that flared 90-degree angle and point them into more of a 45-degree angle. This is a far more stable starting position for your push-up, and Lauren says the hands, forearms and shoulders will instantly be more engaged for a stronger movement. Plus, it’s much safer for your shoulders.
She refers to a good example in her video, explaining that if her car broke down she wouldn’t push it with her elbows flared out, they’d be angled slightly, so why is the same not carried over to the push-up? Seen as it’s a pushing movement pattern, it makes sense.
If you can’t do a full push-up yet either, it doesn’t matter. This can be applied to any type of push-up, whether you’re doing it from your knees, a barbell, the wall, or on a weight bench. Give it a go when you’re next trying push-ups—it may just be the thing that makes them that little bit easier!
