The Perfect Pushup!

By Calvin Crawford- CC’s Staff

The Perfect Pushup!

We’ve all been in a pinch before trying to get a quick workout in before work, at lunch or during your kids’ practice. Likely, you picked to do a short jog, sit-ups and of course, push-ups. Push-ups have been a staple for exercise routines forever. Push-ups exercise 2 primary muscle groups – chest and triceps. However, we need to move our shoulder blades to allow our chest muscles to activate properly, otherwise it is simply a triceps exercise. Having improper form with this exercise can lead to impingement and rotator cuff tendonitis, or even a tear. The key is to bring your shoulder blades in toward each other and prevent your elbow from going too far back. Let’s go through the steps!
√ Elbows at about 30 degrees from your side (about 4 inches)
√ Hands directly under shoulders
√ As you push-up, think of the muscles you are using (chest and triceps)
             o This helps to create a high quality mind-muscle connection
√ As you come down, bring shoulder blades together
√ Elbow and shoulder should be parallel with your body
 √Don’t let your elbow go too far back
 √REPEAT!

Likely the most common and seemingly simple exercise out there and yet a cause for concern based on what we see here in the clinic. It is very important to dissect your exercise routine every so often as it is the little things that we do wrong every day that compound to create a bigger issue in the future. We also need to do a better job of incorporating more “pulling” exercises, and not just “pushing” exercises as we do each day. As studies have shown we are 1.5 to 3 times stronger through our chest than back (al, 2013), likely leading to further injuries in our shoulder. But more on that in a later blog post 😊