Hey Everyone. You may know that I’ve recently filmed a series of exercise videos for Livestrong.com titled Training For Life. I filmed 11 in total and I’m scheduled to shoot 10 more for a new series in the coming weeks.
The really great thing about the LS videos is that they’re instructional as opposed to a straight workout segment. I’m hoping that you’ll hear or see a tip that helps you perform exercises a bit better and with proper form.
The first video I’m sharing is ‘How To Lock The Hips During A Pushup’. This video is really a tutorial about how to perform pushups completely and correctly, which includes how to lock the hips. A saggy lower back or loose core is a very common problem seen with pushups.
I see most trainees lose out on the benefits of this great exercise because they don’t flex the abs, tighten the legs and as a result, end up with articulation in the lower back. This greatly reduces the effectiveness and targeting of training the upper body. Also your head and hand position are key points that I should discuss.
Many people ‘chicken neck’ while doing pushups – they flex their neck forward as they get closer to the floor and ‘pull’ it back as they rise up to the start position. This creates a visual illusion of a greater range of motion when in fact they’ve moved their upper body very little.
Take a look at the video – my neck remains fixed and nuetral throughout the entire movement (not flexed or extended) and all range of motion occurs in the right places. That’s what you’re aiming for.
Another common mistake is when trainees place their hands in front of or behind their shoulders. Take a look at the photo above – my hands are directly below and in line with my shoulders. This is the strongest and most advantageous position to maximize the mechanics of the pushup. Placing your hands too far forward will result in a ‘pushing away’ motion and too far behind will place too much stress on the front shoulder. Both positions reduce leverage and stress the shoulder joint unnecessarily.
All right, enough talk. Watch the video and let me know what you think!
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