Elbow flexion, push-ups, base of arms, push-ups … Many names point to one of the most popular bodybuilding exercises. In this article, we remain with this surname, which is very common in Latin America, but is increasingly found in Spain. And we explain to you how to do push-ups properly at home, in the gym or anywhere else. Pay attention!
How to do push-ups: steps to do
Although this is a very simple exercise, not everyone knows how to do push-ups: there are some common mistakes, especially in the starting position and on the flexion. Here are the steps you should follow:
- Place the body with the face down and resting only on the ground with the palms of the hands and the tips of the feet. At this point, three common mistakes are made, which we collect here to fix them and understand how to do push-ups from the beginning:
- Hands open and go too far: it is correct to hold them slightly below the imaginary shoulder line, without taking out the elbows. Thus, viewed from above, the two elbows and the head form an equilateral triangle when the flexion is complete
- The head is advanced in relation to the body line, bringing it closer to the ground and thus shortening the bending path. The correct thing is that, when viewed in profile, the head is perfectly aligned with the torso and legs so that the elbow flexion is wider and more effective
- The lower back rises excessively, breaking the ideal line that the legs and torso should form. This misalignment shifts the force to the legs and releases it from the abdominals, chest and arms, making it overly “light”. However, keeping a straight line between the head, torso and legs is correct, which also allows for more gluteal work.
- From this position, you should bend your elbows until your chest and nose are too close to the ground, about one centimeter, without touching it
- Extend your arms again until you reach the starting position described above. And repeat this movement again in a series of 10, 15, 20 or another number, adapted to your capabilities
These three steps explain how to do standard push-ups, but you can add difficulty to this exercise if your physical ability allows it. Some of these options are:
- One hand: Instead of holding your body with the palms of both hands, you only have to use one of them, which doubles the force of that hand. The series, in this case, will be an alternative weapon
- Clap: With a starting position and a downward movement similar to the standard one, the third step varies: when extending your arms, this should be done with enough force and momentum so that you can lift your arms off the ground, make a pass and place your arms on the floor
- With a weight on you, with a resistance vest or object on the back
Benefits of lizards
Now that you know how to do push-ups, we remind you of several benefits of this exercise:
- It’s inexpensive: you don’t need any special accessories, as usually only the weight of the body itself is used, which is called body weight training . Of course, you can use comfortable training clothes for this, for example the one that you find on our website: Camisas, shorts, etc. Additional bracelets are also useful
- This can be practiced anywhere: in the gym, at home and outdoors
- This is a very complete exercise as it not only makes the arms (triceps) work, but also uses many other muscles such as the pecs, glutes and abdominals.