When many people perform regular push-ups (and countless other variations), they allow their elbows to flare out so their body and arms end up looking like a ‘’t.’’ This is not efficient, and can place the joints under needless stress.
Key Points:
- In the bottom position of the push-up your elbows should be positioned over your wrists, and forearms in a vertical position.
- Your upper arms should form roughly a 45-60 degree angle with your torso.
- Essentially, in the bottom position of the push-up your body and upper arms should resemble an “arrow,” not a “t.”
- What your hands are doing matters! While I talk about the tripod foot base all the time, I employ a similar strategy with the hands. Your weight should be evenly distributed throughout your full hands and fingers, not just at the base of your hands/wrists. Pretend you are trying to spread your full hands and fingers to the floor (or bench if you are performing a hands elevated variation). This often overlooked element can improve your power as you are pressing your body away from the floor, and can help you execute all components of the exercise in a much more controlled manner.
Here are 5 of MANY push-up related articles I’ve written:
Learn How To Do Better Push-Ups With These 5 Exercises
Kneeling Push-Ups Are NOT The Answer
10 Advanced Push-Ups You Can Learn
Push-Ups: 8 Common Mistakes That Could Be Holding You Back
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