Perfect Your Push-Up: Common Mistakes & How to Fix Them
Ah, the push-up — an old friend from gym class and the sweat-inducing strengthener that haunts you from time to time in a quick HIIT workout. Fortunately, like most things, push-ups become easier with practice (we promise). And even if they’re already high up on your roster of favorite bodyweight moves, you could be practicing them in a way that’s not beneficial for your body. According to Alo Moves fitness instructor Roxie Jones, the push-up is one of the hardest bodyweight exercises. We asked Jones to break down common push-up mistakes and teach us how to do the perfect push-up to clear up any questions.
Push-Up Mistake #1: Your Plank form needs some work.
A solid push-up starts with a solid Plank, plain and simple. “When it comes to perfecting your push-up, you’ve got to make sure you have a strong Plank to begin with,” said Jones. To start out in a proper Plank, bring your shoulders over your wrists and come up onto your toes. Keep a nice straight line from your head to your heels. Keep everything tight, tuck your pelvis under, and squeeze the space between your ribs and hips.
Push-Up Mistake #2: Your head is dropping down.
Another push-up mistake stems from a lack of a focused gaze. “A common mistake I see when people start to descend down into the push-up is that their head starts to fall down.” Her tip: Pick something that’s in front of you and keep your eyes locked on that object.
Push-Up Mistake #3: The distance between your hands is off.
When it comes to the ABCs of push ups, your push-up should look like the shape of an A or Y rather than an I. “When your elbows are in super tight in the shape of an I, it’s not anatomically incorrect, but it’s focusing more on triceps,” said Jones. “We want to engage the chest and the shoulders. When you open up your elbows too wide, you’re not going to get a good full range of motion and you’re most likely going to be bothering your shoulder joints.”
Push-Up Mistake #4: You’re doing push-ups on your knees.
Roxie’s hot tip: Never bring push-ups to your knees. “Once you bring your knees down the floor, you’re removing your core from the equation. We want to make sure that everything is intact because that’s the foundation of your movement in a push-up.”
How to Modify a Push-Up
If your bodyweight is feeling too heavy and you’re unable to push yourself back up in a regular push-up, elevating your hands to a higher surface is the best way to modify your push-up. Jones suggests bringing your hands to a chair or wall instead. “If you elevate your hands up higher, you’ll be able to complete the full range of motion since it’s less bodyweight. For some people, that is a good place to start.”
Another option is to take a resistance band and put it around your elbows. “The awesome thing about this is that the resistance from the band being stretched apart is going to help push your chest back up,” said Jones. “Make sure you’re not letting the band pull your elbows in together. Push the band apart as you come down.”
Finally, if you’re having wrist pain, get a pair of dumbbells and put them underneath your hands. Make sure you angle them inward so you have room for your chest to go down and up.
Want to put these tips into practice? Practice along with Roxie Jones in her Perfecting the Push-Up class on Alo Moves. Try it free with a 14-day trial.