Pushup Form

I had discussed in a previous post how I feel that the pushup is an underrated and undervalued exercise. Many people don't utilize the pushup enough and if they do, they tend to throw it in at the end of their workout as an after thought. And it's too bad because it is such an effective exercise for the muscles of the chest, shoulder and triceps. And few people recognize that the pushup also utilizes the muscles of the upper back, legs and "core" areas, so in truth, it becomes a great overall body exercise.


Finding people who do pushups is one thing, finding people who do them RIGHT is a whole other ball game. When I do run into those who perform the pushup, I am simply amazed at the amount of reps they claim to get. I have had people have rattled off figures that are staggering. I've even had people tell me that they could bang out 50 and in some cases, even 100 consecutive reps - which to me is an incredible accomplishment. If at the time I'm feeling a bit cynical (and for those who know me, they are already asking "when isn't he?") I will ask that person to demonstrate their pushup form for me. More often than not they have a limited range of motion, are pumping the reps out faster than I can count and to be honest, have no business even trying to do pushups at all, let alone quoting some astronimical numbers.


If you enjoy doing pushups or would like to start doing them then do them - correctly - then you might want to view this video I found and learn How to do a proper pushup - Fred Fornicola