You have lowered into your full squat. You have jumped back into Yoga plank. Now what? Its time for a push up. Stage 3 of the full 6 count Burpee. Yeah I know, it doesn’t get any easier does it? That’s cool though. If you want to be on the fit side and feel all the benefits you got to work at it.  It might not seem fair but nature doesn’t really care about what’s fair. Humans do, nature doesn’t. So if you play by natures rules you will always be better off unless you want to be too “human” about it. Hehe, hehe. Of course, as always, it will be very helpful if you also watch episode 3 first.

Sigh….push ups. I get all misty eyed and sentimental. You may remember doing these back in grade school. Everyone has seen them , tried them, heard of them. Many do it wrong.  A fantastic stand alone exercise and as you become stronger and more fit you can add many cool variations. That’s jumping the gun though. Let’s start where most people need to start, and that is with the basics.

Push ups are much more than an arm exercise. I need you to trust me here. Try it for yourself. Abs get probably as much work, if not more for some people, as your arms. Unless you do them….well, I uh, really badly. About 10 years ago I used to teach at a small Yoga studio in Manhattan. On that same block was a well known martial arts franchise, and they had large windows so pedestrians could stand there and watch. Sometimes I would catch a class during their “conditioning” section, and those push ups were ugly.  Some people were lucky if their chests even dropped halfway to the floor. Like this.To get the benefit out of a push up you got to go through the full range of the exercise. Halfway gives you half results…if that.

The guys were the worst. Many looked like this. Never going all the way down, thinking they were getting low by drooping their head like a crane. Then they didn’t even push all the way back up. Hey what!? These are called push ups right? Crank out 100 like this and the result is mainly tired arms. Not much stronger, not more mobile, but an ego that is now fed with junk. One of the great coaches/trainers I know, Steve Maxwell, says guys that do these kind of “hit the numbers,” half baked push ups get any results, if any, by accident.

Look, we get all caught up in numbers and start forgetting about the quality of the exercise. Quantity is NOT better than quality if the exercise is done badly. Much better to do 15 quality push ups than 50 pieces of junk. Not only will you build better strength, and become more efficient, but shoulder, elbow, back, wrist or neck pain may be visiting you if you do nothing but junk.

What is quality? Let’s go over it quickly. Start in Yoga plank. Elbows straight. Neck long and straight. Fingers pointing straight ahead. Your abs engaged. Long through your back. Upper back flat. Pits of your elbows facing forwards. Tips of your fingers in line with the tops of your shoulders. Hands spread about shoulder width. Read those last few sentences over a few times. There is a lot going on and you haven’t even lowered towards the floor yet. You may find that holding here is a lot of work. That’s great. No need to rush off. Work on this first. Get good at it. Hold for time. You may hold for 20-30 seconds and start shaking. Great! You are developing valuable strength.

Once you are ready to lower down remember to keep the pits of your elbows facing forwards. That means pulling your elbows in towards your ribs. Also keep your shoulders away from your ears.  Use your back muscles here. Try this. Bend your elbows to 90 degrees, then squeeze your arms into your sides. Squeeze them in and downwards. Feel the muscles behind your armpits? Say hello to your lats. A big back muscle, and an important part of your push up. Now squeeze those muscles to help pull you down towards the floor, or box or chair or whatever stage you are currently at. Remember to keep your abs tight so there is no hip sagging going on. You may find this to be very difficult, and you need to be able to find a height that you can almost touch with your chest. NOT YOUR HEAD, but your chest. Inhale as you descend. You can stay at the bottom and work on this position (called chataranga in Yoga). This may be even more difficult but if you keep working at it you will gain strength and it will become easier.

As you push back up use those lat muscles, and keep your elbows in against your ribs. Watch out for flaring elbows. I don’t really like that style of push up. Its much tougher on your shoulders as it can pinch them. Yes, your chest muscles will feel it more, but you miss out on developing healthy shoulders. Exhale as you press up and keep the pits of your elbows facing forwards. Everything comes up together as one unit. Your head, back and hips. Once you get to the top keep your self in your long Yoga plank position. Avoid sticking your butt up into the air. Its called plank because that is how you are supposed to look. Long and straight like a plank.

I apologize if this article is too caught up in details but this is Fusion Fitness TV where whole body exercise is king, and push ups, if done well AND with concentration are definitely whole body. Once you get it down you can learn how to put up big numbers too, but that is actually more advanced as you have to learn how to alternately relax and tense your muscles with a good breathing rhythm. More on that in another episode? Stay tuned and see. Push ups are one of the most important exercises you can do. They work your abs, arms, shoulders, chest and back.  Once you get good at them you can incorporate them into your full 6 count Burpee. Fat loss, leaner, fitter, stronger, slowing down father time, confidence. The benefits are muc more than if you were to do nothing. Please trust me on this. It’s gold.

Best,

Robert