Move Of The Month

There is no doubt about it, they are hard. But the strength gains are worth it. Press ups concentrate on the shoulders, chest, arms upper back and even the abdominals. To be able to perform a few repetitions is a great achievement.

In the start position for a press up your body should be faced downwards, palms should be flat on the ground directly beneath your shoulders, both arms and your whole body in full extension with your toes tucked under like a straight plank off wood. There should be one straight line from the shoulder to the heel off the foot so that the bottom does not protrude. One press up is when you bend your arm and lower the whole of the body to the point where your nose is skimming the floor and then straighten the arm so that it lengthens and returns to the original start position. If press ups are performed with elbows held tightly to the side when lowering, this will work more on the tricep muscles. Alternatively in the start position where the hands are wider than shoulder width this will impact more on the bicep muscles.

The Move:

PRESS UP TIPS

The key to the press up is to keep the abdominal muscles tight and your buttocks and legs squeezing firmly together behind you.

Breathe in when lowering and out on the return also pulling the navel to the spine on the return.

Maintain a straight line with your body and head. Think of trying to push of the heels of your hands as you lift up.

The more rigid you are able to keep your body the less chance you have of collapsing in the centre.

We do not do press ups with clenched fists as there are lots of sensitive nerves and tendon which can be easily damaged. The better option is to allow the whole of your palms to rest into the mat and allow your fingers to spread evenly helping to provide a stable base.

Try and relax the shoulders keeping the neck long and shoulders away from the ears.

Do not do press ups if you have a bad wrist or shoulder.

Alternatives

Box press ups where you are kneeling and the bottom is high provide an easier alternative when starting out. As you become stronger start to put more of your weight onto your shoulders and always follow the press up tips. We can also increase the resistance by working at a slow to moderate speed and by keeping are arms locked to the side, elbows pointing south when lowering to focus on the weak tricep muscle.

We can also increase the resistance if press ups are performed on an angle with our feet raised above the floor in the start position by resting our feet on a stair, bench or chair. Essentially this will increase our body weight making the return phase extremely difficult, this is not for the faint hearted!

[Updated 07/09/04]

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