HOW TO DO YOUR FIRST PROPER PUSH-UP…AND THEN 10 IN A ROW!

Have you struggled to do push-ups?

Perhaps you can only do 1 or 2.

Or maybe you can’t even do 1 complete push-up.

Do you find yourself attempting a version on your knees that feels uncomfortable, and like it doesn’t get you any closer to your goal?

I’ve helped countless women, and men, nail their first push-up, and then in no-time have them doing 10 in a row, and more!

WHAT’S THE SECRET?

The secret to doing them is so easy that literally anyone can do them from any experience level.

This trick that I’m going to share with you will help you to achieve a proper push-up super quickly, comfortably, and with correct form, and better still, it is 10x easier than the traditional knee push-ups.

But first, what are some of the benefits of doing push-ups?

Rocky even did them one handed!

BENEFITS:

• IT IS A FULL BODY WORKOUT

• BUILDS LEAN MUSCLE TISSUE WHICH CAN HELP WITH WEIGHT LOSS

• CAN HELP DEVELOP GREAT POSTURE/BUST!

• QUICK WAY TO BUILD GREAT STRENGTH

• CAN HELP COMBAT CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASES

• INCREASES MUSCULAR DEFINITION

• CAN HELP PREVENT AGAINST SHOULDER AND LOWER BACK INJURIES

• YOU CAN DO THEM ANYWHERE!

WHAT’S THE TRICK TO ENJOY ALL OF THOSE BENEFITS?

It couldn’t be simpler.

All you have to do are standing push-ups.

WHAT ARE STANDING PUSH-UPS?

Let me explain otherwise you might get confused.

When I say standing, I mean literally standing against a wall, assuming a push-up position, and while creating just the tiny bit of an angle by stepping your feet back, so that your head is closer to the wall than your lower body, and that you are only just beginning to work against gravity, you do a push-up from there.

Click here to watch a video to see how the form for the wall push-up should look as you do it.

It is likely to feel uncomfortable at first and it may well be way too easy. Here’s where the magic happens so that you can progress at a smooth pace.

You simply need to pull your feet back a little further. The further you step back, the lower your head will go, and the more challenging it will become.

Of course, you will notice the limitation of this positioning is that you can only step so far back before you are in a ridiculously impossible position.

HOW TO PROGRESS?

It couldn’t be easier.

AT HOME

If you are at home, then you just need to find a surface that is able to support your weight, and continue from there. This could be something like a refrigerator, a kitchen surface, or anything that is lower than your height against the wall, but not dramatically, so that you can make small, gradual steps without losing your good, straight alignment in your body.

The idea is ultimately to move from a vertical position, standing up, to lowering down, bit by bit, into a fully horizontal position on the floor for a standard pus-up.

IN A GYM

If you are in a gym, then it’s potentially even easier because you will have a whole playground of surfaces. Even better is that they will have a Smith Machine.

This is a great machine to use as it has a long bar with adjustable heights. It means that you can lower it bit by bit over the coming weeks, and months, and will be able to track you progress in measured increments.

WHICH IS BETTER?: HOME OR THE GYM?

Ultimately it doesn’t matter if you’re at home or in a gym. All that matters is that you maintain correct form and posture as you do it, and that you work your way down to the next progression height slowly.

Click here to see a quick video of how the full push-up should finally look when you're strong enough.

HOW MANY & HOW OFTEN?

You might be wondering how many you should do. I always recommend starting very slowly in order to see the best results so that you aren’t going too hard, too fast.

Aiming to do 10 repetitions of the push-up is a great start. You might do that one time, every day, or maybe 3 days a week- e.g. Mon/Wed/Fri.

You might even feel that you can do 3 sets of 10 push-ups, with maybe a minute break in between.

WHAT HEIGHT SHOULD YOU START AT?

The most important way to judge your starting height is how comfortably you can do your push-ups with perfect form.

Make sure you check out the wall push-up video linked above, as this really emphasizes how important it is to keep good spinal alignment.

If you have bad form, and you try to go lower and lower, then you will only build bad habits, and even though you might seem like you can do a push-up quicker, you will be doing them incorrectly and be vulnerable to developing bad posture, back and shoulder issues, and a host of other problems, so be honest with yourself about how tight you’re bracing your core, squeezing in your butt, and trying to be as straight as a ruler.

Just a quick side-note…

WHY ARE THEY SUPERIOR TO KNEELING PUSH-UPS?

For the beginner at least, standing push-ups are far superior to using your knees and here’s why.

Regular push-ups on your knees can be hard for multiple reasons depending on the person, but the biggest problems that I see are the following:

• They can irritate already injured and frail knees from this position

• They are surprisingly taxing on the core if you do them correctly, which many don’t, and instead complete the movement with poor lumbar (lower back) extension, which can mean trouble in the long run for your spinal health, and posture in general.

• The shoulders are often forced to move through an unconventional- and to my mind- dysfunctional movement pattern, which is bad news for your shoulder health.

I love knee push-ups, and if done correctly, they can be a formidable tool in your arsenal kit. I frequently prescribe them for exhaustive sets when the standard push-up, or even clapping push-up have reached their maximum.

I hope that helps.

Good luck on your journey.

May your push-ups be many and awesome.

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