How to Get Better at Push Ups – My Top Tips

Push Ups are a big wig exercise, and for some really good reasons. They pack so much into one exercise. They work your core and upper body hard, but done right, they are a truly full-body exercise and will elevate your heart rate as well. But It’s pretty easy to do them wrong or at least not well. I see a lot of bad push ups in my line of work! For all these reasons, push ups can be intimidating.

Many people also see push ups as a badge achievement. They aspire to do at least one “real” push up from the floor, or to increase their reps and break through their current plateau. I say that all push ups are real ones, and you can get stronger at them no matter where you do them.

I put together a video tutorial with my top tips on push ups –getting to your first on-the-floor one, doing more of them, and just plain getting stronger and better at them.

Highlights from the video – your crib sheet for working on push ups.

Use Correct Alignment and Body Mechanics

• Hands under shoulders – not too narrow or wide
• Arms come about 30-45 degrees from body
• Chin tuck, Aligned like a broomstick: head, mid-back, tailbone
• Glutes and abdominals engaged (tight plank held the whole time)
• Shoulder blades squeeze together at bottom, spread away at top.

Get Full Range of Motion (ROM)!

• Use a target to make sure you get full ROM – go all the way down!
• If you can’t get full ROM where you are, move to a higher incline.
• Don’t do knee push ups unless you can’t find an appropriate incline.

3 Techniques for Getting Stronger at Push Ups

1. Eccentric Only, With Reset Get into tall braced plank position. Lower down with control to your target, then set knees or feet down and re-set to a tall plank. (No pushing back up.) You can do this on an incline or flat on the floor.
2. Eccentric With Assistance Get into tall braced plank position. Lower down with control, then step your knee or leg forward under your torso and put some weight into the leg, but still make your upper body do most of the work to push back up.
3. From the Bottom Up (more challenging)- Get on your belly, tuck your toes and plant hands by your shoulders. Squeeze your quads to lift your knees. Squeeze your glutes, and pull your navel toward your spine (pelvic tilt). Lift hands about an inch off then plant them powerfully and PUSH trying to keep the strong ab contraction as you come up.

Wherever you find your edge with push ups, keep working on them. Look for the next level you can progress to. Find a ledge that’s a few inches lower and continue the process using the techniques above.

Push ups are a feature in many Unstill Life Strength & Stamina outdoor workouts. Check out our class schedule and come practice and get stronger with cool folks!