Push up is one of the most difficult forms of exercises out there. In fact, some people still struggle with it even if they’ve been doing it for some time. While others just don’t do it because for some reason they’re arms gives easily or they can’t push themselves up at all. However, it is also a great full body workout that can really train your muscles to work together and become stronger. If you’re still determined to reap the benefits of this work out, but like many others still find it difficult, here are some tips that may make it easier and effective for you.
1. Tighten Your Core
One of the reasons why it’s so hard for people to do it is because they rely on their arms alone to do all the work. In this case, you’ll naturally feel like your back is dragging you down. What you can do is engage your core fully so that your body is perfectly still. With this posture, this movement becomes easier to execute.
2. Turn Your Hands Out
Your hands are crucial for support as well as how your arms, shoulders, and elbows will move. If they’re not coherent when it comes to their movement, it can put a lot of strain on your wrist. Try rotating your hands outward until your index finger is pointing forward and you’ll notice the difference.
3. Dig Your Fingers Into The Ground
Instead of letting your finger lay flat on the ground, how about you dig your fingers as if you’re grabbing onto it for support. This will engage your forearm muscles more for added support and reduce the strain on your wrist.
4. Focus On Your Butt
Always remember that your back should always be neutral, not arching up or dragging down. To be able to achieve this posture, focus on your butt. Adjust your butt to engage your hips and core for better posture. This way you engage your core better and shift the weight correctly.
5. Keep Your Head Up
Beginners often feel like they have to look down while doing push-ups. However, when it comes to push up, it’s important that you keep your spine straight, which includes your neck. So, keep your neck muscles relaxed but your head firmly in place to reduce risk of strain.
6. Less May Be More
When working out, it’s crucial not to be cocky. Instead of forcing a lot of counts, it’s always best to focus on perfect posture first. In this case it’s better to do 3 perfect push-ups instead of 10 push-ups with bad posture. Once you’ve mastered the posture, then you can add reps as you go. It’s also important that you visit your chiropractor regularly for injury prevention and treatment which often happens when working out.
7. Spread Your Hands
Most instructors will tell you to put your hands directly beneath your shoulders to perform a push-up. But that could actually strain your wrists and reduce your range of motion. Although chiropractic care is a great treatment for musculoskeletal injuries like this, it’s still best to avoid it as much as possible. Instead, spread your hands just slightly wider than shoulder width. You'll find the muscle engagement and ease of motion will improve with a wider hand placement.
8. Do It Daily
You can’t expect yourself to be good at push-ups at one try. Like anything else, you become better by doing it frequently. This way you also build the strength necessary to be able to pull off perfect push-ups. Do a 30-day challenge, starting with 1 push-up on Day 1 and adding one more for each day. By the end of those 30 days, you'll be much stronger!
These seemingly simple tricks can make a huge difference in your push-up performance. It also helps that you keep your body in check for possible underlying issues that may be making push up harder for you like spinal subluxation or shoulder/elbow problem. If you happen to get a little sore, that’s obviously normal especially if you’re a beginner in doing push-ups chiropractic adjustment can help you with pain relief as well as treating spinal subluxation.
