Push-ups can be a devilishly difficult exercise to master. I must have performed thousands in my lifetime, but there is always room for improvement.
Hoping to glean secrets that will make them feel a little easier, I consulted a calisthenics coach for some expert tips.
Lisa Mags is a personal trainer, group exercise instructor and founder of Lisa's Living Club. She leads a monthly calisthenics class, training people to use their bodyweight to build strength.
Her first rule is that it's perfectly acceptable to start on your knees or with your hands on a raised platform like a bench or wall to build strength and control.
"Once you can do around 10 solid reps in one go you're ready to progress to performing push-ups on your toes," Mags tells Fit&Well.
Here are five more golden rules the coach teaches in her calisthenics classes, which will help anyone take their push-up game to the next level.
5 expert tips to instantly improve your push-ups
1. Create an arrow shape with your elbows
"Avoid flaring your arms straight out to your sides, as if forming a T shape," says Mags.
This exerts unnecessary stress on the shoulders. Instead, tuck your elbows in closer to your body.
"Your elbows should be positioned at around a 45˚angle from your body. This protects your shoulders and mimics the alignment you would use for other pushing movements like for the bench press or dips," she says.
2. Spread your fingers wide to stabilize your wrists
To press through all parts of your hand, rather than just the heel of your palm, Mags recommends spreading your fingers wide.
"Think about gripping the floor like a claw to activate your forearms and stabilize your wrists," she says.
An active grip, she adds, also helps to engage the lats of the mid back to create a strong and stable base.
3. Lower your chest, not your hips, to the floor
A common sign of poor form or fatigue is to let your hips sag midway through a set of push-ups, which can compromise the lower back.
To remedy this, Mags suggests leading with your chest and imagining that you are drawing your ribs and hips together to keep your midsection engaged.
"This is a core movement as much as an upper-body exercise," she says.
"Your whole torso should move as one connected unit, like a moving plank."
4. Travel slightly forward as you descend
Lowering directly toward the floor can cramp your arms and exert undue strain on the wrists and shoulder socket.
Instead, Mags suggests allowing your chest to travel slightly forward as you lower, rather than dropping straight down.
"To encourage this realignment, keep your eyes looking just ahead of your fingertips," she says. "This modification also helps keep your neck in a neutral position."
5. Protract your shoulders at the top of the move
Lastly, Mags says your push-up isn't complete until you press the floor away at the top of each rep.
"Don't just lock out your arms and allow your upper back to collapse," she says. Think about spreading your shoulder blades apart and slightly rounding through your upper back.
"This activates the serratus anterior muscles, which lie beneath the shoulder blades, helping build pushing strength and stability," Mags adds.
How to do the Roxanne push-up challenge
Take a few minutes to warm up your upper body and core. This resistance band routine will help mobilize your shoulders and prime the chest, back and shoulders for action.
- Now, line up the song Roxanne by The Police.
- Hit play and get into the top of a push-up position, with straight arms. Try to start with your knees off the floor—you can always drop onto your knees as you fatigue.
- Now, using Mags' technique tips, perform a perfect push-up every time Sting sings the name "Roxanne".
- Hold a straight-arm plank for the rest of the song. Keep this up until the finish.
If you make it to the end, that's 28 push-ups in total and a three-minute plank. Enjoy.
Lisa Mags is a level 3 personal trainer and coach from London where she teaches fitness classes at 1Rebel, The Ministry and The Lighthouse Club. She's also the creator of Lisa's Living Club, a wellness community and workout app, designed for strength, conditioning, HIIT and calisthenics workouts that can be done at home or in the gym.
