< strong>Push-ups, are you doing it right?
Push-ups are a simple, effective and timeless training action.
It can exercise our upper limb muscles and core stability very well
In every corner of the world, we can see push-ups, whether you are an athlete or an ordinary person I believe everyone has done push-ups!
But unfortunately, not many people can do push-ups perfectly, which is the simplest movement in our eyes. We can often see some bad postures!
Today I will introduce to you the 3 most common mistakes in push-up training!
Mistake 1: The shoulder blades are too prominent!
Push-ups and bench presses are different! The very movement of the bench press sacrifices correct scapulohumeral rhythm. When bench pressing, because you are lying on a stool, if the scapula is constantly protruding and retracting, the stability of the scapula will be lost, leading to shoulder joint injury.
In order to better maintain the stability of the shoulders, we need to keep the shoulder blades retracted at all times.
This is not required for push-ups. There is no bench for push-ups. It can be tolerated during the movement. The shoulder blades slide reasonably behind the ribcage. However, if the scapula protrudes too much or even valgus, it will increase the risk of injury. You need to keep tension in your upper back to grab your shoulder blades!
Mistake 2: Shrugging!
When doing push-ups, many people have a bad imagination of shrugging their shoulders and lifting their shoulder blades (pictured)
The main reason is that the muscles that cause the scapula to sink are insufficient (lower trapezius, serratus anterior), causing the scapula to rise. The lifting muscles are too active (upper trapezius, levator scapulae, etc.)
This situation causes the scapula to move away from the neutral position, which may easily lead to shoulder injury!
What you need to do is to keep the scapulae depressed as much as possible, while strengthening the lower trapezius and serratus anterior muscles, and relaxing the tense upper trapezius and levator scapulae muscles!
Mistake 3: Slumping your waist!
As shown in the picture below: There is excessive extension (hyperextension) of the lumbar spine, causing the lower back to collapse. The front core is hardly exerting force and instead contracts eccentrically. Eventually, the intervertebral discs will be squeezed and herniated in the opposite direction, causing lumbar spine injury!
There are two main reasons for this situation!
1. The body already has bad posture!
It is impossible to expect a person who is hunched over and has an anterior pelvis to maintain a good posture during training!
2. Insufficient core strength (or inability to use core strength)
In the push-up action, our core muscles need to do strong exercises Isometric contraction is used to stabilize the spine. The rectus abdominis and gluteal muscles are the main stabilizing muscle groups that prevent lumbar spine extension and anterior pelvic tilt, while the oblique muscles mainly prevent lateral displacement and twisting.
When your abdominal muscles and gluteal muscles are lazy, your lumbar spine will naturally move away from the neutral position!
Not only will it cause injuries, but the lack of core stability will hinder the transmission of force, resulting in the inability of the limbs to complete the movements more powerfully
What should you do?
Try it now: try to tighten your abdomen Muscles, tighten your buttocks! Drop your shoulder blades and step back with both feet; tighten your whole body (shoulders, hips, and ankles in a straight line)
You will find that if you perform push-ups in this situation, It will be stronger, easier, and more stable at the same time.
If you can’t feel the contraction of your core and buttocks, you can try placing a soft cushion or yoga brick on your thighs, which will help activate the pelvic floor. Muscles, hip adductors and transversus abdominis
In addition: you need to gradually strengthen your core strength and increase core stability! Performance!
Summary: Seemingly simple movements are actually not simple. Only training in the correct posture will bring us positive effects. The premise of training is safety, and the premise of safety is movement. Correct! Remember, a slight error can make a huge difference!